Good Deals to be had for Spanish Property

Do you want a holiday home, or a permanent home in Spain? If you do then now is the time to start your search as there are a great number of properties for sale, approximately 1 million and the expectation is that prices will continue to drop this year.

Good news for those looking to buy, not so good news for those selling private homes or developers.


The Spanish National Institute of Statistics show that house prices are dropping. In the third quarter of 2010 residential properties fell 2.2 percent compared to figures from 2009. Also new property prices and re-sales are also on the decline with a 2.6 and 1.8 percent decrease year on year.


In view of the economic crisis it would appear that sellers now know that they have to be more realistic when putting a value on their properties. Many more owners are willing to enter into negotiations as the want a quick sale.


The prediction is that house prices in Spain may continue to fall for another two years, so investors locally and abroad are watching what is happening in Spain and some have already made some key investments already.

http://www.propertysearchspain.com/en_benalmadena-costa-spain-apartment-2-bedrooms-1-bathrooms-131000_prop_524.html

GOOD DEALS ON EUROPEAN PROPERTY ATTRACTS BUYERS LOOKING FOR HOLIDAY HOMES

Europe’s largest property markets are attracting large numbers of British buyers looking for bargain properties. Searches in Spain, Portugal, Italy, Ireland and Greece have increased by 134% this year up until the end of August. It would appear that this is probably due to holiday home buyers trying to take advantage of the economic climate to secure themselves a bargain.
Spanish property searches increased the most by 145.7%, which would seem to indicate that Spain is still a popular country to invest in. Property searches in Portugal (123.9%) were second highest followed by Italy (98.9%), Greece (55.3%) and Ireland (44.1%)
The economic difficulties that these countries have undergone have probably contributed to an increase in searches by British buyers in pursuit of properties in these markets.
At the beginning of the crisis property prices dropped sharply but recently they appear to be holding firm. Maybe it is because of the belief of buyers that the markets are bottoming out that we are seeing an increase of activity from them.
It would look like foreign buyers are supporting prices in the popular markets and will continue doing so.

INCREASE IN SPANISH PROPERTY SALES

According to the latest statistics it would appear that house prices in Spain have fallen more rapidly in recent months. They are down 4.6% over the last 12 months. There has been an increase from -4% in June, to 4.6% in August in price falls. Costal property prices have fallen by 22% since August 2007.
When the rise in VAT on new home sales was introduced in July it was feared that property sales in Spain would plummet. However, the National Institute of Statistics show there were 38,838 home sales in July, which is an increase of 15% on the same time last year and 16% on the previous month.
Year to date cumulative sales up to the end of July are 10.3% up from last year but still down 47% compared to 2007. Sales have increased every month this year on an annualized basis.
Will this trend continue, we will have to wait and see!

RURAL SPANISH PROPERTY

It is a well known fact that the coastal areas in Spain have always been popular with those looking to purchase property and the Costa del Sol and Costa Blanca are still magnets for the majority of interest. However it is worth noting that many people are deciding to buy property in inland Spain, opting for rural homes instead of coastal homes.

There are various reasons why people opt to buy inland – getting more land and property for their money, cheaper cost of living compared to the coast, quieter rural lifestyle, getting involved in the local community.

There are lots of property options available in inland Spain, some people choose to live in the heart of the countryside in a finca or villa and others prefer to live close to or in the centre of a village, in a townhouse or an apartment.

Also for those looking for an investment, buying a rural property which needs renovation can result in a significant return on investment when it comes to re-selling the property.


If you have any comments or questions regarding living in rural Spain please get in touch.

A GREEK TRAGEDY

As long ago as 2,400 years approximately Plato refused to follow family political tradition, judging the then society and it’s ruling classes as weak, corrupt and decadent, he was also pissed off that his friend Socrates had been sentenced to death. He set himself the task of creating the perfect society (on paper at least) we know it as Utopia, but, like most ideologies do not take into consideration the essence of human nature, i.e., preservation and expansion of territory by force or cunningness in order to improve the quality of life of the few at the expense of the many.

Today the majority of Greek citizens are discovering once again the realities of what having a weak and corrupt government really means. They are staring at an uncertain future, full of hardship, misery and uncertainty some will actually die a violent death as they will try to ask questions of a government with no answers.

A Real Greek Tragedy with the only difference being that the script is written by men in grey suits operating from Wall Street.

Greece today is actually the Trojan horse of Europe; any attempt to bring it on line will cause disastrous economic consequences to the community as a whole.

CASSANDRA

The best golf experience at the Andalucian Open!

On Wednesday the 24th March I was lucky enough to be able to play in the Andalucian Open Pro-Am tournament. I was supposed to play with Miguel Angel Jimenez but when I arrived at the Parador, Miguel Angel told me that I would be playing with Darren Clarke instead. “Was I disappointed” he asked. You can imagine my answer! It turned out to be the best day’s golf of my life. Not so much because of how I played (I was so nervous my driver never came out of the bag until the 18th hole), but who I played with. Mr. Clarke is an absolute gentleman, gregarious, patient and inspirational.
The highlight of the course for me was sinking a 5 meter put on the eighteenth for a net birdie. This got our combined score down to 18 under par, but Darren’s caddie said it was not enough to win the competition. That evening I went to the prize presentation just to take a few photos and rub shoulders with my idols. When Darren Clarke saw me he beckoned me over to the bar and very seriously asked me if I remembered what I did on the eighteenth. A net birdie I replied nervously. He gave me a bear hug and told me that my put had won us the competition by one point. The rest of the evening I spent on cloud nine.

Requiem for Baltasar Garzón

Spanish Judiciary had been leading the way in years of prosecuting those who infringe human and civil rights anywhere. One magistrate (Juez) in particular Baltasar Garzón became world famous for pursuing and demanding extradition from great Britain of General Pinochet of Chile when he was visiting a private clinic in London.

Unfortunately for Mr. Garzón and international justice in general he is now finding out that whilst it was acceptable to chase cases of genocide abroad it was not kosher to investigate Franco’s period in office. During this time hundreds of thousands of citizens were executed just for being Republicans, gays or intellectuals…like the poet Lorca, who epitomized all three things at the one time.
Mr. Garzón is about to be tried by his peers for acting outside his allocated duties and very likely will lose his job and privileges. Someone once said that it takes 100 years to forget a civil war. How right he or she was! As soon as someone started to scratch the surface of this 30 year old Spanish democracy it reveals only hatred and animosity.
I feel sorry for you Baltasar but you should have left this matter alone for another seventy years at least.

http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltasar_Garz%C3%B3n