British Holidaymakers Spent an Average of €48 Million per Day in Spain Last Year

British Holidaymakers Spent an Average of €48 Million per Day in Spain Last Year

Brits continue to flock to the Costa del sol 

Everyone knows that Brits love heading to Spain when they’re choosing a destination in the sun. It seems the Brits weren’t content with just being the main property investors and tourist group for Spain in 2017, as they were also – sort of – the biggest spenders.

As a collective British holidaymakers were spending an average of €48 million a day in Spain, which works out at around €2 million EACH HOUR. All in all, this figure accounts for 20.1% of all tourist spending in the country in 2017. Tourism spending reached a total of €86.82 billion in Spain, with Brits spending around €17.42 billion of that.

German tourists were barely spending more than Brits pre head, but their overall €12.2 billion spent in Spain puts them below the British. The reason for this was that there were more Brits than Germans in Spain 2017, with around 18.78 million Brits and 11.89 million Germans visiting.

French and Scandinavian tourists threw another €7 billion each into the Spanish economy last year, leading to tourism accounting for 11% of the GDP for the country; meaning tourism is one of the most important industries in Spain. 

The data comes to us from the Ministry of Tourism in Spain and shows just how important it is that Spain continues attracting city breakers, sun-seekers, hikers, golfers, and culture vultures to their shores.

Overall, a total of over 81 million people visited Spain during 2017, representing an annual increase of 8.6%.

Holiday Price Rise Next Year According to Thomas Cook

Spanish Popularity My Lead to 5% Holiday Price Rise Next Year According to Thomas Cook

Malaga airport has broken all records again for

tourists visiting the Costa Del Sol 

Leading travel agent Thomas Cook told British holidaymakers that the average trip to Spain in 2018 will cost around 5-10% more than it did compared to last year because of the increased demand and the pound being weaker.

As British, Irish, and Scandinavian holidaymakers begin to forgo other areas of the Mediterranean due to the threat of terrorism, Spain has seen record numbers of visitors. The official data shows that 2017 was the best year ever for Spanish tourism. This increase in demand also means that supply may have trouble keeping up however. This is why Thomas Cook believes holidays may be up to 10% more expensive in 2018.

Thomas Cook remarked that there was evidence holidaymakers will continue to snub Egypt and Turkey – despite the resorts in those countries being cheaper than Spanish resorts. Safety will always win over affordability, according to the travel agent. While the pound may weaken against the euro even more next year, the amount of British visitors going to Spain in 2018 isn’t likely to change, according to Thomas Cook Chief Executive Peter Fankhauser.

The executive also added that Spanish hoteliers are to take advantage of the unique position Spain is in by increasing their prices, but did add that many of them would use the additional profits to improve their facilities and expand upon them to guarantee long-term gains over short-term profits.

Data Shows 48% of Brits who Moved to Spain Last Year were Retired

Data Shows 48% of Brits who Moved to Spain Last Year were Retired

Regardless of Brexit, Spain continues

to be the choice of retirees

The latest data from the Spanish Office of National Statistics (INE) showed around half of the 300,000 British citizens that moved to Spain in 2016 were retired. 48% of them were retired.

According to the data, three times as many Brits moved to Spain across 2016 than Spaniards moving to the UK. The demographics were also vastly different. Most of the Spaniards moving to the UK are aged 40 or under.

The amount of retirement-age Brits living in Spain has more than doubled across the past decade. Spain has become the destination of choice for British retirees because of the warm climate, affordable property, cheap flights, and EU membership, ensuring that pensions are index-linked to inflation and grow each year.

British pensioners also stand to receive free healthcare in Spain due to reciprocal agreements between Spain and the UK. The UK has become an attractive choice for young Spaniards seeking to advanced their careers and improve their English skills.

The data from the INE showed 22% of Brits registered in Spain were also employed in the country, with most of them working in hospitality or catering.

It seems that Brits like to live on the coast, with the Malaga Province – where the Costa del Sol can be found – is a perennial favourite; bringing in over 100,000 new UK immigrants across 2016.

The data also revealed Brits took an astonishing 13 million visits to Spain in 2016 (with a “visit” classed as any stay under 28 days), much higher than the 849,000 visits Spaniards made to the UK.

Data Shows Spain Made €60 billion From Tourists Last Year

Data Shows Spain Made €60 billion From Tourists Last Year

Spain broke all tourism records in Europe 

The latest data from the UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) shows that tourism provided the Spanish economy with €60 billion across last year – which is more than for any other country except for the USA.

