Expert Predicts Next Five Years Will be Great for Spanish Property

Expert Predicts Next Five Years Will be Great for Spanish Property

According to one professor the outlook for the Spanish property market is great. The real estate expert said that now is the best time to purchase property in Spain. His confidence comes from all the data and trends that suggest the next five years will be truly great for the Spanish property market.

The future is still bright for property in Costa del Sol

The expert in question; the economics professor and director of the real estate programme at the University of Barcelona Gonzalo Bernardos is definitely in a good position to make such a claim about the health of the property market.

No doubt his words are going to be eaten up by the thousands of people who are considering buying property in Spain. His words will definitely be welcomed following the uncertainly of the Spanish property market after the Brexit, which threatened to undo all the good that went into the property market in recent years.

Bernardos believes that 2016 will be the first year in the five-year golden period of expansion; a period in which every property asset will grow in price. Mark Stucklin, a property insight expert, took Bernardos’ words to mean that Spanish property is definitely going to be a one-way bet for the next five years. People looking to invest in property would do well investing in the popular areas of Spain such as Barcelona, Madrid, Ibiza and Merbella, along with most of the Costa del Sol.

But just what is behind the confidence Bernardos feels? He also added that the low interest rates of Spain are helping make property there even more attractive and that the recent economic recovery is helping to create a perfect storm.

He says that the residential market in particular is becoming a refuge for investors once more and that a key part of this is the low interest rates. The low interest rates are helping to make monthly mortgage payments far more affordable than the average rental prices. With this expected five years of growth and better job security Bernardos believes that it makes sense for people to begin buying rather than renting.

Bernardos believes that the disastrous decade that was from 2006-2015 will be followed by five fantastic years of an excellent property growth from investors . The interest from investors, coupled with the strong economic growth, will see the end of the hangover and bring the real estate market to providence.

These are definitely decisive words. Bernardos is also confident that if another international economic shock happens it will be mitigated by an increase in spending in Spanish households and company investment with a focus on construction.

Bernardos even had some words for people who were worried that his words sounded as if they came from ten years ago. He assured those people that there will be no room for speculators in this new golden property market.

He added that even if speculative demand does make a reappearance it will be much lower than last time and that banks have learned their lesson and will not give people money to fuel their speculations.

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 Growth Forecast Increased by 2.7%

Spanish Growth Forecast Increased by 2.7%

While the Spanish economic outlook has been looking good for a while the Economic Minister of Spain Luis de Guindos announced that the growth forecast for the rest of 2016 would be increased by another 2.7%.

Marbella in the Costa del Sol enjoying welcomed growth

The Minister says that Spain could very well pass the 3.2 increase in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) seen in 2015 as long as the political impasse in Spain – Spain has held two general elections in six months with no clear winner – comes to a close.

De Guindos said that he believes the current growth projections are very prudent and that he will revise the growth for 2016 in the next set of forecasts to be issued before the end of July.

The Minister was keen to stress that Spain is becoming an even better place to do business day by day, citing how the country has internationally recognised business schools, low prices on real estate, great weather, cost of living being so low and a solid infrastructure. All of which he believes make the country so appealing to investors.

The Minister believes that creating a stable government which would then form a strong economic policy could see the country outdo the growth they saw last year. The Popular Party emerged as the party with the most votes in the last election but, once again, they failed to secure a majority. The far-left party Podemos also lost votes in the election which suggests people are voting for stability; something Incumbent Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy was keen to hit home.

While he has presided over a number of tough austerity measures it’s impossible to claim the country hasn’t ultimately had an economic upturn. Unemployment is down consistently and many industries such as hospitality and service have seen a rise in growth over the past few months.

Even the banking industry in Spain, which was reliant on an EU bailout following the last recession, has managed to head in the right direction. De Guindos believes that the banks can continue to act responsibly and help the country continue to grow. He said that the banks were cleaned up in 2012 after the bailout so the country doesn’t need to worry about the banks anymore.
All in all the out look for spain and residents is looking good.

Spanish Unemployment Falls at Fastest Rate in Ten Years

Spanish Unemployment Falls at Fastest Rate in Ten Years

The summer is helping to push unemployment down

Summer always brings with it a boost to Spanish employment. Millions of people flock to the country over the summer and that means more work needs to be done and more people are needed to do it.

This year the annual boost in employment has been the biggest the country has seen for a long time. Data from the Labour Ministry of Spain shows that unemployed dropped at the highest rate in ten years over June. This suggests that the economic recovery Spain has seen is staying strong.

Spain still has a bit of reputation for being a place without jobs for some of Europe. While there is still too much youth unemployment in general unemployment has continued to drop for the past few years.

