Is the Spanish Property Market Being Boosted by Climate Change?

Is the Spanish Property Market Being Boosted by Climate Change?

Spanish summers are getting longer which

is wonderful for the area

This idea sounds a little silly at first; how could climate change – a very real problem – be contributing to a market whose strength is determined by how many people buy and sell properties?

There is one voice in coming out of the Spanish property industry that is suggesting that the Spanish summers are getting a little longer and now high season has been extended so much that the property and tourism sectors of Spain are bound to see some benefit.

The voice belongs to Chris White; who has been working in the property industry of Spain for decades now. He believes that climate change has had an impact on the already excellent climate of Spain that has been good for both industries.

The warm summer sun in Spain can last into December, long into the darkest and most dismal part of the year for the UK when the weather gets colder, the days get darker, and it’s too early to get into the spirt of Christmas. The property market of Spain is really reaping the benefits.

White says that the weather is one of the primary reasons British buyers are so in love with Spain. Spain is such an ideal destination for Brits because the sun and the sea are just a short flight away.

He added that Spain has very appealing during this time; when the weather in Britain gets colder and the night comes a little sooner. White said that Spain is already seeing the benefits of longer summers thanks to the record tourism numbers and the fact that Spanish property transactions have gone up for 24 of the past 25 months.

It is a little difficult say for sure if climate change had anything to do with these record numbers however. The Spanish tourism numbers have been growing quite a bit across the past 18 months. Part of this is also the rise of terrorism in countries such as Egypt, Turkey, Tunisian and even France. These countries have all been gripped by the hands of terrorism and so tourists are choosing the safer shores of Spain.

The rise of the Spanish property market could also be down to the improved economy of Spain and Europe as a whole thanks to banks putting less stringent restrictions on lending and a more transparent market.

Even taking this into account there is a bit of truth to Mr White’s words. The latest data from Aena; who manage a selection of Spanish airports, suggest that there are more Brits than ever before booking Trips to Spain in November and December. The number of winter tourists is also rising at a faster rate than the number of summer tourists.

White says that there is definitely a correlation between the number of people visiting Spain and the number of foreigners buying Spanish property. The longer and warmer winters and autumns are leading to more visitors and even more foreign interest in Spanish property. These visitors are also able to enjoy the beaches and waters of Spain, which is a plus for them.

July Saw 9.6 million Tourists Visit Spain, With One in Four Being Brits

July Saw 9.6 million Tourists Visit Spain, With One in Four Being Brits

Spain is Booming again with record numbers of Tourists

and the property market making a marvelous recover.

Records continue to be broken in Spain. With the cost of living being so low and the healthy lifestyle and warm climate. The country has recently seen its busiest July ever as the official government figures confirm that over 9.6 million tourists came to the country during the month.

This figure is an impressive 11% increase over last July and continued the trend of 2016 being a record-breaking year for Spain, with many of these records being broken thanks to the Brits.

One quarter of all the registered tourists in Spain in July came from Britain and were part of the largest shifts in tourism seen in years. Egypt, Turkey and Tunisia have seen a spate of terrorist attacks that have seriously driven down tourism numbers. Instead these millions of tourists are heading to safer destinations such as Spain and Bulgaria.

Barcelona, the Costa del Sol, and the Balearics and Canary Islands saw the biggest rises in tourism numbers. Majorca is also currently fully booked through the end of September according to the data.

The final tourism figures for August aren’t known just yet but the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) are predicting a 25% increase in visitor numbers for the month. Turkey has seen a 30% drop in tourism while Egypt has seen a 60% decrease. Tunisia has barely seen any tourists at all following a beach attack from 2015 that saw over 30 Brits gunned down.

The president of the Spanish Travel Agents and Tour Operators Association Rafael Gallego says that around 15% of the tourists that Spain welcomed would not have come to the country if it wasn’t for other destinations like Egypt and Tunisia closing down due to these tragic events.

While the country is always open to more tourists many in Spain feel that 2016 could be the peak of Spanish tourism unless new accommodation; such as hotels and apartments, are built soon.

The Spanish construction industry is already gearing up torise to the challenge, with house building reaching heights not seen in over 5years. Foreign developers are also keen to begin building real estate and hotels in the more popular regions of the country.

Things are also improving on the consumer level. Department store El Corte Inglés are reporting that they saw a 25% increase in sales over the last year. Fears before and after the Brexit about the value of the pound saw many Brits book all-inclusive packages to essentially lock in the price of their Spanish Holiday. Thomas Cook is reporting that six out of ten of the holidays they sold in Spain were all inclusive.

An ABTA spokeswoman said that the around 20% of all the Brits who go on holiday abroad now go to Spain. This means that one in five Brits who left the country to go on holiday went to Spain.

Flexible Working Hours Being Considered by Spanish Lawmakers

Flexible Working Hours Being Considered by Spanish Lawmakers

Life would change as we know it but be more productive long term.

The Spanish would definitely welcome the idea of having more flexible working hours. They managed to defeat the stereotype that they were workshy a number of years ago when the Spanish economic crisis caused a number of hardworking Spaniards to seek employment in the rest of Europe as there were no jobs left at home.

The Spanish have always been hardworking. The truth is that working hours in Spain are some of the highest you can find in Europe, along with productivity. The Spanish really know how to work.

Unfortunately Spanish labour laws have been slow to change and as a result the country has started to fall behind the rest of Europe in terms of economic output. One of the things that has been blamed is the inflexible working hours that the Spanish have to put up with.

There is definitely some truth to the idea. Spain is an hour apart from the rest of Europe and tend to get things done later. They start work a little later, take their lunch break a little later, finish their work a little later, and dine and dance in Spain a little later than everyone else.

Because it’s considered the way that things are done in Spain it’s been difficult to bring about change. Now at last most politicians in Spain are in agreement that the working hours could be a little more flexible and that Spain should have similar working hours to the rest of Europe including Germany, the UK, the Netherlands and most of Scandinavia.

Before things can really change there needs to be a push from both a political and cultural direction. This is something Spain saw when they brought in anti-smoking measures. They are not perfect by any means but they haven’t found a foothold in the country.

The polls show that the Spanish are keen to have more flexible working hours. There is currently a campaign going on in the country to have them brought about. The campaign is called Mamiconcilla and they are spreading the message that politics should be a reflection of the needs of society, and that there is no shame in admitting you want things outside of work and want to spend time with your family.

There is another campaign that has managed to collect over 289,000 signatures. It has called upon incentives to be given to small companies that bring in an uninterrupted work day and a more flexible schedule. The idea behind the campaign is that more flexible workers are happier and more productive, as well as being more creative and also important for starting a new business.  

Madniaveitia, one of the campaigners with Mamiconcilia has said that it is more important to be flexible. Bosses need to understand that sometimes things come up and you need to leave work but will come back, or that you should be able to leave work if you’ve finished all of your tasks for the day.

It’s a controversial idea to be sure, but she is being heard by politicians who want to improve the Spanish work culture and foster a more northern European mindset, even if the idea sounds alien to Spaniards.

The CEOE is the largest confederation of employers in Spain. The head of the CEOE has backed up the idea of bringing in a 6PM clock-out time. They said that it doesn’t have to happen instantly but they definitely feel it is a possibility and one that should be explored and would not affect the cost of living in Spain in the long term.

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