The difference is that Spain’s tourism numbers are growing, while America’s are contracting following the election of President Donald Trump. Not only is Spain’s tourism industry growing, but it’s growing at a rate higher than any other leading destination.

The figures from the UNWTO show that the US received €173 billion from tourism in 2016, which makes it the clear winner. Spain came in second, followed by Thailand and China for tourism revenue.

The UK – which came in third place in 2015 – dropped to seventh. The country made €29 billion from tourism, which is the lowest figure for some time. Experts believe that the Brexit – and the effects of the decision – are to blame for this drastic drop.

An interesting figure is that of France, which came in fifth place for tourism revenue in the world in 2016, even though UNTWO figures suggest the country received the highest overall number of visitors. This would suggest that people visiting France do so fleetingly; whether it’s because they are passing through the country on their way to other neighbouring countries, or just because they stay for a few days.

France topped the charts of overall visitor numbers thanks to some 82.6 million visitors across 2016. The US came in second with 75.61 million tourists, followed by Spain with 75.56 million visitors.

What is interesting is how quickly change is happening and the directions of the change. American tourism dropped 3% between 2015 and 2016, and continues to fall across 2017. France saw a 2% drop between 2015 and 2016, and it’s expected the fall will be greater this year following recent terrorism threats.

Spain, however, saw an increase in visitor numbers of 10% across 2016, and all the signs are there for an even stronger 2017; which could leave Spain clinching the top spot by the end of the year.

Average Spanish Property Values 2.3% Higher in June Compared to Last Year

Average Spanish Property Values 2.3% Higher in June Compared to Last Year

Costa del sol continues to be a great investment 

Data on the price of Spanish property from valuation firm Tinsa shows that the average selling price of property in Spain was 2.3% higher this June compared to June of last year, bringing the streak of monthly increases in house prices to 10 straight months. 

While the data from Tinsa doesn’t go into the actual average property price for each region, it does show the largest increases in prices are found in the coastal regions and major cities. The average property price for regional capitals was 4.2% for example, which is above the national average. While property prices increased an average of 2.4% across the Mediterranean coastline. 

When analysing the average house price across the first half of 2017, Spanish property prices were up 2.8% compared to the first half of 2016, with island property prices seeing the sharpest increase at 7.2%. 

The price increases will no doubt be welcomed because they are gradual and steady. There hasn’t been a price shock, spike, or crash across the past 18 months plus. It’s just been a consistent increase in demand, which means a consistent increase in price. 

These factors are giving economists and property experts alike plenty of encouragement. They can see for themselves an industry with plenty of foreign investment and a growth in domestic interest, as well as increasing confidence from businesses and lenders. 

This is the reason for the 2.4% increase in building licenses across the past year. It’s also why actual sales increased 23% year-on-year as of May, and mortgage approvals increased 10.4% in April – a figure that correlates with the decrease in unemployment as Spanish unemployment has fallen 10.7% across the past year.

Spanish Property Sees Foreign Investment Double in One Year

Spain continues to be a fantastic place to buy property 

The latest data from real estate investment analysts JLL shows that the Spanish property market welcomed a total of €888 million from foreign investments during the first half of the year – over double the amount of investment in the same period of time in 2016.

The analysts found British, French, German, Swedish, and Russian buyers are still the largest sources of foreign investment in Spanish property, accounting for a total of 13.2% of properties purchased in Spain last year. This represented the largest amount of foreign buyers entering the Spanish market in over a decade, with all signs indicating 2017 will see another record set for foreign ownership.

Based on the figures from last year, Brits were responsiblefor 19% of the property bought by foreigners, once again taking the lead as the most prominent foreign nationality.

Eight percent of foreign buyers came from France, while 7.6% were German and 6.7% were Swedish.

A total of 53,000 properties in Spain were sold to foreigners in 2016, meaning that if current trends of foreign interest continues for the rest of 2017, there could be close to 100,000 Spanish properties sold to foreign buyers by the end of the year.

The Spanish property market is being boosted by more than just foreign interest. Domestic demand has increased thanks to the economic recovery and the growth of the job market, which has compelled young Spaniards to take their first steps on the property ladder; enticed by affordable property prices and favourable mortgages across the country.

