Saturday 26 March 2016

Two-Thirds of Spaniards Live in Apartments/Flats


Two-Thirds of Spaniards Live in Apartments/Flats




Spain is where you will find the most people living in flats in all of Europe, and the lowest percentage of people living in houses, according to the latest report by Eurostat.

Andalucían town of Casares.
The figures are on European housing and they show that two thirds of the Spanish population currently reside in flats, while in other European countries such as Britain, Croatia and Norway, over 80% of people live in houses.

Flats are also popular in Latvia, where 65% of the population can be found in flats, Lithuania (58%) and Greece (57%).

Unlike other European flat-dwellers however, most Spaniards do actually buy property in Costa del Sol and own their own homes. 80% of Spaniards own their homes while only 20% rent property in Costa del Sol and Spain. They just prefer to own flats rather than houses.

Overall six out of ten Europeans live in houses, so just why do Spaniards prefer to live in flats? The answer is the urbanistaion of Spain.

Francisco Franco ruled Spain between 1939 and 1975 and during his rule many large apartment blocks were built. Many Spaniards left the countryside and moved to cities in Spain crawling with these buildings for the chance at a better life.

Spaniards will also spend more time enjoying the good weather outside than Northern Europeans. They have less need for large houses. While the notion of Spaniards living on top of each other in apartment blocks suggests otherwise, Spain is one of the least overcrowded countries in Europe. The Spanish are also very pleased with the way they live, giving their living conditions an average rating of 7.3 out of 10.

Friday 25 March 2016

Go-Ahead to Build Largest Leisure Park in Andalucía Given by Torremolinos


Go-Ahead to Build Largest Leisure Themed Park in Andalucía Given by Torremolinos.



Leisure park to be built near the Torremolinos water Park
Torremolinos council gave the green light to build the largest leisure park in Andalucía this past Tuesday when the town planning regulations (PGOU) received almost unanimous approval.

The giant leisure park will be built and developed by Intu Properties and will house shops, restaurants in Spain, a dry ski slope, and a large pool with surf waves. The area chosen to host the park is the area between the Palacio de Congresos and the motorway.

The leisure park project is expected to receive direct investments of up to 650 million euros. It is also expected to receive another 550 million euros through indirect investments. The construction of the park will open up 4,000 new jobs, with a further 3,000 jobs created through indirect employment.

This brand new leisure and shopping complex also gives good news for the Torremolinos council. The council is expected to receive 20 million euros from Intu Properties through the building license and other related fees. This is equal to roughly one fifth of the entire annual budget for the town. The park is also expected to generate 3 million euros through property taxes.

The park was part of the new planning regulations that were approved last Tuesday. All parties involved except for Izquierda Unida because if environmental concerns voted in favour of the new PGOU. This marks the first time in 20 years the opposition parties voted in favour of a new PGOU. The vote also finally ended the decade long planning stalemate the town had been suffering through.

The new PGOU includes more than just the park. The town centre will be pedestrianised, and cycle lanes and a river park will be constructed. The plan is to also create more green areas overall. Torremolinos also has plans to improve and enhance their Sierra.

Thursday 24 March 2016

Report Shows a Rising Demand by British buyers for Spanish Property.


Report Shows a Rising Demand by British buyers for Spanish Property.

The College of Property Registrars have released data that shows that there has been an increase of 81% in the number of British buying Spanish properties. This is a welcome return of foreign investors to the market.
Data was released earlier this year that showed that Brits were responsible for buying 21%, or one fifth, of the properties sold to foreign nationals in 2015. These statistics also show the strength of the recovery for British buying property in Spain.
British buyers in the Costa del Sol.
The amount of property transactions involving British buyers in 2015 was up to 9,956, a huge increase on the numbers for last year and more than twice the amount of French investors, who made up 9% of foreign transactions with 4,116 homes purchased in Spain last year.
The third largest group of buyers were the Germans, who purchased 7%, or 3,445, of the homes sold to foreign investors.
Demand from foreign buyers has risen by 11% in 2015 based on sales figures from 2104. The signs so far point to an even bigger rise in 2016.
Spanish Property expert Mark Stucklin says that the biggest story from last year is that there was an 81% rise in British demand for Spanish properties. The British are once again the dominant force in foreign demand, but they aren’t quite at the levels they were during the boom period and many northern Europeans are starting to move to Spain in search of a better lifestyle and warmer climate.
Stucklin also commented on what he feels made the market more desirable than in previous years. He said this was down to the low Spanish property prices, as prices have dropped roughly 40 to 50% from their peak before the crash, and the strength of the Euro compared to the pound making it very attractive to buy property in the Costa del Sol and Spain as a whole.

Wednesday 23 March 2016

Spanish Holidays up 27% 2016

Spanish Holidays up 27% 2016

The Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) has released figures showing that there has been a 27% in the number of British booking summer holidays in Spain. Many British tourist are turning their backs on the long haul flight and settling in southern Spain and Costa del Sol .
Costa del Sol
The Foreign Office has warned against travelling to places like Egypt and Tunisia and Turkey has become less desirable due to how close it is to the Syrian crisis. So now British tourists are deciding to play it safe and look a little closer to home for their fun in the sun.
The result is that old traditional favourites such as Spain, Cyprus, Portugal and Malta are seeing increases in bookings. Cities in Spain are ahead of the curve of course with the amount of people booking holidays already having the potential to break records.
The ABTA also revealed that the number of people choosing to travel to Turkey has gone down by a whopping 50%.
Travel Supermarket also released data showing that Spain is the most searched destination for people in Britain. People from other Northern European countries looking for some sun are turning away from places like Turkey, Egypt, and Tunisia. Greece is also becoming steadily less popular and now the Western Mediterranean is seeing a rise in popularity with flights through Spanish airports expected to be at all-time highs.
Tour and flight operators like Thomas Cook have decided to scale back the amount of flights and package deals they have available for the troubled regions. They will now focus these efforts on places people are enjoying the sun and with so many attraction in Southern Spain to choose from like beach holidays with abundance of water sports in Spain, with some much on offer should, hopefully, bring the price of a trip to Spain down.
The Costa del Sol has over 800 kilometres of amazing coast line and some of the nicest beaches in Spain. with an average temperature of over 20C year round, its no wonder why so many tourist flock to Southern Spain and the Costa del Sol.


