Upturn in Spanish property sales?

Yes that may be true Tricia, I agree but equally once committed we seek to justify lousy personal decisions to ourselves and inhabit a rose coloured world. The alternative is self-recrimination, busted self-confidence and a slippery slope to La La land. Fun is a subjective word. Some folk enjoy jumping off the edge of cliffs Free Basing but I would not recommend it.

PS I’m not UK based.  

This is an interesting thread. We spent some time in Spain and Portugal during a long service leave spell. We rented in Sotogrande from a Gib based guy who had properties in Soto and Murcia. He still has the proerties despite trying to  sell (off load) them for some time to his tenants and others.

We are now living in Oxford altho based as we have been for the past 30+ years in Switzerland. We purchased a substantial property in Oxford 2 years ago and are amazed at the increase in value. This we see as a substantial and wise investment, together with our apartment in Zurich and additional purchases of flats in London from our income over the past 2-years.

However we see my purchase of an Audi R8 V10 as an indulgence and her purchase of a bike with basket and bell as the right thing to do in central Oxford. The shopping in the old market place is just great.

My real point is all of us have investments and indulgences which makes our lives interesting. We all have to appreciate that we all can't make the right choices all of the time, but should enjoy and learn from ours and others travels through life. Investment in Spain does not seem to have been the right choices for all, but for some was right.

We all need to enjoy what we have and look foreward to makng better informed choices in the future.

Be happy.

Hi Roberto,

Good to have intelligent discussion of pros and cons

Duncan, thanks for your explanation, although I still don't quite follow. You seem to be saying that you're happy to pay €9,000 for 4 weeks holiday (excluding air fares) in the same place every year for the next 10 years - and I'm very much in Micky's camp when it comes to holiday home ownership anyway. But each to their own. As long as you're happy with it. I just hope your nephews & nieces won't resent you one day for burdening them with the expense and hassle of desposing of it, as the chances of them actually wanting to keep it and holiday in the same place forever are rather slim. My brother in law owns a place slap bang inthe centre of Benidorm. Since his kids were old enough to go on holiday without their parents, they have never returned to Spain. At least you didn't go for a time-share!

Although this is well off track with respect to the thread topic, I will reply. Yes, I am happy to pay €9000 euros per annum for 4 weeks (in reality nearer 40 days+) holiday over the next 10 years.

The actual ongoing costs are around €3000 per annum. The €6000 euros per annum are sunk costs that have already been paid. 

I have previously paid €5000 for two weeks in holiday destinations such as 5* hotels in Cyprus which come nowhere close to the facilities I have on my Golf Resort. I also go on other holdays such as cruises and holidays to the Indian Ocean so these four weeks are by no means the only holidays I go on. 

Add to that the fact that my extended family can, and do, enjoy holidays in the apartment for the other 48 weeks or so and we sometimes enjoy time together! (I know it is surprising that people might want to spend time with me LOL)

These of course are capital and revenue costs and at the end of it I will own an apartment worth probably somewhere between €60,000 and €120,000 euros and perhaps more. So, worst case is that the 4 weeks holiday actually cost €30000 euros over 10 years or €750 euros per ten days. (I really can't see my property being worth less than €60,000 euros in 10 years time.)

With respect to my nephews and nieces, I doubt they will find it a burden. They will either sell it for what they can get for it or keep it and enjoy it. Personally, I have no reservations that they are capable of making the decision that works for them. They are intelligent people.

I always find it amusing that people still question purchase over renting. If I had rented in the UK, I would still be paying an ever increasing rent as opposed to paying nothing other than Council Tax etc on an asset that I own that with zero mortgage that is worth over £0.5m.

As you say, each to their own, but my preference is to own the property that I use rather than to pay for the landlord's lifestyle. If you prefer to pay the landlord's mortgage for him, then can I interest you in a property ;)

Morning! Yes, we seem to have drifted, but as you say, always good to have an intelligent discussion.

I don't think many here would disagree that buying your main home rather than renting makes sense. Although if I sold my home today I'd lose money, it would still be far less than I would have forked out in rent over the time I've owned it. And I also doubt that many would say that anyone who can afford regular exotic cruises or supercars don't deserve to indulge themselves a little - I would! No, I think what gets people going is those who have scraped together a deposit to buy a poorly built €50k concrete box on a deserted urbanisation or a run down doss house in the "Real Spain" somewhere inland in the belief that it's a clever "investment" that will eventually lead to a life of exotic cruises and supercars, and then bang on about how pleased they are with themselves, refusing to accept that maybe it wasn't the smartest move!

If DuncanMcG's post is anything to go by it seems I have proved my case, that for some owning a second + home is more about one upmanship. What informing us about his endless exotic holidays has to do with this thread, other than to tell one and all how incredibly  wealthy he is supposed to be ?? I fail to see the significance. 

Without a doubt property in Spain is selling...slowly....but the only people in the next couple of decades who "might " make a profit are those who inherit...and even that is doubtful.