Andalucía Enjoys Bumper Year as Backdrop for Hollywood Blockbusters

Andalucía Enjoys Bumper Year as Backdrop for Hollywood Blockbusters

Films being made in Spain are on the up

Andalucía offers something beautiful and varied, which has resulted in it gaining quite the reputation as a backdrop for world-class movies and TV shows. Andalucía was the filming location as 1,336 TV shows and films across 2016.

This represents an increase of 10% on 2015 and is a sign of the status the region holds for being the Hollywood of Spain.

With this growth came a number of benefits to the region, as the official data from the tourism board of Andalucía shows the economy was boosted by €118 in 2016 thanks to all the TV and film shooting. Some 15,500 jobs – most of which were temporary – were also created.

Mint Media Capital director Neil Hudson confirmed that London Heist is being released by Lionsgate in the USA on the 11th July and being premiered in London on the 12th July and officially released 17th LONDON HEIST – is Now Available to Pre-order @ AMAZON http://Amazon.co.uk  http://tinyurl.com/y7ua63w7 .  London heist was filmed in Marbella and London and stars Craig Fairbrass as a notorious bank robber and gangster.

Andalucía councillor Francisco Javier Fernandez praised the city as becoming one of the leaders of cine-tourism. The success has been thanks to a collaboration with the Andalucía Film Commission.

The film industry has generated plenty of employment for the community and has stimulated the economy. Thanks to information from travel portals such as TripAdvisor, there has been an increase in the number of people searching for holidays in the areas where films and TV shows were filmed.

Andalucía served as the backdrop for major motion pictures and TV shows such as The Trip to Spain, Game of Thrones, and the Spanish adventure film Oro. Seville has become a popular destination due to the incredible sunlight, stunning architecture, and the willingness of the city council to welcome big budge

t productions.

Moving beyond Seville, the mountainous terrains of Andalucía make it a prime choice for a range of genres and styles of TV shows and films, from historical productions to futurist ones.

http://mintmediacapital.com/eis.html

Spanish Property Prices to Rise 6% This Year

Property Prices to Rise 6% This Year

Property prices continue to rise

The world’s largest real estate service CBRE published a report this week detailing a bold production that Spanish property prices could rise by up to 6% on average across 2017.

The CBRE data builds on the positive news from May suggesting average property prices increased 5.3% more than in 2016. This positive trend is expected to continue across the year for the rest of the country at the most, and certainly in the places where there’s the highest demands for property.

This includes the coastal regions of the Costa del Sol, Costa Brava, the Costa Blanca, the Balearic and Canary Islands, and the major cities of Barcelona, Madrid, Malaga, and Valencia.

These regions are expected to see sustained demand for property and steady price increases, and are expected to see an increase in building activity. CBRE forecasts demand for new builds will reach between 120,000 and 140,000 properties a year by next year, meaning that regions such as the Costa del Sol – where demand is beginning to outstrip supply – could get the developments and urbanisations they need.

There is also some positive rumblings coming from the rental market – which is typically an accurate example of how healthy the Spanish property market is.

CBRE expects the demand for rentals will increase an average of 1.5% nationally, while the annual return on investment in stronger property markets is likely to stay around 5% - likely causing an increase in buy-to-lethome purchases.

Leading Bank Predicts 2.5% Rise in Spanish Property Prices This Year

Leading Bank Predicts 2.5% Rise in Spanish Property Prices This Year

The future is looking bright for property owners in Spain

Leading bank BBVA – in their latest property market analysis – predicted Spanish property prices are due for an average increase of 2.5% this year, with the Spanish economy continuing to improve and the number of unsold homes continuing to dwindle.

Conditions as far as both metrics went improved drastically during 2016. It’s expected that Spanish GDP will grow another 3% during this year, putting many domestic and international buyers alike in the perfect position to buy their Spanish home in 2017.

BBVA bank also expects that – as a result of low mortgage rates and reduced numbers of unsold properties – that more property transactions will take place this year. It might not be as sharp as the 13.5% increase from 2016 (which some experts believe could be actually be as high as 19%), but it will still be impressive.

All in all, it’s expected that over half a million properties could be sold in Spain during 2017, with many of these purchases financed through Spanish mortgages. BBVA did issue a warning that these low interest rates aren’t forever, and are already expected a downturn in the amount of mortgages issued in 2018 as interest rates start crawling up.

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.

Land Registry Data Shows Spanish Property Sales up 19% in One Year

Land Registry Data Shows Spanish Property Sales up 19% in One Year

Spain property sales continues to break sales records

As if there wasn’t enough evidence out there that the Spanish property market has picked itself back up, the latest data from the Land Registry offers even more.

