British Buyers Encouraged by Falling Asking Prices Despite Brexit

British Buyers Encouraged by Falling Asking Prices Despite Brexit

Regardless of Brexit Spain is a great place to buy property

Real estate agents are reporting that there is still strong interest in Spanish property from British buyers despite Britain choosing to leave the European Union. Most of the interest is people considering moving to Spain or buying a holiday home in the Costa del Sol or other areas.

The data from the latest index suggests that Spanish sellers need to be realistic in their estimations about how much property outside the popular areas is likely to cost. The latest data from Idealista about the asking price index shows that asking prices fell 3.1% nationally in June each year.

On a month by month basis asking prices have fallen 1.4% to their lowest level since the economy went south even though they rose briefly at the start of the year.

There are still some significant regional differences though. While the average index continues to fall nationally the asking price is recovering in some areas. Idealista were keen to point out that pries in some of the big cities and areas on the coast have actually risen after bottoming out. The biggest gains are the 19.5% of Barcelona, the 6.4% of Madrid and the 6.1% of Valencia.

It seems the Spanish market effectively have a two speed recovery according to the head of research at Idealista Fernando Encinar. He explained that even though prices were falling inland they were rising in the popular coastal regions like Madrid and Barcelona.

The biggest rises were seen in the second quarter of the year with 1.5% increases in Malaga, an increase of 0.8% in Costa Blanca, Tenerife, and the Canary Islands.

Real Estate agents are under the belief that this could mean more foreign buyers could enter the market and it looks like British interest has gone up following the Brexit vote. Some Brits feel disillusioned with the results of the referendum and are considering moving to Spain, especially the key cities of the country Madrid, Barcelona, and Valencia, and Malaga where there is a recovering economy and decent job market.

A report released last week claimed that the number of British citizens considering a move abroad had risen by 30% with Spain being the third most-popular choice after Australia and Canada. The London School of Economics released a study that suggested around 10% of the 18-25 year olds who voted to stay in the EU are considering moving abroad.

Spanish Economy Thriving Despite Lack of Government Says Santander

Spanish Economy Thriving Despite Lack of Government Says Santander

It looks like politicians from abroad need to take note – the Spanish economy is doing pretty well despite there not being an official government in the country since last December.

Spain continues to preform very well without leadership !

The leading back in Spain, Banco Santander, has analysed the most recent economic data and found that the economy is doing pretty well without leadership. The CFO of Santander José Antonio García didn’t say the country should stay leaderless though.

He released a statement saying that he hoped there would be a government by the time the second general election was over with in June. He did add that there was no negative impact on the GDP during 2016; a year that has seen Spain not have a Prime Minister.

The economy has been bolstered by the recovering real estate market and is actually performing better than expected. The CFO of Santander told Bloomberg that mortgages have gone up 25%, business lending in Spain has gone up 13%, and this has been happening year-on-year. He sees it as a sign that the Spanish economy is performing very well.

There are more metrics that suggest things really are improving. Property Sales in the Costa del sol and Spain  have gone up 4.4% in the retail sector, suggesting that consumers are becoming more confident in the high street. Mortgage lending also peaked at €5 billion in February. This was the highest that it has been in over six years, which also gives credence to the idea that a strong real estate market is a sign of a strong economy.

Spain will go back to the polls on the 26^th of June to vote once more in the hopes that this time there will be either a clear majority winner or, at the very least, a favourable coalition.

If the first five months of 2016 are an indication though it looks like Spain might not need as much leadership as was first thought. The country is doing a good job of running itself.

Spanish Holidays not Likely to Sell Out Despite Claims from Media

Spanish Holidays not Likely to Sell Out Despite Claims from Media

Costa del Sol is looking for another record breaking year

The British press are infamous for scare-mongering but every so often something comes along that people can’t help but believe because they’re so astonished by it.

This time the Daily Star was at the centre of the problem with their headlines about how apparently Spanish holidays are sold out after more people than ever booked a holiday.

Now it is true that Spain is seeing more holiday bookings and it’s also true that this is because British holidaymakers are going to Spain because more classic locations, such as Turkey, Tunisia, Egypt and Greece are becoming more unstable.

However it’s moronic to suggest that Spain could actually sell out and be unable to welcome any new tourists as part of the Easter holidays. Spain is great at bringing in millions more people in one go. They’ve always been good at handling the Easter surge as parts of the country are filled with Spanish tourists as well as European ones.

Hotels manage, roads manage, airports manage, and tour operators manage. Everything carries on. The only thing you’re likely to see is a small rise in prices during the really busy weeks. This is just how business works. Add in the extra space offered by services like AirBNB and private rentals and there’s really no truth behind the idea that a Spanish tourist shouldn’t be able to find a place in the sun.

The Daily Star managed to scare people even more by suggesting there was no more room on flights. They even had a RyanAir spokesperson suggest that they might potentially run out of seats. Do you really expect a company like RyanAir to actually say they have run out of seats and are not flying any more though?

The idea that there would be no more flights to Spain is ludicrous. There are plenty of good reasons that Spain is the top tourist destination. They have sun, sea, and a great lifestyle everyone enjoys. The reason that it’s stayed number one is because of how well it handles all these tourists. Spain may be busy but they always let anyone, no matter their age or background, come and find a piece of paradise.

It may get expensive to stay in Spain in the peak months but you’ll always find great value for money, security, convenience, great Beaches, peace of mind and you’ll be sure to find a lovely place in the sun. Spanish-Holidays-will-Sell-Out-2016