Spain bounces back
Thursday, June 24, 2010 @ 12:13 PM
FIGURES RELEASED by the College of Registrars for June reveal an impressive 7.04% increase in Spanish property sales over the same period in 2009. This is further reinforced when compared with the 16.28% increase over the final quarter during the previous year.
The reasons for the spike in the graph are contentious. The consensus of informed opinion suggests the Euro’s eighteen-month high against the pound has been aided by a belief that property prices in Spain have finally bottomed out.
Chris Mercer, director of Mercer’s Costa Calida’s hub is upbeat about the improving market. He says: “We can reveal a quite spectacular increase of 157% for the first quarter of 2010 over the same period in 2009, based on the number of enquiries we are receiving.”
Perhaps the clearest signals are coming from international property portal Rightmove. Their findings show that during May, Spain topped their potential buyers’ enquiry list. As yet these figures have yet to translate into a similar increase in sales; when they do so the sales figures are set fair. Over the first quarter of 2010, five-thousand homes were sold to non-residents of which 1,574 were buyers British by nationality.
It is clear that sales will need to accelerate to clear the log jam of unsold properties, especially new builds. It is, however, a big step in the right direction.
Mike McLaughlin of southerncomfit.com says the news is ‘a real confidence builder’ and will be welcome news for buyers and sellers.
Source: RoundTownNews