End of stagnation, the property market in Spain is experiencing an uptick in sales and prices have reached bottom !

After seven years of stagnation the property market in Spain is experiencing an uptick in sales and prices have reached bottom, according to a new analysis report.

With the Spanish economy improving, unemployment falling, tax revenue growing and a more stable banking system, lending figures are on the rise, says the analysis from Diana Morales Properties, an associate of international real estate firm Knight Frank.

It points out that the typical mortgage lending rate dropped from 4.21% to 3.29% over the course of 2014 and this has fed through to buyer confidence. Andalucía and the Canary Islands have seen some of the strongest surges in mortgage lending, up 25% and 26% respectively month on month, compared to the national average of 14.2%.

This renewed confidence and interest in Spanish real estate is most evident in Madrid and Barcelona where capital flows into both cities’ commercial markets topped €2.7 billion in 2014, the analysis says.

It also points out that the return of large US investment funds has been notable but not just in Spain’s main cities. ‘The acquisition of Sotogrande by US based Cerberus and developments to the east and west of Marbella by other US funds, as well as the purchase of Monte Mayor golf club by Russian investors hint at the extent to which the recovery is gaining traction,’ it says.

Marbella, a popular area with overseas buyers is building on a property market recovery that began in 2013 despite Spanish buyers failing to return in any significant number in 2014 and the Ukraine crisis impacting on the number of Russian buyers.

There was strong demand from an increasingly diversified client base of Scandinavian, Benelux, French, Arabian and Moroccan buyers which added to the record tourist numbers lending a certain buoyancy to the local economy.

Marbella and its surrounding municipalities of Estepona and Benahavis together recorded a 27.7% increase in property sales in 2014 compared with a year earlier.

Marbella, however, outperformed its neighbours, by experiencing an 89% jump in property sales between 2008 and 2014 according to Spain’s Ministry of Public Works. Benahavis and Estepona, by comparison, recorded rises of 62.3% and 22.8% respectively over the same period.

It also reveals that the amount of time properties spend on the market is dropping if realistically priced, while in some prime beachfront locations there is even a shortage of available homes, complete with waiting lists for specific property types.

The analysis says that new bank repossessions remain and this has prompted the return of new construction that remains for the moment primarily focused on individual villas and small to medium sized developments of apartments and villa communities.

Article following by http://www.propertywire.com/news/europe/spain-marbell-real-estate-2015050810487.html

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Foreign buyers have returned in force to Spain

Great news following by www.theguardian.com . You need to know it to make perfect decision.

Although hundreds of Spanish families are still being evicted every day for defaulting on their mortgages, foreign buyers have returned in force to the country's depressed property market.

New data from the Bank of Spain last week showed that foreign purchases in 2013 exceeded €6bn (£5bn) for the first time since 2004.

According to Knight Frank's Global Property Search, online searches for properties in Spain increased by 29% over the first three months of 2014 compared with the same period in 2013. More than a fifth of all Spanish residential sales – 55,187 transactions – were to foreign buyers.

"Foreigners are the only dynamic segment of the market today," says Mark Stucklin of Spanish Property Insight. "These are people buying on the coast and in cities like Barcelona." And it is not just private buyers, he says: institutional investors are also in the market. "The likes of Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Blackstone, George Soros and Bill Gates are all getting into Spanish real estate."

Some institutional investors are buying in bulk from Sareb, the so-called "bad bank" that has acquired thousands of unsold properties from failed Spanish banks and building societies.

The bank controls about 200,000 property assets – homes and developments – and it is selling houses at a rate of 60 a day. Sareb is now implementing a new strategy for marketing and selling the €50bn in real estate under its control, which could create yet further opportunities for international investors, says Stucklin.

According to Kate Everett-Allen of the international residential research department at Knight Frank, a surge in sales of both residential and commercial property began at the end of last summer, especially in Madrid and Barcelona, and included buyers from the US and Latin America. The French have also become big buyers around Barcelona.

A report by Spain's society of property registrars says Britons are still buying more property than buyers from any other country; they account for 15% of all sales to overseas investors, but that is down from 34% in 2007. French (10%), Russians (9%) and Belgians (7%) are next biggest.

