Friday 23 December 2016

Official Data Shows Spanish Home Values up 4% Over Last Year


Official Data Shows Spanish Home Values up 4% Over Last Year





The statistics unit of the Spanish central government released their latest figures recently showing that the property industry is going from strength the strength as the average price for residential property in spain increased 4% over the past 12 months.



Buying property in the Costa del Sol is on the
increase and will continue to grow.
The official figures look at many different kinds of monthly data, trends, and regional variations and they seem to show that just how the real estate market of 2016 has performed.



The data comes from information on deeds that were registered through the year, revealing that there was an increase of 3.5% of resale property values over last year, with new home builds being about 7.3% more expensive.



If taken on the quarterly basis then the figures represent an increase of 0.8% over the previous quarter, which is another encouraging sigh for the industry that these steady increases in property prices have become the norm now. It should also alleviate the fears of people on both ends of the spectrum; both the fear that prices are going up too much and that they have begun to stagnate.



The reality of the situation is far more reassuring and sober. There are still some stark regional differences, which is actually a good thing. While it’s true some prices fell a little in some regions, in particular Murcia, Castilla y León, and Communidad Valenciana, there were also increases in the more popular areas of Madrid, along with Catalunya, the Costa del Sol, and the Balearics. These increases show how much buyers value location and infrastructure.



The figures should offer people considering jumping on the property ladder in 2017 some encouragement as it’s expected that, as strong as 2016 was, 2017 will be even stronger to buy property in Spain and the Costa del Sol. 

Tuesday 20 December 2016

November Prices Remain Stable in Popular Regions of Spain

November Prices Remain Stable in Popular Regions of Spain

The Costa del Sol enjoy the recover better than others
The property prices in the more popular regions of Spainhave stayed at a stable level in the November price index, although 11 of the autonomous regions of the country saw average prices dip a little.

The Canary Islands and the Balearics were as popular as ever with prices slightly increasing, as well as increases in Murcia and Andalucía. However the average price for property in Spain fell 1.1% in November over October. Experts agree that this could be a seasonal dip and is very small.

While there has been some uniformity in Spanish property price trends – as prices are generally on the increase – the demand for property is different for some regions. The prices for homes in Castilla-La Mancha for example went down by 1.5% in November. There was also a 1.3% price drop in Catalynya, but there was an average price increase of 1.7% in Barcelona.

The Costa del sol has always been the most popular and robust region in the country for property, with the average price for property increasing in November by over 1%.

Even though there were some slight dips in property prices for the less popular regions of Spain the year as a whole has been great for the property market in Spain. The amount of homes sold has gone up each month and there are more foreign buyers than before, as well as the younger generation in Spain entering the property market thanks to an improved job market and mortgage availability.

The economy minister of Spain Luis de Guindos spoke about the recovery of Spain, saying that the country has the advantage now that the political uncertainty has finally ended. The data would certainly seem to back these claims as GDP could reach 3.2% in 2016. Unemployment is also improving and is down to 18.9%. The government that was behind the economic recovery of Spain in the first place is back in charge and ready to keep the course steady.

The president of the Spanish banking association AEB, José María Roldán said that the measures taken during the crisis are really paying off. There are a lot more jobs and the cost of living has stay low with growth beening strong, showing how effective the reforms have been. Mr Roldán added that the country needed to maintain their course as repealing and reversing the reforms would be suicidal for the country.

Monday 19 December 2016

Home Ownership Above EU Average in Spain


Home Ownership Above EU Average in Spain

New data from the statistics office of the European Union – Eurostat- - shows that 78% of Spaniards would describe themselves as being homeowners. As a result Spain is ahead of the EU average of 70%, but the number is a little smaller than the number of 2007; when 81% of Spaniards were homeowners.
Buying property in the Costa del Sol and Spain
continues to be very popular
The amount of people owning homes has fallen in UK, France, and Spain following the recession, but the damage has been mitigated in Spain. The UK is getting close to 60% home ownership, which would be the lowest number for a very long time.

It is the former communist countries that are performing the best with home ownership rates in Europe. Over 95% of Romanians and 90% of Croatians own the homes they live in.

Analysts believe that these figures are an indication of how poorly the real estate market is performing in these countries. They point towards Germany – with it’s regulated rental market – where only 51.9% of Germans are homeowners because renting is the norm there.

It looks like the younger Spanish generation, particularly the Millennials, are not all that interested in owning property because they grew up in a culture where owning things has been replaced by leasing cars, renting mobile phones, and even streaming music and television.

However the slightly contracted rates of home ownership in Spain are caused more by the lasting damage of the past two recessions. Millennials found themselves hit the most by the lean years and so they lack both the confidence and the funds to even think about owning property.

This particular anomaly could be changing however following the latest data from the Spanish National Statistics Institute (INE) showing that mortgage approvals continue to increase and that young Spaniards are eager to take their first steps on the property ladder.

Even though there are large upfront costs associated with owning a home it does prove to be more cost-effective than renting a property in Spain. The data from Eurostat also shows that Spaniards who rent a property end up paying around 23% more per month on average than their counterparts who purchase property through an owner-occupier mortgage.