Survey Finds Brits Looking for Property Abroad Still Prefer Spain.
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Costa del sol continues to be in such demand with its fantastic weather
and amazing Mediterranean lifestyle.
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While it is true the sterling has fallen a little, there’s
not been a shred of evidence to suggest that British interest in foreign
property has abated. Sales continue to grow in fact, even if they are growing a
little slower than before. A survey published recently by the Spanish Legal
Reclaims legal firm shows that British desire for Spanish property remains
high.
The survey showed that 55% of the people surveyed said that
Brexit had not affected their decision to purchase property overseas. In fact,
10% said that their interest in European property had only increased following
the vote.
45% of those surveyed said that they were most interested in Spanish property, with France coming in second at 37% and Italy coming third on
20%.
It’s hardly surprising that Spain remains the destination of
choice for British people looking for European property. Spain has always
delivered on a great lifestyle, great property prices and, of course, the
stunning climate.
There’s more propping up the Spanish property market than
just British buyers, however. Scandinavian, French, and German interest remains
high, while interest from domestic buyers has been on the up for the past two
years.
This has been shown by the sales data from April. Spanish
notaries have shown that sales decreased in April 2017 by 2% compared to 2016
thanks to the Easter effect. The Semana Santa fell in April this year, meaning
that banks, notaries, and mortgage lenders were closed for longer this year
than last year, which means it was harder for Spaniards to make their deposits
or take out their mortgages, which hobbled sales growth.
The excellent sales from March – an increase of 20-30% of
last year – could also be a testament to the Easter effect. The trend going
past these anomalies is one of positivity, showing the market is moving in the right direction.