Unlike Spain,  apart from a small glitch believe ALL , even we mere peasants, on this forum are aware owning property in UK has always been advantageous. But thx for the reminder DMcG

Windtalker you seen to have a problem with most people on here who are happy with there lot, If they happy you have them down as agents ( like you have called me on a few occasions) and if they disagree with you, there are trolls, You keep coming back on here tell people they are wrong because they don't share your same out look as you, You keep telling us on here this your last post, then your back again, with them same speech, Anyway how's your property portfolio and your plumbing business, I hope your 25 staff are keeping well. ( just asking )

newworld

Have you knot (sic) realised windtalker has made a misteak (sic) in buying where he did so know (sic) thinks everyone else should realise this? Funnily enough, we have tons of holiday home owners who we reguarly have around for drinks and go out for meals with. They do knot (sic again) feel out of it and it is nice to see different people coming here and socialising with. 

It's all making me sic this, it's just knot 4 me anymore.

OK calm down all and please get back on thread. If you don't have anything relevant or interesting to contribute to the thread please refrain from posting, it only diverts the subject.

Remember, please respect other members and stick to the topic in question. Thanks

Thanks floella for your judgement on me as a person and my motives for buying an apartment in Spain. I actually enjoy your posts, but you have it wrong this time. I was merely answering a question posed by Roberto which asked whether I was happy to return to the same place for all my holidays. The gist of my response was that this was not the only place I holidayed in and ownership over renting was based on convenience and logic rather than one-upmanship.

Windtalker, the opposite for you, I tend to find your posts very negative but was pleasantly surprised with your post.

As the moderator has suggested, let's get the thread back on track and avoid public personal insults. As Socrates said "When the debate is lost, slander becomes the tool of the loser." 

This forum has recently been quiet so it is great to see a few topics that seem to get a debate going

When I sold my first apartment, at under what I paid for it didn't really lose money because I had it on rental for years covering the mortgage and what I purchased had reduced in price by the same amount, difference was I needed somewhere to live

The facts remain that in and around the Orihuela Costa an Mar Menor that the market is very healthy, both sales of new off plan and resales with a STEADY price increase but with the biggest percentage of sales to non-british people

After Brexit we initally saw a slowing down for inspection trips, now looking at September/October thigs are back to normal, A Place in The Sun show in September will be a good barometer for the market

So far this year another 5 new developments have been announced and started, this week I have 2 new show houses to inspect

As I am getting that much older and now without having property management responsibilities I plan to spend more time in the UK with the family so looking to maybe buy something back in the UK, possibly a caravan, no gypsie jokes please, but I cannot believe the charges and wow what a way to lose money

Annual site fees for 9 months use, over 3k, something decent with Winter use 18k and god help you if you want to sell it in the future, bad facilities and the price for food and drink terrible and the weather.

I don't believe that there is any such thing as a cheap holiday, even in the UK

I've got nothing exciting to say, just that in my area of Murcia - Mazarron & Isla Plana sales are also taking place - probably the largest volume for 5 years.  But when the effect of Brexit is felt and winter time these may fall off, who knows?

But really just wanted to thank Duncan McG for the Socrates quote - how very true and well put!  ...never knew Socrates spoke such good English...

But perhaps something to be remembered.

Roy, take look at "Park Homes" in the UK rather than caravans on holiday parks. They are often dearer to begin with but the site fees are nowhere near so high and they are fully insulated for residential use all year round. About 20 years ago we stayed in one whilst my husband was working away from home. I loved it and didn't want to return home at the end of the contract

Thank you for the info but unfortunatley Park Homes are one of the worst people for the sharp practices, selling older properties for very high prices

Oh I love that Facebook soundbite:   When the debate is lost slander becomes the tool of the loser.      There may be some truth in it - but it is not from Socrates and has no known source before 2008. 

And so we close the circle - I dont think that anyone on this forum disagreed that the number of house sales was having a flutter.....

That is not a fair comment concerning Park Homes Roy. We are designers, engineers and manufacturers of Park Homes, Lodges and Granny Annexes all of which are designed to meet the UK Building Regulations and Eurocode 5 and are supplied with site-specific metro reports and structural calculations along with complete design documentation.

Further our compliance pack guarantees that all our units meet the following :

A) Caravan Act 1960

B) Caravan Act 1968 (Mobile Homes)

C) Amendment Act of above 2006

D) BS 3632:2005

Our specifications are exactly the same as a UK traditional house in terms of wall floor and roof thickness/insulation and return the same thermal and acoustic values – the only difference with our products compared to a traditional house is that we are considerably more affordable and can be installed without planning permission in many cases. We are also IWA accredited suppliers and issue an IWA client care pack that covers deposit protection paid by clients, with a 10 year insurance backed warranty. So the allegation of our industry operating  "sharp practice" is incorrect.

Thank you for the info but unfortunatley Park Homes are one of the worst people for the sharp practices, selling older properties for very high prices

You have to laugh, a salesman of Spanish property telling us Park Home sales people are the worst lol.

Luckily ok to go back to any of my old clients we are not all the same