Study Finds Average Expat Takes Six Months to Settle In

Study Finds Average Expat Takes Six Months to Settle In

Once settled in to the Spanish life style its hard to leave.

We’d like to start by offering a hearty congratulations to all the people out there that have recently made the choice to leave their home country behind and become an expat. It’s certainly a daunting move, but it could end up being the best decision you’ve ever made.

You shouldn’t worry if you’re having trouble fitting in and settling as soon as you arrive. Everyone goes through the expat life differently, but the process generally follows the same pattern; there’s the initial honeymoon period, then some time spent in doubt and frustration, and then a long period of amusement and bemusement as you take in the differences in culture, before you finally settle in for the long haul; putting down some permanent roots and making new friends.

A recent survey from HSBC known as the HSBC Expat Explorer Survey has assessed that this process takes six months on average.

HSBC polled thousands of expats and found that two-thirds of them took six months to feel like they had truly settled into their new country.

Just under half of expat parents with their children felt it took this long for their children to settle in, seemingly proving the adage that younger people adapt to new surroundings faster.

In the long term, 60% of parents said they feel their children had a higher quality of life abroad. Only 13% of parents feel that expat life was inferior to home life for their children.

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.

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.

Residential property sales in Costa del Sol and Spain continues to rise for 18 successive months

Residential property sales in Costa del Sol and Spain continues to rise for 18 successive months.

Property is on the up in the Costa del Sol and Spain.

The upward trend in Spain’s residential property sales extends to 18 months in a row as the most up to date data shows a noteworthy increase of 7.3% in residential property sales compared with the same month of 2014.

 The figures shown in the analysis report of the General Council of Notaries illustrate a year and a half of ceaseless growth in the housing market, meaning it is showing signs of a stable recovery.

An analysis of this data shows that the annual apartment sales have has had an increase by 6.2%, more than twofold the growth recorded in October 2015. The convincing rise in apartment sales can be traced back to an 8.3% surge in sales of free price apartments and also to a 12.2% rise in sales of second hand apartments.

The market for buying an individual investment family homes also enjoyed solid uptrend, up 11.4%, recording nine consecutive months of double figure growth. However, the downturn in new housing sales continued as prices dropped for a tenth month in a row, the decline rate in November being 18.6%.

Be that as it may, prices are still fluctuating. The average selling price of per square meter of homes saw a 1.1% year on year fall in prices, as prices dropped to €1,219 per square meter in November. A study suggests that apartment prices declined by 0.6% and the price of single family residences declined by 0.8%.

The data additionally demonstrates that the price per square metre of second hand flats dropped by 0.7% year on year to €1,320 but for new apartments it steeped by 5.9% to €1,666.

 Having experienced an annual increase of 7.3% in November, the total number of new mortgage loans is also on the rise, but when seasonally modified, this figure comes down to an annual increase of 2.4%, the minimum rate of increase in 18 months.

Concluding that buying property in the Costa del Sol and Spain continues its upward trend and recovering from the financial crisis that hit Spain in 2008.

Residential property sales in the Costa Del Sol

Residential property sales in the Costa Del Sol and Spain continues to rise for 18 successive months      

 

The upward trend in Spain &
Costa Del Sol's residential property sales extends to 18 months in a row as the most up to date data shows a noteworthy increase of 7.3% in residential property sales compared with the same month of 2014.

The figures shown in the analysis report of the General Council of Notaries illustrate a year and a half of ceaseless growth in the Costa Del Sol housing market and conspicuous signs of a stable recovery.

An analysis of these data shows that annual apartment sales have expanded by 6.2%, more than twofold the growth recorded in October 2015. The convincing rise in apartment sales can be traced back to an 8.3% surge in sales of free price apartments and also to a 12.2% rise in sales of second hand apartments.

The market for individual family homes in Costa Del Sol also enjoyed solid development, up 11.4%, recording nine consecutive months of double figure growth However, the downturn in new housing sales continued as prices dropped for a tenth month in a row, the decline rate in November being 18.6%.

Be that as it may, prices are still fluctuating. The average selling price of per square meter of homes saw a 1.1% year on year fall in prices, as prices dropped to €1,219 per square meter in November.

A study suggests that apartment prices declined by 0.6% and the price of single family residences declined by 0.8%.

The data additionally demonstrates that the price per square metre of second hand flats dropped by 0.7% year on year to €1,320 but for new apartments it steeped by 5.9% to €1,666.

Having experienced an annual increase of 7.3% in November, the total number of new mortgage loans is also on the rise, but when seasonally modified, this figure comes down to an annual increase of 2.4%, the minimum rate of increase in 18 months.