There are many different ways to measure how healthy the Spanish real estate sector is – such as mortgage data, notary data, data from the National Statistics Institute (INE), and search trends. Perhaps the most accurate way to measure this success would be the land registry.

Property sales in January of this year were shown to be 19% higher than in January of last year, which is the biggest increase for January since 2008; according to leading Spanish property agent Mark Stücklin.

Stücklin said that sales figures had been inflated in 2011 and 2013 due to government interference; referring to tax incentives issued during these lean years.

Stücklin is confident that this shows 2017 is truly the best start to a year as far as property sales go since the boom period ended. It also appears that there is plenty of demand across much of the country, with no region coming out ahead of the crowd.

The land registry data shows that the biggest transaction rise in January occurred in the Balearics, which saw an increase of 40%, followed by the 36% in Barcelona, 35% in Costa Dorada and 28% in the Costa Brava.

Property sales on the Costa del Sol were up 20% in Janary compared to last January, pushing it above the national average and a clear sign that property sales will remain strong across 2017 despite the looming concerns of Brexit negotiations and how they impact British buyers.

As far as the property types go, resales increased 21% compared to 2016, with 8% more new homes sold. Stücklin said that it was a reassuring sign that the recovery of Spanish home sales will continue into 2017, and that the increases seen in Alicante and Malaga suggest that international buyers are coming forward.

The Brits were still the largest single nationality in terms of foreign buyers in January, accounting for 11% of foreign buyers. Second was the Middle East with 8%, while Scandinavia came in third with 7%.

Demand for New Spanish Homes Increases 32.5% in a Year

Demand for New Spanish Homes Increases 32.5% in a Year

Buying off plan property is back in demand as each

new development sells out very quickly

While resale homes are making up the bulk of the Spanish property mark

et, there’s been an improvement in the new build sector across recent months. The data from the Ministry of Development shows that, for the first eleven months of last year, there were 32.5% more requests for building permits than during this time period in 2015.

There were a total of over 59,999 building permits granted in the first 11 months of 2016, which is the most granted in this amount of time for over five years. It is a massive increase of 72% compared to the same time period in 2014; just three years ago.

5,934 permits were granted in November alone – an increase of 25% over 2015 and the most permits granted in a November since 2010.

The data would suggest that the recovery of the Spanish housing market is pretty balanced; positive figures are being posted by both the resale and new build sectors.

What is most encouraging is the sustainable, stable growth of the new build sector. Before the market crashed in 2008, Spanish property was being constructed at lightning speeds. In just 2006, some 900,000 new homes received building permission.

It was obvious that the rate of development was unsustainable. It took the country over half a decade to work through the incomplete, unsold, or just unsellable homes. These days things are looking much better. There’s barely any oversupply left at all in the most popular areas of Spain such as the Costa Brava, Costa del Sol, and the Balearic and Canary Islands.

Part Two of Our Year in Review for Spanish Property in 2016

Part Two of Our Year in Review for Spanish Property in 2016

The second half of 2016 continued the positive momentum of the first half, proving anyone who thought the optimism would be dented by the political strife of Spain and Europe as a whole. How wrong they were…

The Costa del Sol continues to recover and confidence has returned

July Was Just Marvellous

There were a lot of positive words said about the Spanish property market during July; including how things were performing and where things could go in the future. It was suggested during July that the market could be headed to five incredible years of growth, beginning with 2016. These positive words came straight from the director of the real estate programme in the University of Barcelona Gonzalo Bernardos. They were echoed by Mark Stucklin of the UK, who added that Barcelona, Marbella, Madrid, Ibiza and the other hot spots of Spain are guaranteed to achieve growth.

August Was a Real Job

The data from August 2016 showed that Spain had their lowest drop in unemployment in over 20 years with over 84,000 jobs created in June. Many of the jobs were seasonal roles, but it was still representative of a 3% year-on-year increase of the amount of people in the workforce. Needless to say the figures represented positive trends for the economy.

September saw Expat Enjoyment

All this data wouldn’t mean much if Spain couldn’t attract people to its shores. There are many other countries that offer affordable properties and a stable economy, so what is it about Spain that attracts all the expats? There are a number of things really; the culture, the climate, the people, and the history. This balance is the reason that 92% of the expats living in Spain said they were satisfied with life; adding that Spain was a comfortable and easy country to settle down in.

