Great News for the Spanish Economy; Unemployment Falls by 180,000

Great News for the Spanish Economy; Unemployment Falls by 180,000

Jobs continue to be created 

Over 182,000 jobs were created in Spain during the third quarter of last year between July 1^st and September 30^th, bringing down the percentage of unemployed people to 4.66% and bringing the total number of unemployed people to 3.73 million; the lowest figure since 2008.

The third quarter has always been the strongest time for job creation in the country as it includes the busy summer period where plenty of seasonal jobs are created. However, when viewed over a long period of time the trend becomes very encouraging; the third quarter has been a booster for Spanish employment figures for five years running now, and the performance last year follows a strong second quarter that saw Spanish total unemployment drop below four million for the first time since 2009.

The data comes from the Active Population Survey (EPA) published by the government. The EPA registers not just unemployed people that report to their local employment office, but also the jobless people that aren’t registered for whatever reason. This means that the figures in the EPA are higher than other sources.

Even so, the data shows that the unemployment rate for Spain has fallen to 16.38%, which is about 2.5% lower than last year and continues the positive trend of an increase in job security, growth and financial stability of households and businesses.

Monthly Sales Figures for Spanish Property Top 40,000

Monthly Sales Figures for Spanish Property Top 40,000

The Costa Del Sols continues to grow in property

valuation which is great news 

An analysis of Spanish property sales data by market valuation and appraisal firm Tinsa shows that transactions have stayed steady around the 40,000 mark for the last few months. The performance suggests that the Spanish property market is entering the next phase of growth; a sustained, steady, and encouraging stage of growth that comes after the rapid increases in property purchases found when markets initially recover.

The analysis from Tinsa runs up to the end of July, when 38,841 Spanish properties were sold. This represents a 16.8% increase over July of last year and also means that – taken as being the end of a 12-motnh period – property sales were at their highest level for over six years, reaching a total of 437,000.

All 17 of the autonomous Spanish communities recorded increases in sales, with Tinsa forecasting that there could be half a millionsales recorded in 2017 – which would be the largest figure for a decade. If this was to happen though, it would mean monthly sales averaged 44,000, which sounds a little too optimistic for the current market.

Even so, with sales figures growing steadily and the robust economy, the Spanish property market can be confident about the 2018 ahead of them.

This €20 Note is Worth €9,000

This €20 Note is Worth €9,000

Check your 20 Euros notes to see if it worth 9000

At the start of September El Hormiguero (The Anthill) host Pablo Motos introduced a special €20 note into circulation, offering a reward of €9,000 to anyone that found it.

The winning note 0 with the serial number EA2081272879 – was used in a publicity stunt to pay for a meal at a bar in Villavieja in Castellón. Of course there’s no telling where the note is by now. It’s likely still in Spain, but it could have left the country and be anywhere in the world. 

What’s interesting is that no one has claimed the reward yet – at least we haven’t heard of anyone claiming it – and so the bounty on the note has increased to €9,000. 

Even though I’ve desperately checked the serial number of each €20 I come into contact with, I still haven’t found it. If I don’t have it though that means there’s a chance you might. 

So go ahead and check every €20 note you have on you before you spend it on Shopping. Turn out your wallet and purse, go through your pockets, and check behind the sofa. Think about what you could do with all that money. You could have a new kitchen installed, take the family out for an incredible vacation, or reserve your very own place in the sun.

I’ll go back to being serious now, and tell you just what to do if you’re the lucky owner of the €20 note. To claim the prize for yourself you need to send a photo and video of the note using Whatsapp to El Hormiguero using the number +34 674 012 847. Don’t forget you heard it here first!

Survey Shows Choosing the Right Supermarket in Spain saves Up to €3,000

The cost of living in Spain is still 

considerably cheaper than Northern Europe

Survey Shows Choosing the Right Supermarket in Spain saves Up to €3,000

The price differences between the cheapest and most expensive supermarkets in Spain could be as much as €3,013 per year for some regions according to a new consumer group study.

If you’re shopping at Alcampo – the cheapest Spanish supermarket chain – in Madrid, then you could be spending an average of €2,850 a year to feed your family; much less than the €7,329 per year you would be spending with Sanchez Romero; the most expensive supermarket chain.

