Spanish Mortgage Approval Rates hit Seven-Year High

Mortgages are on the up and banks start to lend more.

Spanish Mortgage Approval Rates hit Seven-Year High

Some 26,583 mortgages were approved in Spain during August, making it the highest monthly figure since 2010, not to mention a massive increase of 29.1% compared to the same month last year. 

The continued upward trajectory of Spanish real estate has been made clear by a range of data released over the year. Whether it’s the number of transactions, or prices, or regional growth and overall outlook, the Spanish real estate market is in good health and only growing.

This recent data, which comes from statistics released by the Spanish central statistics unit, is perhaps the most accurate reflection of how things are right now. The numbers tell us that the peak of summer is when the most homes are bought, and the economic data shows that more and more Spaniards feel financially secure enough to begin climbing the property ladder.

The figure is naturally topped up by buyers from Britain, Sweden, Ireland, Germany, and other countries. This is shown by the fact that Andalucía, home of the illustrious Costa del Sol, saw the highest annual increase in August mortgage approvals. 50.2% more mortgages were approved in Andalucía compared to August of last year.

The average mortgage amount is also increasing, albeit not as sharply as mortgage approvals. The average mortgage amount has increased a minor 0.7% to €111,488, which is still encouraging despite being lower than the average increase in property prices. It shows that banks are once again feeling confident enough to lend money.

When taken as year-to-date statistics, the first eight months of 2017 saw over 210,000 mortgages approved, which is an increase of 12.85% over the same period of 2016. When looked at in terms of the past 12 months, the increase becomes 12.1% with 306,000 mortgages approved in Spain between August 2016 and August 2017.

2017 Sees Nine-Year High in Spanish Property Sales

Southern Spain is truly back.. 

2017 Sees Nine-Year High in Spanish Property Sales

The National Institute of Statistics in Spain (INE) has published the latest provisional residential property sales figures for 2017 which show last year saw a nine-year high for total property transactions. 

This means that 2017 has become the most significant year for the Spanish property market since 2008, which was when the bubble burst and the crash began, leaving the real estate industry in a state that it has taken years to recover from.

Signs have been suggesting that the property market in Spain has been recovering since 2013, but this latest data marks the first time that the market has reached pre-crash conditions. Property sales figures increased across all 17 autonomous regions of Spain, and the 14.6% nationwide increase over 2016 sales figures left the total figure at 464,423 homes sold in 2017. 

This is in stark contrast to the 312,000 homes changing hands in Spain during 2012, which was when sales started bottoming out at the height of the recession. 2017 ended on a positive note as well, as the 32,211 transactions recorded for last December was an increase of 9.2% over December of 2016. It’s also around twice the notary data published recently that estimated sales would increase 4.5% in December. 

The fastest-growing region of Spain last year was Castilla-La Mancha, which saw an impressive increase in property sales of 24.7% compared to 2016. This is an area that doesn’t usually bring in foreign buyers, suggesting that a large part of the uptick in the Spanish real estate sector is caused by domestic recovery. 

Foreign buyers still remain an important part of Spanish real estate though, accounting for around 15% of home buying activity in 2017. Of this, Brits were responsible for around a fifth of all sales to foreign investors.

Spain continues is recovery and smashes all records yet again.

May Sees 9-Year High in Spanish Home Sales

The recovery of the Spanish property market has carried over to the summer, as the latest official data from the National Statistics Institute shows home sales reached a nine-year high in the month of May.

It was the summer of 2008 nine years ago; back when people began to notice the signs of an impending financial crisis. Even so, the moods were still high, if a little lower than during the summer of 2007.

Since then however, the property sector has been ravaged by a Spanish double-dip recession, an EU crisis, and a global credit crunch. It took a long time for recovery to begin, with things only looking up in 2013.

Despite the delay, the past 18 months have been very positive overall, and the latest data from the INE is the best seen for some time.

The official figures show that 44,782 homes were registered as sold in May this year; the highest monthly figure seen since back in September 2008, and a whopping increase on May from last year of 22.9%.

This is hardly an isolated incident either. When combined, the first five months saw a total of 191,537 properties change hands in Spain; an 11.8% increase on the first five months of 2016.

To offer a larger view, data from the INE also shows that, for the 12 months leading to the end of May 2017, home sales transactions were around 425,000; an incredibly encouraging 11.9% annual increase.

There are always regional imbalances when it comes to the number of transactions, but the data showed that sales were up in 16 out of 17 of the Spanish autonomous regions over last year. The Balearics and Castille-La Mancha in particular had strong sales; with increases of over 35%.

Other recent data from the INE shows that property pricesincreased by an average of 5.3% nationwide.