October Offered Food For Thought

The climate and the friendly natives aren’t the only things bringing the world to Spain. TripAdvisor suggests that Spain is home to what is considered to be the greatest restaurant in the world in Lasarte; a three-Michelin star restaurant found near San Sebastian. Lesarte managed to hold on to the achievement for the second year in a row and was joined in the list of top-ten restaurants by neighbouring Azurmendi Gastronomic.

November Saw Sustained Sales Growth

The Office of National Statistics (INE) had seen by November how excellently the Spanish property market had performed during 2016. They unveiled data showing that almost 400,000 properties were sold in the 12 months leading up to September 30. This was an increase of 13.2% in a year, and really showcased the stability of the market which saw increases in home sales during 24 of 25 months. It looks like 2016 could be the year Spain sells the most properties since the recession.

December saw Records Broken in the Costa del Sol

December saw Spain end the year on quite the high. Some 12 million visitors flocked to the Costa del Sol in 2016; an increase of 10.2% over the previous year, and the highest number of visitors ever recorded in the region. Thanks to some 26 million overnight stays and over €11 billion spent by tourists, 2016 was truly a record breaking year for Costa del Sol. It’s expected that the region could smash all the new records as soon as 2017.

Three Great Ways to Ring in the New Year, Spanish Style

Three Great Ways to Ring in the New Year, Spanish Style

Bringing in the New Year in Marbella is always special

Okay it’s not even Christmas, but with all the hustle and bustle of Christmas sometimes we forget about New Year’s Eve until it’s midnight and you’re by yourself with the TV listening to other people having a lot of fun.

The good news is that if you’re spending New Year’s Eve in Spain then you’re never too far away from the nearest party. This is one of the great things about living in Spain and expat life; you’re surrounded by good friends who are always up for a laugh.

However the waiting will always prove to be the hardest part. It’s all too easy to find yourself thinking that someone else will do something, just as you would in any crowd. This can often leave everyone disappointed. So why not handle things a little differently this year?

Here are three great ways to ring in the new year, Spanish style, to give yourself the best start to 2017 possible.

12 Lucky Grapes

Wine is made using grapes and Spaniards eat grapes at the stroke of midnight for good luck. If you remember that wine is made with grapes you’ve got a good idea where we’re going with this. The tradition is to eat 12 grapes, one at each stroke of midnight. Why not break from tradition just a little and have a little bit of wine each strike instead? 12 sips is about half a glass and you’ll have already had a lot by then so it’s not like a little more can hurt.

On the Right Foot

Some areas of Spain observe the tradition of starting the year off on the right foot literally. So you would need to step forward with the right foot as the clock strikes midnight. Let’s get a little more creative with this. What about if your right foot stepped you into something different, like a pool? Or into a limousine ready to take you out? Or maybe it just takes you to the stereo so you can change the music. It doesn’t matter where it takes you. What matters is that you start the new year in a memorable fashion.

Do it Twice!

Thanks to the strange time-zone that Spain is in the country as an hour ahead of their neighbour Portugal. If you’re feeling particularly adventurous and want to keep the party going then why not have to New Year’s Eves by driving and head to Portugal to do it all over again? It can be boring to just wait at the border so instead you should ring in the new year in Spain in the western town Badajoz. From there you grab your designated driver and make the 25-minute drive across the border to Elvas. If you time it right then it’ll be about 11:30 PM and you can regale the locals with tales of the future.

Official Data Shows Spanish Home Values up 4% Over Last Year

Official Data Shows Spanish Home Values up 4% Over Last Year





The statistics unit of the Spanish central government released their latest figures recently showing that the property industry is going from strength the strength as the average price for residential property in spain increased 4% over the past 12 months.

Buying property in the Costa del Sol is on the

increase and will continue to grow.

The official figures look at many different kinds of monthly data, trends, and regional variations and they seem to show that just how the real estate market of 2016 has performed.



The data comes from information on deeds that were registered through the year, revealing that there was an increase of 3.5% of resale property values over last year, with new home builds being about 7.3% more expensive.



If taken on the quarterly basis then the figures represent an increase of 0.8% over the previous quarter, which is another encouraging sigh for the industry that these steady increases in property prices have become the norm now. It should also alleviate the fears of people on both ends of the spectrum; both the fear that prices are going up too much and that they have begun to stagnate.



The reality of the situation is far more reassuring and sober. There are still some stark regional differences, which is actually a good thing. While it’s true some prices fell a little in some regions, in particular Murcia, Castilla y León, and Communidad Valenciana, there were also increases in the more popular areas of Madrid, along with Catalunya, the Costa del Sol, and the Balearics. These increases show how much buyers value location and infrastructure.



