70% of Homes sold in Malaga Between January and July Sold to Foreign Buyers

 70% of Homes sold in Malaga Between January and July Sold to Foreign Buyers

Costa del Sol will always be in demand due to

location, lifestyle and the weather

People have known for a long time that the Costa del Sol has always been the main interest for foreign homebuyers and tourists looking at Spain. It’s the home of golden beaches, various resorts that fit all budgets and tastes, and the best and most affordable homes across Spain. Overall the Costa del Sol stands above, and beats out, the competition.

The providence of Malaga encompasses some of the biggest regions in Spain including the Costa del Sol, Nerja, Marbella, Estepona, and Malaga itself – which stands as a beautiful atmospheric city filled with culture and ancient wonder. There are also inland areas to Malaga so it’s no wonder that foreigners are always looking towards it.

Data released this week shows just how popular the property markets in Malaga truly are. The Notarie’s Assocation of Spain say that 70% of all the homes bought in Malaga between January and July were sold to foreign buyers.

To put it into actual numbers this accounts for 4,978 property transactions by non-Spaniards; an increase of 16.9% over the same time period in 2015. Across the whole of Andalucía, which includes Seville, Cádiz, Seville, and other provinces, there was an increase of 18.9% in foreign buyers in 12 months.

When taking domestic buyers into account there was a 10.1% increase in overall property sales in Andalucía between January and July compared to 2015. House prices were on the rise as well; an increase of 2.6% which is double the 1.3% national average.

Brits were responsible for a quarter all of the homes sold to foreign buyers in the Costa del Sol, further showcasing the love affair that Brits have with the Costa del Sol and Spain as a whole.

Almost 400,000 Homes Sold in Spain Across 12 Months to September

Almost 400,000 Homes Sold in Spain Across 12 Months to September

Data from the Office of National Statistics in Spain shows that some 395,000 homes were sold in Spain across the 12 months to September.

Spain is back with more and more homes being sold.

This number indicates a year-on-year increase of 13.2% and is the most homes sold across a 12 year period since the 12 months leading to July 2011.

This 400,000 figure might be less than the 775,000 homes that were sold during 2007, it is still a strong sign of the Spanish property market is becoming more active and healthy. It is also a continuation of the growth period that has seen price increases in 24 out of the past 25 months.

September 2016 saw 34,931 homes change hands, which is an increase of 13% over September 2015. When looked at as a whole the year of 2016 has seen some 311,000 properties sold so far; an indication that 2016 could see the most homes sold in a single year since 2008; which was the last year before the Spanish economy went into a recession following the global credit crunch.

Andalucía saw over 100 homes sold per 100,000 thousand residents, which would suggest that there is a split between the numbers of local, domestic, and international buyers.

This has always been the way things work in Andalucía. The Andalucían property market is supported by the sales across the Costa del Sol; particularly the sales of the luxury homes that are made available to wealthy buyers through and around Marbella.

Over Two Thirds of the Property Sold to Foreign Investors in Andalucía Are on Costa Del Sol

Over Two Thirds of the Property Sold to Foreign Investors in Andalucía Are on Costa Del Sol

The demand for the Costa del Sol keeps increasing

which good news for the whole region

A recent report from the Spanish Ministry of Development found that 7 out of the 10 Andalucía properties sold to foreign buyers during the first six months of the year were in Málaga.

A report published by the Spanish Ministry of Development showed that between January and July 2016, 70% of the properties in Andalucía sold to foreign buyers were in Málaga, which is the home of the Costa del Sol. This works out at 4,978 transactions, which is a 16.9% increase compared to this same period of time in 2015.

At the regional level there was a total increase in foreign purchasers in Andalucía of 18.9%, up from the 5,973 property transactions across the first six months of 2015 to a total of 7,105 sold in the same period for 2016.

The other Andalusian provinces are falling behind Malaga when it comes to properties sold to foreign buyers. Almería saw 797 real estate transactions registered, which was an increase of 33.7% for the first semester of 2015. Granada had an increase of 13.9% with 409 sales; Cádiz had an increase of 4.6% to 405 transactions; Sevilla had an increase of 47.1% to 262 transactions; Huelva had an increase of 23.5% for 126 transactions; Jaén saw an increase of 49% for 79 transactions; and Córdoba came in last place in terms of transactions with an increase of 16.6% for 49 transactions.

Spanish Homes Sold at Highest Volume in Five Years

Spanish Homes Sold at Highest Volume in Five Years

The Economic Ministry published new figures last week that show the amount of Spanish homes sold in June was higher than for the past five years.