For would-be British buyers, there are two key factors that are enticing renewed interest. The first is a belief that the worst of the eurozone crisis has now passed and that house prices, which have plunged 50% in some areas, are not going to fall much further.

The second factor is exchange rates. The euro-pound rate, which last July stood at €1.05 but is currently €1.21, is key: "When the euro reaches €1.22 the phones start ringing," she says."People who want to make a lifestyle choice with a second home see that, if prices haven't bottomed out after seven consecutive years of falling, they are close to it," says Everett-Allen.

For other, non-EU, nationalities, the Spanish government's so-called "golden visa" is also likely to spur demand. As yet there are no figures showing the impact of the visa deal, which offers legal residency to non-EU citizens who purchase a property valued at €500,000 or more. But estate agent Savills says a similar scheme in Portugal has succeeded in attracting Chinese buyers.

According to Spanish estate specialists Lucas Fox International Properties, Barcelona is among the current property hotspots for overseas investors, with growing demand for upmarket homes. More than four in 10 purchases there are as a second home, with many buyers planning to convert the properties into hotels or holiday flats. The agency says there has been a surge in interest from Russian, Chinese and Israeli buyers. Other agents report new interest from Scandinavians, as well as clients from the Middle East and parts of Africa.

It is at the very top end of the market, where the wealthiest overseas investors hunt for a place in the sun, that business is most brisk. The upmarket estate agent Engel & Völkers Spain said in a recent report that the firm's Mallorca offshoot had "sold more properties at the top end than in any other year of our 12 years of operations in this area".

Knight Frank classes "premium" clients as those able to pay at least €500,000 for a property. But the majority of Everett-Allen's clients, she says, are buying houses at two to three times that amount.

In the glamour areas of Ibiza, and Marbella and Sotogrande on the Costa del Sol, there are even the first signs of a shortage of available property, according to Stucklin.

"Most of the property on the coast will sell at the right price. Coastal developments will always be attractive.

"What will be harder to sell are the developments that have grown up around provincial towns in the interior. Unless the population increases, who will buy them?"


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Valencia and Madrid - property hotspot cities in 2015!

According Propertywire.com Valencia and Madrid have been named as potential property investment hotspots for 2015 as the country’s property market continues its recovery.
Madrid is currently undergoing a revival following a rocky ride during the last seven years and Valencia’s position as a key tourist destination mark them out, according to independent real estate agency Lucas Fox International.
The firm points out that in Madrid official figures show that sales were up 17% in 2014 over 2013 and the city and surrounding region have seen their first property price rises since 2007.
It adds that as well as being popular with overseas visitors Valencia is a business and investment hub has been aided by a government cash injection of nearly €4 million and been boosted by the success of hosting the America's cup in 2007 and the transformation of the City of Arts & Sciences.
Latest figures suggest that the number of property sales in Valencia has increased by as much as 30% compared to 2013 figures.
‘Five years ago, Madrid was a city in decline due to the meltdown of the financial sector and bursting of the property bubble, two sectors upon which the Spanish capital was very much dependent,’ said Rod Jamieson, director of Lucas Fox Madrid.
‘Today, following several key structural reforms and an important price correction in the property market, Madrid is back on the map as one of the best places in which to invest. The last year has seen a large increase in foreign investment from many different parts of the world,’ he added.
According to Juan Luis Herrero in the firm’s Valencia office the region has developed into one of Europe's most exciting and progressive cities and is known as the 'California of Europe' thanks to its long stretches of coastline, balmy temperatures all year round, renowned gastronomy, rich cultural heritage and architecture.
‘It also offers excellent accessibility to the likes of Madrid, Ibiza and Barcelona, it is no wonder that Valencia is increasingly becoming a target for opportunistic overseas property investors,’ he explained.
Both Madrid and Valencia have seen property prices fall by as much as 40% in some areas since the start of the economic crisis in 2007 and the firm believes that both now offer some attractive opportunities to overseas buyers, particularly in areas such as the Old Town and coastal areas in Valencia and the Salamanca, Chamberi, Justicia and Chamartin districts in Madrid.
 Lucas Fox is also currently collaborating on some key new developments situated in the heart of the city, geared towards residency clients and second home buyers.
‘Madrid and Valencia offer foreign property investors three key things: value for money, an excellent quality of life and a safe long term investment,’ said Lucas Fox founding partner Alexander Vaughan.
‘Both are quintessentially Spanish offering a vibrancy and cosmopolitan atmosphere less palpable in some of Spain's popular coastal areas. We believe that the desirable coastal areas of Barcelona city and province, the Costa Brava, Marbella and Ibiza will continue to prove popular for overseas investors during 2015 and beyond but this year we also feel confident that Madrid and Valencia will be attractive investment hotspots, appealing mainly to northern European, Chinese and Middle Eastern buyers,’ he explained.
Lucas Fox operates in Barcelona city and the surrounding coastal areas, the Costa Brava, Marbella, the Balearic islands, Andorra, Madrid, Valencia and Portugal.

