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.

Spain Ratifies Global Climate Change Agreement

Spain Ratifies Global Climate Change Agreement

Spain has joined the USA, China, India, Australia, and other large EU nations in ratifying the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. The agreement was initially drawn up last December in the COP21 conference.

Climate change is needed everywhere for our planet to survive

Spain will look to follow the terms of the Paris Agreement and come up with ways to limit global warming to below 2 degrees Celsius before the end of the century. Scientists have agreed that carbon emissions must be cut by up to 50% in most nations to prevent the global temperature from rising to above 2 degrees Celsius; which is considered to be the point of no return for global warming.

The Spanish Environment Minister Isabel Garcia Tejerina last week revealed that they will ratify the details of the agreement as soon as possible. Many people welcomed the news as the future of the Paris Agreement was unknown following Donald Trump being elected as the next US president.

While Barack Obama pushed the American ratification of the Agreement through earlier in the year Donald Trump, who is against the idea of climate change, has threatened to rip it up.

The USA are in for now though, along with China, Germany, the UK and India; some of the biggest polluters in the world. Spain have also now joined in.

Tejerna spoke at the COP22 meeting in Morocco where she said that ratifying the agreement means that Spain will be able to take part in deciding the measures of the agreement. She said that the change had reached the point where no corporation or government could stop it, and that we would have to see how the new American administration will react.

There was one time when Spain was the global leader in renewable energy. There was a time when power from wind and solar energy accounted for 15% of the power in the nation. Since 2011 things have gone a little backwards however. Spain has since scrapped the generous subsidies that made it easy and profitable for people to install solar panels, and now there is even a controversial “sun tax”; which is when people are charged to return their solar power to the national grid.

It’s expected that this ruling could be rescinded in the new government though. Solar power is becoming cheaper to install and will only continue to get cheaper, so there is little to no need for government support.