Going up - or Down?

Idealista report that the average offer to buy a property is 20.8% below the asking price – but we are told that property prices are rising............ How does that work then?

Sellers are increasing their prices to compensate for the 20% less people are going to bid them....probably!

Nah - not having that one Farty. The below asking price offer figures vary from 11% in Cadiz to 31% in Zamora, so unless you have a copy of Murcia today that tells you about each region - how do you know how much to add on? I suspect that you are an estate agent - probably, as you know too much!

I'm too honest to be an estate agent but I do know that if idealista are letting everybody know that people are offering 20% below the asking price (average) and I want a certain price for my house, I'm going to up my price a bit more to make sure I get near that, as is everyone else. And there you go, house prices are on the up.

We put our house up for what we thought was a reasonable price (looking for a 2 bed detached somewhere away from an urb) and found out the estate agents was telling people to offer 20% below the price.

We have changed estate agents and wondering whether we should add 20% to the price. Checking on other prices in the area and similar (exactly the same more than similar) are going for 220 to 240K so we thought our 170K was more realistic. Trouble is, got two offers at 20% below our price so 135K. No chance Mr Estate Agent.

It's not just in Spain with silly offers, I've got a house for sale for £225k, been offered a £190k and a £200k. Thanks but no thanks, I will use the house as a holiday home than sell ( give ) at them offers.

To sell - price of house in 2007 - reduce by 50% - SOLD.

First house sale on my Urb (Mijas) since 2007, as above.  

We have had many properties together, buying property that needed 'attention' and doing the necessary work ourselves before selling in the hope of realising more cash than we had when we started.  We think we know a thing or two about property buying and selling and the point that stands out most when it comes to selling is definitely 'A property is worth what someone is willing to pay for it'.  Can the Spanish market be any different to that of the UK?

Yes I do worh as an agent and I can only tell you what is happening right now around the Orihuela Costa and Murcia areas with prices and more importantly stock

The fact is that over the last 2 weeks I have lost 3 sales, where buyers asume that they can make offers far below the asking prices and have tried, on all 3 sales other buyers have come back with better offers, offer however not the full asking price, typically t around 10% below the asking price

Properties are moving now very quickly, but I would qualify that by saying the right properties, so rule one is always to ask a seller how long has your property been on the market and how much interest has their been but most agents sites have a listing date

We don't list directly and colaborate with many agents, there is a very common theme now, a shortage od good properties and most new builds now are on a 12 month wait for building and no offers are accepted, we are lucky as we only ever act for the buyers so we can be far more impartial

Fact in this area you cannot buy a 2 bedroom house or apartment, walking distance to the beach, near the bars for 50k pounds and it is difficult to explain this to people, especially when their refference point is Homes in The Sun 2013

Yes there are bank repossessions out there but even these are now increasing in price

Most recently we have been involved in selling an inland golf development in Murcia called Sierra Golf where the properties rom the bank, detached villas and towhouses, started at €60k and we sold 12 units in 72 hours and niw there are very few left, sold 2 more there today

The fact is that if a property is correctly priced and value to the buyer, it will sell very quickly and it is changing from a buyers to a sellers market, this is based on real experience not some forecast 

You just hit the nail on it's thick head MF. The value of any property is what someone is prepared to pay for it - not what the seller thinks it's worth or what price an Estate Agent is prepared to take it on at. Why is an offer on a vastly inflated price "silly" just because the British don't do things like that.There are too many government departments and organisations in Spain who have vested interests in the property market issuing manipulated figures to suit their purpose or cause, thereby distorting the true picure of the housing market. If you paid way over the odds during the boom, then its your problem and you can't expect prospects to take this into account in the same way that those with large mortgages cant expect to lease their houses at inflated rents to cover their mortgage.

Aww come on Roy(changing from a buyers to a sellers market) - we know you view Spanish business through rose tinted gaffas as your past predictions of Corvera and Paramount opening/commencing have not come to fruition. The fact that price increases in Madrid and Barcelona have risen, it dosen't mean that this is the case in Murcia. Its like saying that because prices in London have risen by 8% the average house prices in UK have risen by 3% - when in fact property in  Tyneside  South Wales and Cumbria actually dropped by X%.

Just to throw a curved ball in here - What happens if UK leaves the EU and it gets nasty, what will happen to the houses being bought if the owbners have to leave them - what about values then?

