Press Release Summary: With all the speculation about the Spanish property market of late, some may wonder exactly what kind of investor would head to the Iberian Peninsula now.
Press Release Body: With all the speculation about the Spanish property market of late, some may wonder exactly what kind of investor would head to the Iberian Peninsula now. Pessimists would say none, arguing that the country is a busted flush whose boom of recent years is about to turn to bust. Optimists argue that while the country has undergone a market correction following a house price rise of 100 per cent over five years, the market is stable and has good long-term prospects.
The former view is represented by bodies such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which last week tipped Spain, along with Britain and Ireland, as countries at risk of seeing a housing crash. This was noted by the Times, which added that the third quarter had seen prices in Spain up by just 0.3 per cent.
However, the IMF has been wrong many times before. In 2002, for instance, it said Britain was heading for a housing downturn and of course no such thing happened, a point several commentators have made. At the same time, some may regard the low house price inflation noted by the Times as a sign that something similar is happening to Britain, with the conclusion in both cases being simply that the market is finding its own level after racing ahead. That is not the same as saying correction spells crash.
Such a view is held by Propertyshowrooms.com, an internet portal which includes Spain Property among the countries where it operates. Nicky Segal, a supervisor at the firm, said: \"Spain is still a good market if you buy in the right place at the right time.\" This, she suggested, meant that investors needed to be clear about just what to look for in investments.
\"What I would say is that basically it\'s an emerged market, so there\'s isn\'t in general terms as much capital appreciation to be made. But that does mean that it\'s got a more established rental market,\" she added.
On this basis, the clear guidance to those looking to invest in property is not to do so expecting prices to rise rapidly, as that time has clearly passed. But buy-to-let is a different matter.
There is a good reason for this, Ms Segal explained. Quite simply, Spain still has all the advantages that it ever had: easily accessible credit, good air connections, popularity with people of all ages and extensive facilities.
Thus, she suggested, those who look to invest there will still do well - provided they are in it for the long term rather than a quick buck: \"It will always be a good market, it will always be a safe, secure investment - ok, you may not make a lot of money within a year or two years, but if you keep hold of it for ten years it will always make you money.\"
A report this week from property website Kyero.com said that three-bedroom villas were the most sought after properties by far, fly-2let.co.uk reported. In all, a third of UK investors were after 0.3 per cent of the available properties. Of course, a villa that could be rented to tourists is exactly the sort of thing buy-to-let investors could be interested in. Perhaps the message about how to invest in Spain has already been absorbed.
2025
