nigelp

I have been over 3 times now looking at properties, many of those we have been shown look tired and in some cases downright shabby, some stank most needed new kitchens and bathrooms gardens overhauled etc. Have not yet seen the bargains that spain is being advertised as, absolutely less costly than 2008 but when you look at earning capacity to home values in spain the disparity is huge. 2008 prices were just unrealistic and it was a feeding frenzy and prices are becoming more realistic but if people really do want to sell they need to come down a fair bit more yet.
We will find our home in spain but not just yet, I think the housing market still has a way to go yet to get into bargain territory and the pound has some more growth in it yet compared to the Euro

cricketman

Someone I know has just sold their 4 bed villa in the Costa del sol for 250k. They had the property up for sale at 650k 4 years ago

So that tells you how much prices have dropped. The key being that they have had to drop the price this much to sell it

But yes, in a depressing market the bargain properties will need work doing to them as people wont be making large profits. In a growing market people invest in doing up the property before selling

Domino

Although living in Spain already we have similar problems.
The Spanish agent that took us to one property was so disgusted with it that she actually made comment to us after we left

Price expectations are too high, standards are low or the property is gorgeous but hanging off the side of a mountain by the skin of its teeth.
An English/Spanish couple showed us their house, very nice almost what we wanted but she said they wanted £200k when it is being advertised at £175k. Then we found out he owned the plot across the road, building on which would spoil our view. No sale and still looking.
We don't want to but may have to move from this area to get the right house.

steviedeluxe

Unfortunately, in holiday areas the disparity is irrelevant. Same as London, the prices rise (or fall) according to foreigners making investments - the average worker in most London boroughs can't afford 400k+ for a 3 bedroomed home, yet that can be the price in many locations.

Same principle in the Spanish coastal fringes. It's true that the over-supply of homes will keep prices subdued for years, but in many places they will still seem out of kilter with local wages. Assuming it's not a forced seller, why would someone selling their property sell to a local hotel worker or teacher for say 32k when the prospect of a Chinese, Norwegian or Brit paying 125k is seemingly within reach if they wait long enough? Of course there are forced sellers, but in too many cases they will have been re-possessed by the banks and possibly sold to investment companies.

If you want cheap properties look on Idealista in inland cities like Albacete, Soria or Zamora (or Valencia which is on the coast). But if you're looking for a villa near the Med you're up against other foreign buyers (or the perception is that you are).

nigelp

we are going to most definitely rent for a fair while and not jumping, one thing we found strange is that the sellers seem to dictate the prices as opposed to the estate agents actually saying......in this market to sell it you need to be asking etc etc so therefore the owners of these properties still have an over inflated idea of how much in the present market their home really is worth and simply refuse to drop their prices to sell and wonder why their homes are still on sale and they cant go back to the uk or wherever. I don't disagree the odd one sells cheaply but in reality its not cheap it is a true reflection of what its worth today, not 2,3,5 etc years ago pre crash.
I think until people get real the housing market is going to continue to stall thousands of new builds that cant be sold never mind resales. I have even seen an astate agent repricing homes to reflect the change in the exchange rate between pound and euro, how mad is that.
Folks dropping the keys off may also find in time down the line that the banks go after them for the balances of outstanding mortgages, so it would be best to try and be realistic surely than hang on until you simply can't any more and have to let go back to the bank losing so much more.

As winter drags on it will be interesting to see how things progress.

Oh and I do see other nationals looking but again they are just as picky, what does stand out when looking at the various websites is that when you go and look deeper ie move from kyero ecs to the estate agents, the ones you see and say that's worth a look are the ones that are snapped up fairly quick and from our experience if its been up a long time there is always a very good reason. We have been told that Russians Swedes Norwegians, Dutch are keen buyers but we have spoken to them on our travels and yes they are looking but they too are very cautious moving into the Spanish market so we don't believe all the foreign buyers hype too much. We believe our new home will find us rather than the other way around

Domino

Winter can be a good time to look.
The roads are awash, the places look dismal so what will be the conditions when you are looking, and will the road surface still be there come spring?

here we have the Olive Picking & Processing, and luckily this is a rental, but the lorries, trailors, tractors that go past from 4am to midnight for 2-3 months is almost totally unbearable as they go to and fro the processing plant at the end of the road.

