It's hard being an estate egent

We talk to a lot of agents down here on the Costa del Sol (I'm not an agent myself by any means!). It's interesting how after the past year or so many of them have began to crack.

2 or 3 years ago a lot of agents were making a lot of money when there was a real boom down here. Investors flocked to buy property by the bucket load hoping to sell after a couple of years and make a handsome profit. But like any investment there's always a risk!

Here we are 2 years later with so many properties for sale on the market, some with very high prices, with too many agents around and just not enough buyers. Agents are having a hard time. It was easy to sell a property 2 or 3 years ago, now they really have to work hard for their money and chase every lead.

So where are all the buyers? Bulgaria, Morocco, Croatia, etc. There are still bargains to be had in other countries but they will all suffer the same fate. In 2 or 3 years time there will be hundreds of investrors trying to sell their off plans in Bulgaria, for example, which is years behind Spain in terms of infrastrucutre, network of agents, etc. I wouldn't want to be an investor in Bulgaria myself now!

So, although times are hard for agents in Spain now (and no, I don't feel sorry for them as I think many have been too greedy for too long) I think inevitably Spain is still the destination most people would rather buy a property in, the infrastructure is all in place, so the buyers will come back...just give it a couple of years.

Investors...sit tight!