Spain Real Estate News

With an economy in turmoil and a reputation tarnished by tales of dodgy developers and legal nightmares for expats trying to buy their dream home, the Spanish property market has been something of a disaster zone for the past couple of years.

Yet some say now is the perfect time to snap up a bargain, with the country's banks trying to offload repossessions and new rules being introduced by the government to improve Spain's image and tempt back British buyers.

"We are in the middle of a big PR push by the Spanish government to get the Brits back," said Richard Way, editor of A Place in the Sun magazine. "We already have heavy discounts – depending on the area and the financial position of the developer – now the government is trying to sort out some of the legal and ownership problems which have given the country's property industry such a bad press."

In an attempt to persuade Brits that they will not fall foul of some of the country's numerous property scandals, measures are now in place to make the system more transparent. First and foremost, expat buyers can go to their local town hall to request a translated land registry certificate.

"The new initiative to enable local town halls to issue land registry certificates is a welcome move in the right direction, as long as any local delegated authority, such as this, is not overturned at a later date by central government," said Louise Reynolds, of agent Property Venture.

Read more at Telegraph.co.uk

The most prolific buyers of Spanish properties have traditionally been Brits, but the strong euro is making it more difficult to find investors from the UK.

Speaking to The National, head of Spanish Property Insight Mark Stucklin explained that there has been increased interest from other European countries, as well as buyers coming from China and the Gulf.

He stated that they are "taking advantage of reduced prices and in some cases distressed sales from banks who are prepared to offer very attractive financing".

Read more at IBI Times

The Spanish city of Murcia could be a good location to invest in property if the comments of one real estate expert are anything to go by.

Chris Mercer, founder of estate agents Mercers, noted that prices in the region appear to have "finally bottomed out", although he expects values to remain depressed until demand increases significantly.

However, he is confident that the property sector will bounce back and cited the forthcoming opening of the Paramount-branded theme park in the area as a catalyst that should boost the market.

Read more at IB Times