Spain is defiantly back and investor are buying

The data shows that some 36,856 property transactions were registered in Spain during June. This was a 19.4% increase on June of last year and is the most homes sold in a single month since August of 2010. The figure also shows that there are 100 sales per 100,000 inhabitants of purchasing age; a threshold that has always been seen as the mark of a strong property sector.

Sales were on the up in 15 of the 17 autonomous communities of Spain during the month. The only communities that failed to report an increase were Navarra and La Rioja. June also can’t be considered a blip on the radar. For the year-to-date the average number of monthly transactions has increased by 16.4% compared to last year. Even taking the trend to the full past 12 months shows an encouraging increase of 14.7%.

The Spanish property market hasn’t seen such an increase in activity since August of 2011. It’s especially encouraging given that Spain is recovering from one of the worst recessions ever seen. Now though the Spanish economy is recovering and GDP is set to grow by over 2.7% this year and next year. Spain is also seeing a bumper summer season that is bound to brighten up those dark post-recession days and make them a thing of the past.

More encouraging data about the Spanish recovery and popularity came from the Airports Council International Europe (ACIS) this week. They found that the Malaga and Alicante airports are two of the fastest growing airports in Europe, seeing an increase in passenger numbers for the first half of 2016 of 14.6% and 16.1% respectively.

Elias Bendodo, the president of Turismo Costa del Sol said that the figures confirm what a great year the Costa is experiencing. Spain is seeing record numbers of tourists and are growing in the European market as a whole. If the first half of 2016 is anything to go by it looks the 2016 will be a record year for tourism in Spain.

Number of Spanish Homes Sold in First Six Months of 2016 Highest Since 2010

 Number of Spanish Homes Sold in First Six Months of 2016 Highest Since 2010

Thanks to a combination of low interest rates, affordable property prices, solid mortgages and a strong economy, Spanish real estate has never looked so attractive.

Spanish property sales continue there upward trend

The Spanish daily El País are reporting that the number of Spanish homes sold in the first six months of 2016 is the highest it’s been since 2010.

June saw a total of 36,856 real estate transactions across all of Spain and it looks like the summer months are going to see the trend from April, a month where sales growth year-to-year topped 19%, continue.

Growth was up 19.5% in June compared to June 2015, which also marks a three-year high for June. During the first six months of 2016 around 207,593 houses have been sold in Spain, according to the Economy Ministry. Most of the real estate activity has come from the five biggest cities of Spain; Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Alicante and Málaga. Málaga shouldn’t come as a surprise as they have the ever-popular Costa del Sol nearby.

VIVA already reported that foreign investment is responsible for a lot of this activity with real estate and construction making up a third of the €22 billion spent in Spain by foreign nationals.

The Institute of National Statistics did further analysis that showed the demand is increasing for luxury properties in Spain – something the Costa del Sol has in spades – as the economic recovery of the country is beginning to mirror the recovery being experienced by much of the western world.

Research undertaken by Bankinter suggests that the demand is only going to continue to increase. They released a report last week forecasting that Spain will see over 480,000 more property transactions in 2016, which would be a 10% increase over 2015. The bank also predicted that property prices will increase between 3-5% annually.

Experts are in agreement that the low interest rates are doing more than just encouraging spending. They are also making property investments in the Costa del Sol and Spain more attractive than regular savings bonds. All of this should lead to a strong 2017 and beyond for the real estate industry and Spain as a whole.

Over Three Quarters of the Spanish Homes Sold to Brits Were Resales

Over Three Quarters of the Spanish Homes Sold to Brits Were Resales

While it is still early days for 2016 it looks like three trends hinted at by the end of 2015 are coming true.

The first, and the most encouraging, trend is that the Spanish property market is recovering. It looks like both house prices and the number of properties being sold is on the rise.

Costa del Sol will always be a firm favourite place to buy property 

The second trend is that buying resales properties especially in the Costa del Sol are outpacing new properties. Second hand homes are being sold at a much faster rate than new properties. The third trend that is likely linked to the other two is that British buyers are coming back.

Brits were the buyers in one fifth of homes sold to foreigners in 2015. Data has emerged from the Spanish Ministry of Public Works that reveals that 76% of the properties that were resales were bought by British nationals.

At one point British buyers were all over the new properties being built in Spain. After the economy began tumbled during the past decade this interest went down. Now that the economy is more confident the British buyers are coming back and the property market in general is recovering.

The data shows that while there is still some interest in the new build market, especially among Scandinavian and Belgian buyers, the interest is still mostly in the resale market. Just over 69,000 homes were sold in 2015 to foreign investors. This was rise of 13% over 2014.

The reason that people are buying Spanish property has also changed a little since the market started to fall a decade ago. These days most people purchasing a house are interested in a holiday home rather than seeking to rent it out and make an income.

As a result of this shift the renting market in Spain has fallen each month for the past 35 months.