Spanish Mortgages Hits Five Year High for January

Spanish Mortgages Hits Five Year High for January

The mortgage market is back and more and more are being approved

Recent data from the Spanish National Statistics Institute (INE) revealed 27,240 new mortgages were issued in January in Spain – making it the most issued in a single month since January of 2012.

The figure was also an increase of 16.9% over January of last year, giving credence to the prediction that 2017 could be even stronger for the Spanish property market than 2016 was.

The data from the INE shows that the average mortgage in January was worth €112,844, an annual increase of 6.4%. This figure also shows the increasing confidence of Spanish banks in the economy and property markets, as more banks than ever are loosening their purse strings.

It also shows that the average home buyer is in a better financial position, whether they be native or foreign. 36.8% of the mortgages issued in January were fixed-rate mortgages offered at the Euribor rate – a great option for young buyers with smaller deposits.

16 of the autonomous regions of the country saw year-on-year increases in mortgage activity during January. The only region that didn’t follow the trend was Castilla y León. Galicia, the Balearics, and Asturias saw the largest increases, with over 30% more mortgages issued in January 2017 than in the previous year.

If the previous 12 months were taken as a running total, the Spanish mortgage data shows an increase on the prior 12 months of 14.6%; with 285,000 mortgages issued in the past 12 months.

Spanish Exports Reach All-Time High in 2016

Spanish Exports Reach All-Time High in 2016

Living in Spain is at an all time high and Spanish exports totalled €254.53 billion last year, which was not just a 1.7% increase on 2015, but also the best year ever for Spanish exports.

Everything in Spain is moving in the right direction.

Last year Spain was the best-performing country in the EU and Eurozone as a whole in terms of exports. This incredible performance also allowed Spain to reduce the trade deficit by 22.4%; bringing it to €18.7 billion; the second-best it’s been since 1997.

Imports were down 0.4% to €273.28 billion, suggesting that the country is shifting towards being more export-based; a model similar to the one Germany has. Germany has always been considered to be a country that knows how to handle business.

There was a rise in the balance between exports and imports, bringing the balance to 93.1% for 2016; another sign of this changing trade and a friendly reminder that there is demand for Spain and Spanish goods around the world.

Through posting this 1.7% year-on-year increase in exports, Spain was able to outperform the average of the EU (0..7%) and even outperformed Germany; which only managed to increase exports by 1.2%.

Exports were down during 2016 in several countries, including the UK, France, China, and the US.

The goods that were most commonly exported from Spain were ships, medicines, olives and olive oil, and electronic devices. Spain has become the third largest exporter of wine, fruits and vegetables in the world. Around 70% of the goods exported from Spain stay within the European Union.

The most popular imports of Spain, on the other hand, include machinery and equipment, chemicals, fuels, foods, and medical instruments.

Everything in Spain is on the up even buying property.

Spanish Manufacturing Finishes 2016 on a High

Spanish Manufacturing Finishes 2016 on a High

Spain is sill beating records in manufacturing

The Spanish manufacturing sector grew by the fastest rate in nearly a year during December 2016; a growth spurred by surging output and new factory orders. The data from a survey by Markit’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) shows that the index rose by 0.8 to 55.3 in November. This means that the index has stayed above the 50 line – which is the difference between growth and contraction – each month since November, 2013.

On top of this, new vehicle sales in spain were up 11% in 2016, despite fears that the government terminating the scrappage scheme (PIVE) at the end of autumn would mark the end of the recovery for the new cars market. A total of 1.14 million new cars were sold in 2016; up 10.9% over 2015 and the highest annual number since 2008.

Additionally, the data also shows the three car models that were most popular with the Spanish audience in 2016 were the Citroen C4 (34,615 sold), the Seat Leon (33,653 sold) and the Seat Ibiza (31,836 sold).

Spain continues t punch above its weight in all aspects of growth and anyone moving to Spain can see positive signs in all industries.

Spanish Property Enquiries hits Ten-Month High

Spanish Property Enquiries hits Ten-Month High

There really is no doubt that British home hunters are looking at Spanish property. In a summer dedicated to sport, and with the Rio Olympics on their way, perhaps it would be fair to talk about the Spanish property market using sporting terms.

Regardless of the Brexit outcome Spain looks a great

place to buy property over the next 6 years

The Spanish property market has always been a “podium finisher”, which is to mean that it’s always been popular around the world. Now though a new report from TheMoveChannel.com has suggested that Spain will win the gold medal in 2016 and we’re still only half way through the year.

The data suggests that Spain has become the number one property market for the first time since last September and has overtaken the US as far as property enquiries go.

TheMoveChannel.com reports that Spanish property enquires made up one in eight searches performed on the site in June, with a ratio of 12.27% of all searches being about Spain. This pushed the US down to third with 8.14% behind the UAE, where Dubai is, which was behind 10.12% of searches.

