Spain Real Estate News

Avi said:
Friday, January 2, 2009 @ 11:21 AM

I'm not surprised by the glut. In Murcia the rate of new builds is unbelievable. Everytime we go there seem to be a new golf comlex popping up.

SUSAN said:
Friday, January 2, 2009 @ 2:36 PM

'The global economic downturn' which is continually given as the reason britons have deserted Spain is not the only reason. It is really frustrating to keep hearing this, a huge number of people should have been refunded deposits from bank guarantees which they would have been happy to reinvest in Spain. Unfortunately Spain ignores the law so many are looking at other options.

concerned said:
Friday, January 2, 2009 @ 5:21 PM

susan you are spot on with your posting , the spanish developers and certain members of the lagal profession have treated brit buyers as idiots and clearly lied and decieved , now things appear to be turning the other way , the spanish property market will take a lot of recovering from the current situation ,

linda said:
Friday, January 2, 2009 @ 9:42 PM

People waiting for thier habitation licences and being asked to take competion on a property without one be warned don't when these builders go to the wall what will happen to all these owners of properties that are not legal and they have no water or electric. Purchases are being lied to by developers and thier lawyer's who only want your cash.
Thier are many people like us who have lost thousands and are warning other's to the pit falls.Until Spain sort the lawyers out and thier bank guarantee's should state that the property is not completed until the habitation licence is in place and not have a completion date on our had one and ran out. so reclaiming deposits if things go wrong without going to litigation paying out many more thousands of pounds.Maybe not winning
Maybe in time people will start to trust in the Spanish process of purchasing a home in Spain.

Rob in Madrid said:
Friday, January 2, 2009 @ 10:06 PM

I think it will take much much longer than that. It's not just that there are loads of unsold homes but the weak pound and the brutal world wide recession have knocked the stuffing out of the British buyer. As in a massive housing bubble and you've got real problems.

As well I was in Granada today talking with a friend and he mentioned that are loads of Brits wanting to sell out but are unwilling to lower there price. This people can only hold out for so long, once they finally give up and price the house to sell at that point the bottom will really fall out. I personally expect a 50% or more price drop.

This I quote I posted in the forum

This is bad news for the coastal communities because, other than real estate, tourism, and the container port in Algeciars, there is no real economy in southern Spain. Mainly they sell sun, homes, and stuff to fill homes. And judging by the vacancies, more people are choosing sun over shade. This is worse than Miami, the other bubble-busting, sun-drenched prairie of empty homes. At least southern Florida has an attractive tax regime and modern infrastructure that lure new businesses and jobs. Not so southern Spain, where the tax code and infrastructure were both conceived in an era of donkey riding and windmill charging.

alantracey said:
Saturday, January 3, 2009 @ 10:27 AM

I totally agree with the above responses. We put a deposit on a property 3 years ago. the developer went into administration in May, and despite having a Bank Guarantee, we are still fighting for our money back. Had we received our money back swiftly and smoothly, we would definately have still invested in Spain, as our reasons for going there haven't changed, but our experience of the system as a whole has made us think twice. When the global economy picks up again, people will still remember where they were treated fairly or badly - and I am sad to say that Spain will feel the pain. what goes around comes around

SUSAN said:
Sunday, January 4, 2009 @ 12:51 PM

Thank goodness my opinion is shared. It seems many people do have available funds still to purchase but have become concerned that Spain is not to be trusted and looking elsewhere.
It seems with package tours people are avoiding Spain and looking at Egypt as one alternative.
Spain may have many excuses mortgages/euro but when various issues are resolved Spain may find itself left in the cold!

sally said:
Tuesday, January 6, 2009 @ 9:13 AM

I do agree with a lot of the comments made, especially about bank guarantees, but if people searched for resales instead of yet another new property on a golf course, they would get much better value for money, and know that habitation certificates etc would not be a problem, as everything is already in place. I think we are guilty of being sold the dream, without putting as much thought in to it as we should do. Spain has been getting bad press for years for all the same reasons, but as Brits we are a too trusting nation.

Paul said:
Tuesday, January 6, 2009 @ 4:21 PM

From reading the above comments I think the Spanish may be slightly racist when it comes to property law, only I don't think I ever hear about an Spaniard having a problem. Yes, there's also the recession and the weak pound but theres something else people seem to have forgotten about with these bigger issues taking the limelight - wasn't there an increase in crime there too? I was thinking of investing there but I think I'll be going elsewhere for the moment, at least until they sort themselves out.

boogaloo20 said:
Wednesday, January 7, 2009 @ 10:58 AM

Sadely,the Spanish property market has been so corrupt you would not touch it today with a 50ft barge pole ! Even to the current horror stories of honest Brits taking developers to court for non delivery of propertise (see ALMANZORA CC FORUM) and return of monies.(These are the Brits that made the Spanish property market the sucess it became.)Who would buy there today ? If you did, you could even end up with an illegal building. (but at least if would be at a bargain price !)Also, if there are so many unsold propertise why are the developers not talking to each other so that people waiting for a property can purchase one built !