The survey was performed by the Organization for Consumers and Users (OCU) and it found that the average disparity between the cheapest and most expensive stores in Spain is €909 per year.

Madrid and Barcelona are where the most expensive Spanish supermarkets can be found, with the city of Granada in Andalucía is home to the cheapest; the Dani Supermarket of Melchor Almagro Street, which is beloved by students for the cheap prices. Alcampo in Vigo is the second-cheapest Spanish supermarket, followed by an additional three Dani chains in Granada.

The city of Granada has the distinction of being the cheapest city in Spain for grocery shopping. The average shopping bill is around €4,051 per year for the city. The figure could be lower if more people stuck with Dani, but the OCU analysis wished to paint a broad and realistic picture of Spanish grocery prices.

The data analysed over 164,000 prices across 1,137 stores across Spain, covering 233 different products in total including fresh food, hygiene commodities, and drugs. There’s less choice in the smaller cities, making Crudad Real and Segovia two of the most expensive Spanish cities.

The cheapest chains after Alcampo were Mercadona, Simply Market, Carrefour, Maxi Dia, Eroski, and Lidl. Mercadona was the cheapest option for around half of all the Spanish cities in the study.

El Corte Ingles, Carrefour Express, and Supercor were some of the more expensive chains.

The data from the OCU shows that the German supermarket chain Lidl increased their prices by 4.3% compared to last year – the highest such increase in Spain – while Lupa, BM Urban, and Mas y Mas dropped their prices by between 2 and 3% compared to last year.

Spanish Government Plans to Create 20,000 Public Sector Jobs Across Next Two Years

Spanish Government Plans to Create 20,000 Public Sector Jobs Across Next Two Years 

creating more jobs can only be good for everyone 

The Spanish government has pledged to create 20,000 additional public sector jobs leading up to 2019. The move is part of an effort to provide the official authorities and services of the country with more support. 

The El Mundo newspaper is reporting that 7,000 of these jobs will be for general state administrations, along with another 3,360 positions opening for the judiciary.

4,000 jobs will go to the Spanish civil service, social security, and tax authority institutions as Madrid is looking to boost the ability of the government in key areas. 

It’s expected that many of these prospective roles will be announced – and potentially filled – by the end of the year. If this is the case, it would be one of the most powerful recruitment drives ever by a Spanish government. The vice president of CSI-F – the majority union in the Central State Administration – spoke to El Pais; saying that the plan looks to ensure the viability of the administration which has seen young staff decimated in the past six years. 

The official data shows that only 1,388 of the 190,858 public sector workers in Spain are under 30 years old. This statistic shows not only how public sector roles have been the domain of the old and connected Spaniard, but also the need for a fresh young mindset and new ideas. 

This doesn’t help that absolutely zero public sector roles have been created in the country since 2010. Spain has been dealing with austerity since 2010, but the current economy is holding strong and prospects are good, giving the government the freedom to bolster the public sector while they can.

Spain Reduces Amount of Unsold Homes by 300,000

Spain Reduces Amount of Unsold Homes by 300,000

The Costa del Sol continues its recovery

While there are some areas of Spain that are having trouble attracting buyers, some areas of the country remain as popular as ever; such as the Costa del Sol. Around half of the unsold properties that were constructed before the crash of 2008 have now been sold according to the latest data from the Caixa Bank Group.

The analysis looked at the bulk of homes that were long thought to be unsellable due to their location, lack of infrastructure, and low demand. It showed that of the 650,000 properties that were on the market in 2009, only 388,000 were still unsold by the end of 2016.

This was representative of a drop of 20% in just one year, with similar results expected in 2017. Caixa are predicting that there will be less than 315,000 of these properties on the market by the end of 2017.

Some areas, such as Costa Blanca and the Costa del Sol, are already running out of such unsellable properties. The areas that still have the most amount of these homes including La Rioja, Castille-La Mancha, and Valencia; the inland areas that don’t have as much demand.

To contrast this the problem doesn’t really exist in areas such as the Canaries and the Balearics, thanks in part to the popularity of the regions and the strict building controls.

The bank did further analysis that suggested property transactions would increase 12% in 2017; an increase on the 450,000 home sales recorded in 2016.

Caixa are also expecting that the average property price will increase 4.3% in 2017. Also on the increase is the number of foreign buyers, but it’s expected that British buyers will be a less dominant force with sales spread out between British, German, French and Scandinavian buyers.

