Broaden Your Horizons by Retiring to the Costa del Sol

Broaden Your Horizons by Retiring to the Costa del Sol

with the quality of life and over 300 days of sunshine its

no wonder retiring to Costa del sol is so popular

Advertisers might try and pretend otherwise, but there’s no such thing as a single kind of retiree. Some retirees are richer than others; some of them are married and some of them are single; some are excited about the prospect of retirement and are looking forward to adventure, while the more exotic retirees are picturing relaxing by the pool with their third fruit cocktail.

There are many different kinds of retirees, but they do have one common feature; they all run the risks of having a closed mind. It’s only natural for a retiree to find comfort in what they know after living, working, and raising children for as long as they have.

Even so, retirees who rein in their horizons like this run the risk of missing out on some fantastic opportunities. If a retiree has enough financial security, then they owe it to themselves to finally live their dream of retiring to the sunshine of Spain.

There are a number of reasons that the Costa del Sol is the ultimate destination for turning this dream into reality. The Costa del Sol has a ride range of affordable and high quality properties on offer, but the perennial popularity of the region allows it to cater to any age, culture, taste, and budget.

Is your ideal retirement one where you can live out your twilight years with your friends and family without being a few paces away from your pool and sunlounger? If so, then the Costa del Sol is for you.

If you want to spend your retirement learning other languages, immersing yourself in other cultures, and broadening your social circle, then the Costa del Sol is for you.

If you want to find a comfortable home base to live out your wanderlust, then southern Spain is the place to be. No matter which direction you go in, you will be faced with the beauty and adventure of Spain; from exotic Morocco in the south, to the dry inlands of the Spanish plateau and the mountains of the Sierra Nevada, to the rich culture found in Sevilla, Cádiz, and Granada.

If this wasn’t enough, the Costa del Sol also has one of the best and busiest airports of Spain on its doorstep, meaning you’re never too far away from a trip back home.

Spanish Mortgages Hits Five Year High for January

Spanish Mortgages Hits Five Year High for January

The mortgage market is back and more and more are being approved

Recent data from the Spanish National Statistics Institute (INE) revealed 27,240 new mortgages were issued in January in Spain – making it the most issued in a single month since January of 2012.

The figure was also an increase of 16.9% over January of last year, giving credence to the prediction that 2017 could be even stronger for the Spanish property market than 2016 was.

The data from the INE shows that the average mortgage in January was worth €112,844, an annual increase of 6.4%. This figure also shows the increasing confidence of Spanish banks in the economy and property markets, as more banks than ever are loosening their purse strings.

It also shows that the average home buyer is in a better financial position, whether they be native or foreign. 36.8% of the mortgages issued in January were fixed-rate mortgages offered at the Euribor rate – a great option for young buyers with smaller deposits.

16 of the autonomous regions of the country saw year-on-year increases in mortgage activity during January. The only region that didn’t follow the trend was Castilla y León. Galicia, the Balearics, and Asturias saw the largest increases, with over 30% more mortgages issued in January 2017 than in the previous year.

If the previous 12 months were taken as a running total, the Spanish mortgage data shows an increase on the prior 12 months of 14.6%; with 285,000 mortgages issued in the past 12 months.

15.5 Million Tourists Expected to Reach Malaga Airport in Bumper Summer

15.5 Million Tourists Expected to Reach Malaga Airport in Bumper Summer

Malaga Airport – the airport serving the Costa del Sol – is set to see more records broken in 2017, according to the director of the airport Salvador Merino.

Its predicted to be another record breaking year

The airport recorded some 16.6 million passengers last year, and this year the director is predicting that 15.5 million passengers could enter the airport during just the summer months of this year; leading to a total of over 18 million passengers by October.

The airport director did admit that there were several factors that could affect the demand, but he also revealed around 90,000 flights are expected between the summer months of May and October, which is around 500 flights per day.

Several tour operators are analysing the trends from the start of the year, leaving them just as hopeful for another bumper summer season for Spain. Malaga airport is welcoming more flight routes and flight times to deal with the demand which is coming from not just the UK, but also from Belgium, Scandinavia, and the Netherlands.

