Part
One of Our Review of the Spanish Property Market in 2016
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| 2016 saw an amazing year for Spain and the Costa del Sol |
2016 was an overall bad year in general, marred with terror,
war, conflict, and loss. Even so, it was a good year for Spain as the country underwent economic and social recovery.
2016 was a very uplifting year for the Spanish property
sector, with each month proving to be stronger than the one before it. Today
we’ll be taking a look at what the first half of 2016 meant for Spain, in
particular the property industry.
January Saw Brits Splashing Cash
Data from January showed that €13 billion of the €65 billion
spent by tourists in Spain across 2015 came from Brits. This figure represents
an increase of 8.9% over 2014. The average British tourists spent around €111
per day with Brits contributing €40 million a day to the Spanish economy in
2015.
February Saw the North/South Divide Widen in Spain
An assessment of the property market in February showed
that, as is the case with the UK, there is a strong north/south divide in
Spain. The divide is particularly apparent with living and property costs. The
Spanish one is the opposite of the British one however as the best value is
found in the south, where living costs are around 15% below the national
average. In terms of property an 80 square foot property would cost €131,000 in
southern Spain compared to the €241,000-€328,000 average house price in the
north.
March saw a 14% Increase in Arrivals
Easter fell in March for 2016, which did wonders for Spanish
tourism. Data from the Spanish aviation industry shows that over 16 million people entered Spain in March; 14% more than visited the country in March of
2015. This figure was the first tangible sign of the most record-breaking year
in Spain.
April Saw the GMT Issue
Spanish politics were deadlocked for much of 2016. Mariano
Rajoy of the People’s Party (PP) pledged to bring Spain back to Greenwich Mean
Time (GMT) if he were to win the re-election; an election victory that Rajoy
enjoyed just a few months ago. The message appears to have stuck and it looks
like Spain could soon move their clocks forward an hour to embrace the timezone
appropriate for their geographical location.
May Saw Thoughts of Bill Gates
There’s a very good reason Bill Gates is called the World’s
Richest Man. He has legendary investment savvy and his geeky demeanour
disguises the ruthless competitor he really is. When Bill Gates took over €100
million and invested in Spanish property in 2013 it raised a few eyebrows. This
investment was considered to be a bit of a bust, but nothing is average about
Gates. He could see the long game; he invested knowing the country would
recover and now he’s reaping the fruits of that recovery.
June Saw Prince Increases Expected to Last Until 2025
As Spain welcome summer tourism was running wild in Spain by
the time it was announced by financial management professor at the IESE
business school José Luis Suárez forecast that property prices in Spain would
continue to rise until 2025. The professor calculates that the price of homes
in 2025 will be an average of 40% higher than they are today, and that this
would drive up new builds across the country with up to 140,000 new properties being erected across Spain annually by 2025.