Tuesday 22 March 2016

A “Death Map” of Europe Shows Living in Costa del Sol and Spain can Provide a Longer Life


A “Death Map” of Europe Shows Living in Costa del Sol and Spain can Provide a Longer Life.

Life expectancy longer in the Costa del Sol. 
Studies have been proving for a long time the health benefits of eating a Mediterranean diet and local cuisine in Spain, but it’s only now that a “Death Map” has been compiled by the British Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. This map shows that the people living a Mediterranean lifestyle really do live longer than other European people especially it seems with the climate of southern Spain that has w an average all year temperature of 20C and have less environmental concerns in Spain than other parts of Europe.
Death Map
It’s a rather morbid thing to look at but it does show the clear divide in Europe, especially between the richer west side of Europe and the poorer Eastern Europe. It also shows a divide between the colder, if not wealthy and high spending Scandinavian countries, and their sunnier, more southern relatives.
The study shows that people who live in the warmer climates of Spain, Italy, Andorra and the southern and western parts of France can expect to have longer and healthier lives than people living in the UK, Scandinavia and the Netherlands.
One of the main causes for this longevity is thought to be the diet of these southern countries. People in Spain, Italy and France eat far more fruit, vegetables, fish and olive oil in the restaurants in Spain. They also eat less processed foods and less red meat.
Combining this diet with warmer climates in Spain and great healthcare systems means that these people enjoy not just longer lives overall, but healthier lives too. The Mediterranean countries have far higher percentages of people aged over 75 and considered healthy than anywhere else. The NHS might be keeping British alive for longer but it’s not keeping them healthier.
The study showed that in the ten years leading up to 2011, the Mediterranean countries saw the largest rise in the number of people aged between 75-84. There was also a rise in the 85-94 age bracket.



Monday 21 March 2016

Study Finds the Cost of Buying Property in Spain and Living is Cheaper in Southern Spain Over Northern Spain.


Study Finds the Cost of Buying Property in Spain and Living is Cheaper in Southern Spain Over Northern Spain.

The United Kingdom has a north-south divide that can be found in politics, class, and even football rivalries. This north-south divide is something that is no longer found only in the UK.
A study done by Kelisto.es has found that Spain has a north-south divide of their own, especially in terms of the cost of living. It’s different from the UK divide, however, in that value for money is found down south.
            Cost of living in Spain
Research showed that the cost of living in Barcelona was as much as 30% higher than the national average cost of living. However down in the southern cities of Jaén in Andalucía and Cáceres near Extremadura the cost of living is over 10% lower than the average.
Higher living costs were found all the way across northern Spain including San Sebastián, Madrid, and Palma, the capital of Majorca.
The price of property is also cheaper down in southern Spain. It’s cheaper to both rent property in costa del sol and buy property in the south. An 80 m2 home in the northern states of Barcelona or San Sebastián would set you back on average between €241,000 to €328,000. In the south however it costs around €131,000.
Kelisto.se also looked at living costs and took daily living costs into account. These costs are how much tax people pay, the costs for public transportation in Spain, the cost of accommodation and petrol, the average price for daily essentials like bread and milk, and also the cost of leisure activities like tickets at the cinema and a meal for two including beer.
They took a look at 50 cities overall and there was a strong correlation between high wages and high costs of living in Spain.
The research showed that San Sebastián had a cost of living that was roughly 28% higher than the national average, but the average household income was also around 25% higher than the national average.
The inverse was also shown to be true. Teruel is the tenth cheapest city in the country where citizens pay approximately 8% less than the national average, but the average income there is also around 11% lower than the national average wage.



Sunday 20 March 2016

A new study shows that buying property in Costa del Sol and Spain is the top location chosen by UK nationals.

A new study shows that buying property in Costa del Sol and Spain is the top location chosen by UK nationals.

Study shows that British do love the Spanish property market, data shows how they represent for one in every 5 property purchases made by foreign nationals last year. They love the assortments of different regions and locations available. Spain again is one of the leading holiday destinations for British nationals.
Costa del Sol, Spain
No shock then that a new International shipping company “Pack Send” have issued a survey and it reveals that one of the most popular locations amongst the people of Great Britain has been named as Spain for removals and shipping their belongings overseas
The low price of living costs in Spain is also a big reason for people to choose this location, it has always been known for its healthy diet, fantastic climate and easier way of life and offers a very high life expectancy, second in the world after Japan.
Southern Spain and the Costa del Sol has always been known to have a fantastic climate in winter months with and average all year temperature of 20C, when most of its northern European countries have very cold winters. It is not difficult to see why lots of people from northern Europe choose this part of southern Spain for health reasons due to the warm climate and Mediterranean lifestyle and 800 kilometres of beautiful coast line and beaches in Spain being very clean and with a flights only being just over 2 hours very accessible. Property prices are expected to slowly grow of the coming years as Spain recovery is now in full swing.