Press Release Summary: Love is still in the air when it comes to the relationship between British investors and the Spanish property market, it would seem.
Press Release Body: Love is still in the air when it comes to the relationship between British investors and the Spanish property market, it would seem.
In spite of worries about overdevelopment on the Spanish coast and panic selling of property stocks in the spring, investors remain keen to buy a home in the Mediterranean country.
In April, Lombard Street Research economists warned about a crash in the Spanish housing market, noting: \"The country is over-housed, households are over-indebted and the construction industry continues to churn out homes.\"
But now, five months on, it seems that British buyers are carrying on buying Spanish property. However, it seems that investors are moving away from the coast and considering properties further inland and more removed from popular resorts.
Mark Stucklin of Spanishpropertyinsight.com said the trend among property investors is \"into new areas, away from urbanisations of the coast\". He said there are \"lots of reasons\" for this change, particularly as some types of investors are not attracted to the high levels of development seen on the coast.
\"In the same way it happened in France, where people were originally down in the south, but now British people are all over France,\" he commented. According to Mr Stucklin, British buyers are the \"most important\" group of investors apart from the Spanish themselves.
\"The United Kingdom is by far and away the most important market for Spanish property,\" he said. Mr Stucklin claims British buyers are taking their time a bit more over investment and are more cautious. They look around and delay purchasing decisions, he said.
However, one fact remains, according to Mr Stucklin. \"What hasn\'t changed is that the British love affair with Spain is still strong,\" he said.
Since 2001, property prices in Spain have increased by 100 per cent, according to Halifax figures. Statistics from the Global Property Guide show that the average price of houses and apartments in the country increased by 9.1 per cent last year.
The Global Property Guide also states that the economic fundamentals underpinning the Spanish market are \"strong\". GDP growth remained above the EU average of two per cent, with its yearly average between 1998 and 2006 remaining in the region of 3.7 per cent.
Transaction costs for property investors are also \"moderate\", the website claims. The typical roundtrip transaction cost totals between ten and 14 per cent - which includes property transfer tax and commission for the real estate agent - according to the Global Property Guide.
2022