The quarterly data would suggest that the European destinations are becoming more popular than everywhere else though, as Spanish property enquiries went up 17% between the first and second quarter of the year. Italy also saw a major growth with a growth of 14% and there was also an increase in Portugal.

Things weren’t as nice for France however as the country slipped from fourth place to fifth with buyers heading to Spain instead.

TheMoveChannel.com’s Director Dan Johnson commented that the rise in popularity for Spanish property fell in the same month that the UK voted they would leave the EU. So right now it’s still a little too early to see how the Brexit will affect this demand as many of the enquiries were made by Brits. This data would suggest that Brits love Europe (or at least Spain) more than their voting habits would suggest.

Johnson added that the appeal was down to more than just lifestyle attractions. He believes that Spain is also highly sought after by investors. The Spanish economy has been growing steady since the third quarter of 2015 and key areas have seen property prices bottom out now.

Even after the pound weakened following the Brexit vote the Euro also saw a bit of a drop. This means that property still gives investors great value in the UK and elsewhere, with mortgage rates at appealing all-time lows.

Johnson also revealed that, when it comes to transactions, last month was the busiest month for buying property in Spain since July 2013.

Spanish construction industry Reaches Five Year High Thank to British Second Home Buyers

Spanish construction industry Reaches Five Year High Thank to British Second Home Buyers

Buying property off plan is coming back into fashion as the

demand is returning

Almost half of the Brits buying second homes find themselves drawn to the sun, sea and sand of the Costa del Sol. So much so that a study has shown the number of new builds being approved in Spain has hit a five year high.

The Ministry of Public Works published figures showing that new home licenses in Spain has gone up by 57.1%. This led to a total number of 16,782 new build licenses approved in the first three months of 2016, an increase over last year and the best quarterly result seen since 2011.

The study says that the reason behind the boom in residential construction has been caused because overseas buyers are coming back to the Spanish market once more. Demand from overseas buyers for Spanish properties is on the rise, with a lot of that demand coming from neighbouring European countries.

The leading homebuilder in Spain, Taylor Wimpey España says that the total number of sales so far this year is up compared to last year, with an increase in British buyers of 48%.

With more Brits looking to make their place in the Spanish sun the Costa del Sol has become the most popular choice. Nearly half of these foreign buyers are choosing to purchase property in the region.

The sales and marketing director for Taylor Wimpey España, Marc Pritchard, believes that this summer will be just as scorching for the real estate sector with momentum continuing to build in the market.

He says that construction in Spain is on the rise as the foreign demand is strengthening the real estate market as a whole.

The Costa del Sol has always been the region of choice for Spanish holiday homes and it is taking up that role once more with British people making it their location of choice for second homes.

With British buyers choosing the southern coast of Spain for their homes the optimism the Spanish people feel towards the market increases. It’s expected that these positive trends will continue on for the rest of the year.

Eight Year High Spanish Property Prices Continue to Rise

Eight Year High Spanish Property Prices Continue to Rise

Costa del Sol is seeing a massive return of savvy investors

buying property again.

With the Spanish property market looking so great and being so affordable there’s really no reason to not invest in Spanish property.

The average value of property in Spain has gone up by 6.3% in the first quarter of 2016. The new data shows a rise that hasn’t been seen since the third quarter of 2007.

The Spanish National Statistics Institute (INE) released the figures showing how the property market in Spain is re-emerging after the property bubble was burst in 2008.


The market slumped for five years which drove down property values, scared away investors, and created a general feeling of malaise in Spain as the economy cycled through anaemic growth, a loss of confidence, and austerity measures that punished more than they helped.

Data from the INE showed that by the middle of 2013 Spain broke through at last and the second recession was ending as there was a positive increase in GDP and employment rates and house sales were on the rise. Shortly after this property prices started to climb and now the value of resale homes was up by 6.4% during the first three months of 2016.

The new-build and off-plan property market also saw a nice boost. This area felt the brunt of the damage with many developers going out of business, leading to buildings that were either uncompleted or unsold. This also led to an oversupply that brought house prices crashing down. Now the market is up a generous 6.1%. All in all the first quarter of 2016 has been the most promising quarter for real estate since the third quarter of 2007.

The difference this time is that the rise in the market isn’t likely the forebear of another crash. The growth has been temperate this time around. As a result it is more sustainable. It’s also based more on the sustained economic growth and the interest coming from both domestic and foreign investors.

When it comes to actual house sales the INE data shows that the amount of transactions in the residential housing market of Spain was up by a massive 29% over the April in 2015, with a grand total of 35,199 properties changing hands. There hasn’t been a year-over-year increase this big since August 2010. It further proves that buyers are flocking back to the Spanish property market.