The Malaga airport will serve a record 126 destinations by the summer, with 62 of these locations based in the UK (an increase of 9% over 2016), which only highlights the fact that Brits make up the bulk of foreign tourism and are the most predominant second-home owners in the Costa del Sol.

Malaga has also seen a 20% increase in connection routes to Germany and Italy in the past year, a statistic highlighting the growing popularity of Spain around the whole of Europe. Data published in February shows that Malaga airport welcomed some 867,382 passengers during January – an increase of 18.4% over January of 2016.

Spanish King to Pay Visit to Queen Elizabeth II in June

Spanish King to Pay Visit to Queen Elizabeth II in June

The Spanish King Felipe the VI will visit the UK with his wife Letizia as part of an official state visit to meet with Queen Elizabeth II, the British head of state. The visit was due to happen last year, but was postponed due to the political deadlock of the country. Now King Felipe’s calendar for 2017 has been opened up for ceremonial matters following all the officiating he had to do with the political landscape of Spain last year.

As momentous as the visit from the Spanish king will be, it is likely to be overshadowed by a visit from controversial US president Donal Trump, who will be welcomed by the Queen later this year.

Even so, a meeting between the British and Spanish heads of state is always an occasion worth savouring, especially during the current climate of uncertainty caused by the Brexit and the future of the relationship between Spain and the UK. While it’s not very likely for the royals to discuss highly political matters, their meeting offers a chance to symbolically show both Brits and Spaniards that there is a lot of goodwill still between the countries, forged by their deeply connected ties.

A report was recently released by the Spanish government showing the damage that could be caused to both the Spanish and British economies by a “hard” Brexit, which could cost the economies of both countries by up to €4 billion. The good news is that Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy is seemingly taking a sensible approach to the Brexit, telling reporters that they should avoid dramatizing everything. He said that they just need to have good negotiations, which is just what the UK, Spain, and Europe as a whole want, and he expressed his hope everything will turn out well for all involved.

It might not make the headlines, but Rajoy makes a great point; the day will be won by sensible debate. If the heads of state for both nations can have a meeting filled with smiles, handshakes, and great photo opportunities, then it gets proceedings off to the right start and ensures a harmonious future for all.

Victory for Clean Energy Advocates As Fracking Firms Abandon Spain

Victory for Clean Energy Advocates As Fracking Firms Abandon Spain

Clearly the people of Spain don't want fracking

Spain has been getting a bit of a bad rep lately as far as energy policy goes. Things went downhill when the country decided to “tax thesun” after a particularly generous support scheme for solar power several years ago that saw many homeowners happily install solar panels to receive a feed-in tariff (FIT) from the government.

The government thought it would be good to rein in their financial support of solar power, and now man homeowners with solar panels are in a position where they have to pay a “solar tax” to feed their solar power back into the national grid.

It’s obvious this wasn’t the intended outcome. Spain has a lot of large solar farms, and plenty of windfarms, but it takes more than just renewable energy to support a country the size of Spain right now, which is where fracking comes in.

Fracking is a controversial technique where natural gas is extracted from deep underground, and it’s dramatically transformed the energy sector of the USA, enabling the country to reduce its dependence on oil from Africa and the Middle East. Now the USA can even export their excess energy themselves.

It was hoped that Spain would be able to get on the fracking bandwagon. Fracking companies estimated there was some €700 billion euros in natural gas sitting under Spain that would only be accessible through hydraulic fractured drilling; a process where water, sand, and chemicals are injected into rock buried deep underground at high pressure, with gas extracted through a pipe.

Fracking is a controversial process, with many people living close to fracking sites reporting earthquakes, polluted water, and even fires. That is why there was such a strong opposition to the practice in Spain.

Even so, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy passed a law that allowed for fracking during his previous term, and explorations have already begun by five of the leading fracking teams in the US.

Given the nature of Spain though, it was only natural the natives would continue to be restless about the issue. As soon as a company headed out to a site, they would find themselves greeted by resistance from energy and environmental groups, seeking to block racking as much as possible.