Spanish house prices are still falling

Following spanishpropertyinsight.com - Spanish house prices are still falling in most places around the country, according to the latest local house price index, published quarterly by the appraisal company Tinsa.
 
The index for the third quarter of the year shows that prices were up in six provincial capitals, nine provinces, and three autonomous communities, but fell everywhere else.
The average national house price kept falling as a result, down 4.3% compared to the same period last year.
The cumulative fall in Spanish house prices since the boom topped out in Q3 2007 is now 40.3%, according to Tinsa’s valuations. That’s the first time the peak-to-trough fall has broken through the 40% barrier.
By provincial capitals, prices rose last quarter by 3.8% in Teruel, 2.1% in Zaragoza, 1.7% in Malaga (home to the Costa del Sol), 1.6% in Pontevedra, 0.6% in Cáceres, and 0.1% in Barcelona.
At the other end of the scale prices crashed by 16% in Salamanca and 15% in Segovia, both in the region of Castilla y Leon.
House prices in the Spanish capital Madrid fell an annualised 2%, which means a peak-to-trough decline of 48.7%. Not as bad as Barcelona province though, where prices are down 51.2% in total.
The record for cummulative declines goes to Guadalajar, down 59.4%, , followed by Zaragoza (-54.4%), and Valencia (-53.2%). So in some parts of Spain at least, house prices have more than halved since boom turned to bust.

Article: http://www.spanishpropertyinsight.com/2014/11/05/house-prices-still-falling-regions/

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Home sales in Spain up over 12% on a quarterly basis

Following PropertyWire.com: the number of homes sold in Spain increased by 12.1% in the second quarter compared to a year earlier and was boosted by an increasing number of foreign buyers. Data from the Ministry of Public Works shows that a total of 91,338 homes were sold in the quarter, the best second quarter since 2010.
It also shows that 16.4% of the sales were to foreign residents, as the number of purchases by non-Spanish citizens rose for the 12 quarter in a row.
In the 12 months from July 2013 to June 2014, some 337,115 homes were sold in Spain, a 12.2% increase from the same period a year earlier, according to the Ministry’s data.
The gains were led by a 12.2% increase in the Canary Islands. Other areas continued to see sales declines but much more moderate than in previous quarters.
Meanwhile, a judge in Almeria has awarded €135,000 damages to three British families who bought illegal homes a decade ago in Albox, in a case which might open the door for similar legal action around Spain.
The judge ruled that they bought their homes in ‘good faith’ and decided that they deserved compensation for living with the possibility of losing their home.
The judge also awarded €7,800 to another British family, whose savings were trapped in a home that was half built before work was stopped.
It is estimated that more than 250,000 homes were built illegally in Andalusia during the boom years, creating an emotional and complex issue for local authorities. A plan was approved by the ruling junta in 2012 to legalise homes, but there has been little progress.
A few weeks ago junta president Susana Díaz announced an additional 25,000 homes could be saved from destruction, under a new amendment to the plan. But there is still uncertainty about the fate of and ultimate legal status of the homes.
For years owners, many of them expats, have not known whether their homes would be demolished. In many cases they could not rent or resell their property with the legal case ongoing.
Last month prosecutors called for the demolition of 93 homes in Albox but the local mayor said the homes would likely be saved by the new legislation.

Article here: http://www.propertywire.com/news/europe/spain-real-estate-sales-201410079672.html

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