Unlike many people here I actually live and work in Spain so the information that I am providing is based on REAL: PRACTICAL CURRENT experience not some prediction although if you read Murcia Today it seems that the statistics from the Notary alos reflect this

Just a cirrection at no time on this forum have I ever predicted the openning of Paramount and in fact havre been openly critical of the plan always maintaining that it would never happen

On the airport front yes hands up, I did believe because of the information that we would have a date by now and strangeley all of the original staff are still working there, they have not been thrown out so read into that what you will. I suppose things won't become clear till after the election

The area that I am selling in and where I am seeing prices increase is Alicante and Murcia regions however whhat is reported for Murcia is actually Official surveyors report a decrease of just 0.5% in Murcia property values, that the prices have stablised

Really the price increases are not relivent to sellers as the prices devreased so much in Spain that it will be years till they recover all of the losses, even like for like compared to the 2010 prices equilivent new builds are 40% lower, now you can get a new 3 bed villas on 300 sq mts with your own pool for €189k

Woodbug, you say ..."the fact that price increases in Madrid and Barcelona have risen, it dosen't mean that this is the case in Murcia...not sure you're right.  I've watched this in the UK and invariably price rises start in London, then they ripple out across the country. 

Of course there will always be local factors - airports & theme parks etc.  But it seems likely a price rise in the principal cities will have a positive effect on other areas of the country.

Just to throw a curved ball in here - What happens if UK leaves the EU and it gets nasty, what will happen to the houses being bought if the owbners have to leave them - what about values then?

If/When the UK leaves the European Union, why would owners have to leave their homes?  There are plenty of Norwegians, Icelandics, Russians, South Americans etc in Spain who rent or own houses and none of these countries are in the EU. 

I'd imagine the UK will remain part of the European Economic Area, so there would be no impact for this living/working in Spain:

The European Economic Area (EEA) provides for the free movement of persons, goods, services and capital within the internal market of the European Union (EU) between its 28 member states, as well as three of the four member states of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA): Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway

Wikipedia

Location Location Location ,so if you bought you place in the sun because it was cheap  in a poor location then you will have to sell cheap  usually allot less than you paid for it  .

I do love these prophecies of doom and gloom 

Yes, prices are rising in some areas, falling in some areas and have stabilised in others.

This is the way it is, always has been and always will be.

You omitted an important factor DuncanMcG - long term prices will almost inevitably move upwards.

For 'Doom & Gloom' read 'Realist'. Why do Brits believe that only the Spanish property market can change the rule of supply and demand? Murcia has the highest stock of unsold new-builds on the Costas so this will automatically depress prices, see Tinsas prediction in Murcia Today. I too have lived and work in Spain in the construction industry for several years and only too aware of the problems we have had over the past 8-10 years in the construction and housing sectors. I don't claim to have my finger on the pulse but I know that there is a long way to go yet before any significant property revaluation occurs nationally.

When I was looking for a Spanish property (2013/2014) there was a big difference between the asking prices for identical properties on the same urbanisation.  

Spanish owners invariably had lower or the lowest asking price but we're not prepared to negotiate.  Their prices were firm within two percent. Non-Spanish and most notably the British and Irish had inflated asking prices but we're prepared to negotiate (10%+).  

The lack of transparency in the actual price paid for properties in Spain makes it hard(er) to know with any certainty if the price reprints "fair" market value. This is where a good Real Estate Agent and a knowledgable local lawyer is really important.  

Few if any buy at the bottom.  They are waiting for the market to go lower.   Few if any buy at the top.  The market turns so quickly that usually everyone can see the signs of a bubble bursting.  The old adage remains true. You either buy on the way down or the way up and over time you will recover your investment.  Time can be string like. It could be long. 

In all markets, the buyer gets some, the seller gets some and the greedy get none.  Those with an investment talk the market up and those that don't talk the market down. 

So here are my predictions.  The market has stabilised. Sales will pick up. The cheapest prices have gone. They have either been bought or prices adjusted upwards. The market will oscillate in a narrow band (plus or minus 10%) for a few years. Barring another financial disaster (global recession) by 2020 the Spanish market will revert to the usual worldwide trend for property.  It will rise at a rate higher than inflation. 

Again I have to say what I said previously, I am actually here NOW dealing on a day to day basis with what is really happening in the market and what is selling are the desirable properties and the feedback from the agents

Yes there are hundreds of propertes out there, hundreds that the banks have not yet released becaise they cannot afiord to

Yesterday I was viewing on Mazarron Country Club, the agent there originally had 50+ properties avaiable but now there are less than 20 for sale

I have been struggling all  morning to find apartmemts around Orihuela Costa for €70k