The figures should offer people considering jumping on the property ladder in 2017 some encouragement as it’s expected that, as strong as 2016 was, 2017 will be even stronger to buy property in Spain and the Costa del Sol. 

Property Prices in Spanish Mediterranean up 6.2% in Year to August

Property Prices in Spanish Mediterranean up 6.2% in Year to August

Property prices in the Costa del Sol are still

moving in the right direction and now is a great

time to buy.

Properties sold on the Spanish Mediterranean Costa del Sol maintain their value and respond positively to the fluctuations in the Spanish property market more than in any other location in Spain.

Property prices on the Spanish Mediterranean coast have risen in prise by an average of 6.2% in the past 12 months according to new data from Tinsa.

On a regional level the biggest price rises were seen in the Costa del Sol, Costa Brava and Costa Blanca. Next came the properties in the Canaries and Balearics, which saw prices rise by an average of 2% compared to last year.

On a nationwide level however property prices are slightly down. The Tinsa data showed that average prices for Spanish property were down around 0.5% across the past 12 months. There’s currently no definitive reason for why these prices have gone down but some experts are suggesting that the lack of a Spanish government has caused confidence to go down in some places.

Tinsa uses their IMIE General Index data to analyse property prices and this has been their job for over a decade. The most recent data shows that Spanish property prices are still around 42% below the peak they enjoyed in 2007 which would show that the market has corrected itself since the boom and subsequent crash that followed.

Property prices in Spain were between 1,320 and 1,340 on the index since autumn 2014. This August saw the average value reach 1,322 on the index which also suggests that prices have stabilised in the past two years.

As is almost always the case in Spain there appears to be a big regional split. Property prices in small towns and inland regions have gone down by 2.8% in the past year. However prices are up 6.2% on average in the Costa del Sol, continuing the trend of rising property prices that began in 2013.

Mediterranean property prices have gone down by 46% since2007. This is still above the national average and shows just how unsustainable the prices during the boom of 2007 were. The market is much more sober these days and things become more attractive when they are sober.

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.

Spain’s Booming Tourism Sector Could Grow 3.8% This Year

Spain’s Booming Tourism Sector Could Grow 3.8% This Year

Spanish resorts like Puerto Banus has always had success when it comes to attracting tourists even in winter.

The Spanish tourism industry has caused the Spanish economy to recover as well as brought smiles to the millions of Brits every year. It’s also behind at least one in five jobs that have been created in Spain this year. The Spanish tourism industry is set to continue to grow in 2016.

2016 all set to break records

Exceltur, the driving force behind the Spanish tourism sector, has altered their growth forecast for 2016. They originally estimated a growth of 3.4% and have since revised it to 3.8%. So the already strong start to the tourism industry seen in 2016 is going to be strengthened even further once the holiday season officially begins.

The Spanish tourism sector has grown for the past ten quarters, or two and a half years. This means that each quarter has seen more money come in the last and the growth has been at least 3%. This means that the tourism sector is the best-performing sector of the Spanish economy.

In the first quarter of 2016 the tourism sector brought in a GDP of 4.3% in the first quarter of 2015. It also created 89,000 new jobs along the way. All of this happened during a time where things are typically quiet for the tourism industry in Spain.

Tourism has always been something Spain is good at, along with the real estate market which is itself seeing a recovery.

Spain is expecting record numbers of visitors this summer thanks to the recent safety concerns arising in other popular tourist destinations such as Turkey, Egypt and Tunisia. It’s expected that holidaymakers will find their way to the more popular destinations in Spain, most of which can be found on the Costa del Sol.

It’s been calculated by Exceltur that Turkey, Egypt and Tunisia have seen 870,000 less tourists than usual so far this year, with Spain seeing an extra 799,000, so it’s not hard to guess where they’re going instead.

The data also shows that Spain has seen 12.5% more visitors so far this year, while Egypt has seen 46% less foreign tourists in 2016.

Exceltur did have some words of warning among all the good news though. Even though Spain is seeing a lot more tourists each tourist is spending an average of 7.8% less than they usually do. Exceltur are recommending that Spain try and bring in some more big spenders rather than relying on this low-cost tourism.

It’s expected that the big spending crowds will flock to the country during the summer months, as they always do to enjoy the beaches, food and Spanish lifestyle.