These groups – such as Heyco, BNK, R2 Energy, SHESA, and San Leon – are celebrating this week following the announcement that all the fracking firms that entered Spain have now left the country behind.

This means that the energy future of Spain needs to be considered once again, but now maybe Prime Minister Rajoy will think again about using renewable energy, what with the natural gas stuck in the ground for the foreseeable future.

Land Registry Data Shows Spanish Property Sales up 19% in One Year

Land Registry Data Shows Spanish Property Sales up 19% in One Year

Spain property sales continues to break sales records

As if there wasn’t enough evidence out there that the Spanish property market has picked itself back up, the latest data from the Land Registry offers even more.

There are many different ways to measure how healthy the Spanish real estate sector is – such as mortgage data, notary data, data from the National Statistics Institute (INE), and search trends. Perhaps the most accurate way to measure this success would be the land registry.

Property sales in January of this year were shown to be 19% higher than in January of last year, which is the biggest increase for January since 2008; according to leading Spanish property agent Mark Stücklin.

Stücklin said that sales figures had been inflated in 2011 and 2013 due to government interference; referring to tax incentives issued during these lean years.

Stücklin is confident that this shows 2017 is truly the best start to a year as far as property sales go since the boom period ended. It also appears that there is plenty of demand across much of the country, with no region coming out ahead of the crowd.

The land registry data shows that the biggest transaction rise in January occurred in the Balearics, which saw an increase of 40%, followed by the 36% in Barcelona, 35% in Costa Dorada and 28% in the Costa Brava.

Property sales on the Costa del Sol were up 20% in Janary compared to last January, pushing it above the national average and a clear sign that property sales will remain strong across 2017 despite the looming concerns of Brexit negotiations and how they impact British buyers.

As far as the property types go, resales increased 21% compared to 2016, with 8% more new homes sold. Stücklin said that it was a reassuring sign that the recovery of Spanish home sales will continue into 2017, and that the increases seen in Alicante and Malaga suggest that international buyers are coming forward.

The Brits were still the largest single nationality in terms of foreign buyers in January, accounting for 11% of foreign buyers. Second was the Middle East with 8%, while Scandinavia came in third with 7%.

Time Runs out for Eta as Separatist Group Fully Disarms

Time Runs out for Eta as Separatist Group Fully Disarms

It’s been a long time since the Basque separatist group Eta could be considered a threat, and it’s now expected that the terrorist organisation will wilfully disarm themselves by April 8^th.

The regional Basque government announced on Friday that they have contacted the leaders of Eta, who say that they will not just lay down their arms next month, but will also offer up the location of all their weaponry stockpiles.

Eta have spent decades trying to create an independent Basque, but sympathisers have disagreed with their tactics and work by Spanish and French police have reduced the power of the group, rendering them unable to continue their attacks.

An ETA activist confirmed last week that the group will finalise their disarmament by April 8^th, with disarmament completed no later than the date of the French general election; April 23^rd.

Even though the Basque region is officially a part of Spain, ETA claims that a part of it is in southwest France as well. The governments of both countries have long resisted the actions and pressure of the group, which claimed hundreds of lives in the 80s and 90s.

The group was formed in 1959 and – since then – there are some 830 deaths attributed to the group. The last time they performed a deadly attack was back in 2010, which claimed the life of a French policeman in Paris.

The group has taken a more political approach since then, calling a ceasefire in 2011. Even though the group is still considered a terrorist group, many of the its members have begun hiding in plain sight.

Txetx Etcheverry – an activist with ETA access – said that ETA gave them the responsibility of disarming their arsenal, and that the group would be completely disarmed by the evening of April 8. The Basque government say they see the potential for a complete and final disarmament in the short term, and asked for the cooperation of the Spanish and French governments; asking them to open communication lines and show ambitious vision to reach a goal that benefits – and is historically important to – society.

Madrid is likely to welcome the news of disarmament. Spain has been fighting hard to keep its unity following the reign of Franco, and is still dealing with the Catalan independence issue on top of this Basque separatist problem.