Life in Spain isnt all Sun, Sea and Sangria, with the perfect property falling off a tree at a silly price

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steviedeluxe

I've been told that using Kyero (which being in the English language is targeting richer foreigners) means you usually have higher prices, and a smaller selection away from coasts, than the national portal Idealista.
You can change the language too in Idealista (although certain descriptions will often still be in Spanish).

cricketman

The villa I just mentioned that sold for 250k was sold to a local Spanish person, on idealista

You should really look at the sites that advertise the property in Spanish, it has always been true that rental and sales prices are lower there. Plus you have much greater array of properties to choose from

I agree more or less with what you are saying, but remember, for the majority of sellers, they need the money from the house they are selling to either pay off the mortgage or to buy another house either in Spain or the UK etc

So its very well telling people to lower the price, but that isnt much good if you will end up owing the bank money because you couldnt pay off the mortgage!

This is the reason why the number of sales is very low at the moment. That, plus you need to put a 20% cash deposit down for any mortgage, plus another 10% for taxes and fees, so a 200k sales needs 60k of cash in the bank. Not many people have that

Cazzy1

I would say sales are picking up at the moment, we have sold several houses in the last few months. All of which have been reduced by a large amount, leaving the sellers to return to the UK with not enough money to buy a house. There are a lot of people who are desperate to sell at any cost, just to return to the UK. Spanish sellers are not reducing their properties, they will just wait until a time when the market picks up.

Richie1892

NigelP...I can only imagine how difficult it is for you travelling over to look for a home, we actually live over here and have been looking and getting stressed since January. I'd say online we probably viewed a good 2/3 thousand and physically visited about 100. The one we are "hoping" to complete on soon, is actually the 3rd one that we have agreed a price on and also the one we have managed to lower the price on least of all, we managed almost 20% on the first one! The house we're buying though is also probably the most "realistically" priced, so we can live with that
At the end of the day, getting a "bargain" often depends on the vendors circumstances and reason for selling and a huge slice of luck I guess, so I wish you luck in finding the house of your dreams.

Dick Dasterdly

Finding the perfect property at a bargain price is only the first step.

As mentioned so many times before, check out the location, daytime, nightime, anytime you can, especially for any signs of disturbance and noise, as well as talking to the neighbours and other locals, before signing on the dotted line.

nigelp

Richie, I thought we had done hard yards but nothing quite as hard as yourself I applaud you. Folks here think we are quite mad, sort of leaping into the lions mouth so to speak at a time when all you here coming out of Europe and spain in particular is financial chaos we are talking of investing our life savings there, so it has to be right. I dont want to be in a similar position to those desperate to leave, its a life changer for us so has to be the real deal first time and a one time only move so renting long term is something we not only feel is right ourselves, but a lot of folk have actually advised it too

chrisjolly

Obviously depends on your price range and the area you are looking Nigel but like everywhere there are shabby properties. I have seen quite a few in so called posh areas of England like Totnes for example. There are bargains compared with the prices over the last few years and you may be right in that the prices may continue to fall but it always depends on the circumstances of the seller as everywhere. We live in unsettled times and any big choice we make now could be potentially disasterous or the best thing we ever did but thats what life is all about. I would always rent first anyway just to see. We rented in a village near Marbella and had almost given up when we found a house, yes, a whole real house for 30K euros. Its been our home for 12 years and we love it so keep looking..

Richie1892

NigelP...Yeah it was hardwork, often stressful and at times distressing but hopefully all worth it if/when we manage to complete on this one.
You're doing the right thing renting, as we had a huge advantage having the use of my father in law's flat as a base, it had been empty for a couple of years and isn't in a great area but it's been a lifesaver and it certainly helps to prevent you rushing into things.
As ChrisJ says, never give up(even though at times you'll want too) and you'll find what you are looking for eventually.

kayley

For sellers it is not always as simple as reducing the price. I have dropped the price of mine considerably but it is now priced much lower than its fiscal value.

We are getting a lot of interest in the property, which tells me that it is priced correctly, but buyers pull out when they discover they will have to pay purchase tax on a value that is almost double what they are paying for the property.

Because we have dropped the price so low, we are also faced with very high plus valia tax.