It’s also expected the country, in particular Barcelona and the Costa del Sol, will see an increase in demand from Chinese, American and Russian investors.

Revision to Inheritance Tax Law Could See 30,000 Brits Compensated

Revision to Inheritance Tax Law Could See 30,000 Brits Compensated

Thousands of Expats can claim Compensation so speak

with the experts at Costa Del Sol Property Group

Spanish authorities could soon compensate thousands of Brits who were taxed unfairly. The European Court of Justice ruled last year that Brits who inherited a Spanish holiday home between 2011 and 2014 were charged a high rate of Inheritance Tax (IHT). Thousands of Brits may now be eligible to claim back these excessive charges authorities forced them to pay.

It’s estimated that the charges that were ruled to be unfair and illegal were applied to 30,000 Brits. At the time of inheritance they were classed as non-residents in Spain. Even spouses of deceased property owners who spent over half of the calendar year residing in Spain were erroneously categorised like this.

EU rulings mean that Spain has been now been forced to change their IHT laws that would previously levy punitive charges (some of which could reach as high as a third of the value of the property) in the event that a home was inherited by a non-resident EU citizen.

The changes in the law mean that legal proceedings have started to reclaim back the money paid to the Spanish tax authorities. Even so experts believe that it won’t be so simple to claim back the money. Right now the compensation procedure has not officially begun, though the Spanish government has created a five-year window that claims could be made in.

Spanish legal experts say that it could take six to eight months for a claim to be filed and compensation to reach the claimant. Many Brits would consider this wait worth it; the previous IHT laws saw Spanish residents become exempt from as much as 99% of IHT, while people who were deemed to be non-residents had to foot the entire bill; which could work out as being up to a third of the value of the property.

Spanish authorities demanded that IHT be paid within six months of inheriting the property. The British were the hardest hit by these charges because they are the largest group of foreign property-owners in Spain. The changes to the law were introduced in September 2014. It took a while but it looks like Spanish authorities have begun to get the ball rolling. It looks like the average repayment will be around €25,000.

Spanish authorities have conceded that non-residents who inherited a Spanish property within the past four-and-a-half years are eligible to claim back their taxes, but Expat homeowners in Spain only have one chance to lodge their bids for compensation.

If you  think you have been over charged then speak with Costa Del Sol Property Group today and claim your money back.

Potentially up to 100,000 Brit Investors May Receive Spanish Property Compensation

Potentially up to 100,000 Brit Investors Can Receive Spanish Property Compensation

NO WIN NO FEE contact us today

The financial crisis of 2008 has been especially harmful to property investors as property developers failed to secure their customer’s deposits before the worst hit.

The BBC has reported that an estimate of up to 100,000 Brits could very well receive compensation if they invested in property and lost their money.

Spanish Legal Reclaims (SLR) is the law firm behind this estimate and they believe that, as a result of a Supreme Court ruling from 2015, Spanish developers need to now pay back investors who invested in property marketed as off-plan. It’s been estimated that the Brits could receive up to £20,000 each in compensation.

One aspect of the boom in Spain was that people rushed to buy unbuilt homes “off-plan” so that they were able to get the best deals on the property. After the market turned sour in 2008 many of the more unscrupulous developers collapsed and the money that had been invested in them seemingly disappeared so now is the time to receive your lost off-plan deposit refunds

The Chief Executive of SLR, Luis Cuervo, condemned this and said that the money should have been placed into an account with a bank warranty that could cover the money even if the company failed.

The ruling by the Supreme Court means that financial instutions are now obliged to return the money to investors if the developer goes bankrupt or just disappears.

An estimated five million new apartments were built in Spain before the financial crisis hit. Many of these properties were built “off-plan”. A lot of these developments were later abandoned however, as developers continued to default and disappear after the 2008 crash.

It looked like the buyers were last in line to receive money from these firms as creditors went after them to reclaim debts.

It’s being recommended that Brits seek out the advice of an independent law firm that knows the law before trying to submit a claim. The law also states that a claim can only be made once. If the claim fails then there are no appeals and no way to make another one.

It’s being suggested that Spanish banks could end up paying out as much as £15 billion in these
off-plan development investors in compensation payouts as they will no doubt be the hardest hit as a result of all of these payments.