With Spanish homes at their cheapest in Europe and prices on the turn, is it time to revisit the best way to buy a Holiday home in Spain?
Spanish Property-right price to buy?
European statistics from earlier in the year show that homes in Spain are now among the cheapest in Europe. First quarter of 2014, the average price per square meter was €1,459 making a typical 90 sqm 3-bed house €131,310. This means the price of housing in Spain is 54 per cent cheaper than in France and 45 per cent cheaper than in Italy on similar comparisons.
Yet Spanish property is on the move. There has been a 1.4 per cent increase in the number of property transactions in the three months to September 2014 compared with the previous three months, mainly driven by re-sales. The region of Andalucía – home to Costa del Sol – was highest, followed by Valencia – home to the Costa Blanca. (Spanish Property Registrars).
And House prices are stabilising, with an almost imperceptible change of -0.08 per cent on the previous three months, but increasing by 1.15 per cent on 2013. This official data shows, since the peak of 2007, prices are now 32.4 per cent less.
Buy Spanish new build holiday home
New Build purchasing will come back in vogue. Odd as this may seem, partly because there are lots of unsold homes and because some people feel they got their fingers burnt in the 2007 heyday, it makes sense on a number of levels. Developers have plots of land but until now, demand has not been obvious, nor has access to developer finance been easy. Now demand is re-emerging, not just from Brits, but a broader spread of nationalities. And sensible developers, who have taken a measured approach in the past, have finance in their coffers to invest in new building.
Statistics back this up with the number of permits issued to build new homes in Spain up by 5.7 per cent in the first nine months of 2014 compared with the same period in 2013 (Spanish Ministry of Housing). What’s more, with all the recent updates to the building regulations, the build quality is that much higher, owing to the more demanding specifications, helping minimise running and maintenance costs for holiday home buyers. There are great examples of this along the Costa Blanca.
Buy a Spanish Bank Repossession Home?
There is still a concern that Bank Repossessions are in danger of flooding the market, given there is so much stock in the pipeline. It is true there are a lot of properties involved, but some of the Banks are geared up better, to promote and sell their housing stock than others. Even if we are talking tens of thousands of properties, only about 5-10% of the stock might be of interest to international buyers. Even then, a bank may take 2-3 years to be in a position to put a property on the market, given all the repossession proceedings and title checks which might be needed to ensure a ‘safe’ property is put up for sale. So there is a pipeline of repossessed stock, not a dumper truck of them.
If you would like to know more about Bank Repossessed property in Spain or quality new builds, particularly along the Costa Blanca, then do get in touch, to chat your plans through by telephone +44 (0) 1932 849 536 or email info@property-venture.com
Property Venture® is an award-winning, UK-based agency for overseas property who helps people buy investment property and holiday homes in Europe, more easily and safely than they can on their own, because we offer grounded common-sense advice.
The focus is mainly greater Europe: Poland property, UK investments, Spain property, Turkey property, Cyprus property
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Tags: Bank Repossessions, Coastal Property, holiday home, investment property, new build, off-plan, Spain, Spanish Banks