The June figures show that jobless claims went down 124,349 that much. So now the total of unemployed people in Spain is roughly 3.76 million. Spain also saw almost 100,000 new social security registrations in June so now there are around 17,760,271 people employed in Spain; the highest for over seven years.

Most of these jobs were created by the bumper summer season. While some of these jobs are seasonal there are plenty of non-tourism related jobs. The El Pais newspaper shows nearly 40,000 people were hired in the hospitality trade in June, which may be classed as seasonal jobs. The retail sector saw nearly 28,000 new hires, with nearly 19,000 in administrative activities, 14,000 hired in manufacturing, and roughly 11,500 people hired in the construction sector.

No matter how you look at it Spanish industries are creating thousands of jobs a month which is great news for the economy and keeps the cost of living down in spain.

Recovery possible on money paid on off-plan properties in Spain

Recovery possible on money paid on off-plan properties in Spain

The Supreme Court of Spain passed a landmark judgment that offers closure to nearly 100,000 British people who wished to own a place in Spain but ended up badly.

With this judgment, people who have paid a deposit for purchasing an off-plan property or have paid in stages but lost money due to the prevailing financial crisis in Spain will now be able to recover the money.

Costa Del Sol Property Groups lawyer have the

fastest root to claiming lost off plan deposits back.

Prospective buyers had paid deposits to the tune of £40,000 on an average and suddenly realized that their money had washed away owing to the financial crisis.

However, with this judgment from the Spanish Supreme Court, banks will be held responsible for the missing money and the Brits can sue the bank to a tune of up to £4 billion for their off-plan lost deposits refunds, as per the findings of Costa Del Sol Property Group of Spain.

Although there is no official information available yet, Costa Del Sol Property Group estimates that refunds up to £15 billion might have to be shelled out by banks to off-plan buyers from all over Europe towards their lost deposits from the financial crisis.

Some of the victims include Malcom and Maxine Ball , who had paid £100,000 for their prospective off-plan property in Costa del Sol. As per their off-plan purchase, they paid £100,000 as 50% of the total price which included additional charges and other deposits.

Brits own the maximum number of properties in Spain after the locals and hence, UK citizens were affected the most due to the sudden property crash witnessed in Spain.

With their unchallenged experience in this aspect, Costa Del Sol Property Group has formed a dedicated team for foreign nationals to help and gain their money back without any fees or irrespective if they English or not.

Missing €14k Parrot Found in Marbella Nightclub

 Missing €14k Parrot Found in Marbella Nightclub

When you take a look at the news you can tell that there’s something missing. This thing is so important that we’re not sure where to go from here without it.

Exotic Parrot that's used to humans turns up in a

Nightclub in Marbella.

With all the real news happening around the world we’ve kind of seen an end to the regular silly summer stories that show up on the front pages. There are still some cracking stories out there including crocodiles in London, and the frankly comically bad performance of the English football team.

Now the Costa del Sol is getting in on the silly summer season stories with news out of the region about a missing exotic bird showing up safe and sound in a Marbella nightclub.

The Olive Press Newspaper ran a story about Soly, the Hyacinth Macaw pet estimated to be worth around €14,000, who disappeared from his cage in the home of Richard Breuer, 40 year old property developer.

Breuer quickly put out plenty of missing posters and even called the police before he was contacted by the owner of the Olivia Valére nightclub in Marbella. The owner of the club, also called Olivia Valére, told Breuer that Soly had turned up at the nightclub.

Breuer recounted how Soly was a changed bird after being exposed to the nightclub and how it took him a few days to adjust back to home life.

It turns out that Soly is a lover of the ladies, which may go some way to explaining why he went to the nightclub. He quickly found his way into the lap of one of the barmaids working behind the bar, who then told Valére about their feathered visitor. Valére took him to her private aviary before being told about the missing posters and calling Richard to reunite man and bird.

Breuer believes he is lucky that Soly was found, saying that if someone else found him they may have tried to sell him.

This story lets us know that, not only do things usually have a happy ending, but the summer silly season is setting in.

Brits Demand Exapts in Spain Be Given Dual Citizenship

Brits Demand Exapts in Spain Be Given Dual Citizenship

Its makes sense for Spain to allow Brits 

Dual citizenship.  

There is a petition calling for the Spanish government to give British expats who have been in Spain for over ten years dual nationality. The petition asks that the Spanish government perform an act of generosity for expats following the situation they have found themselves in after the UK voted to leave the EU. The petition goes on to say that many expats, both from Spain and the UK, are uncertain about their future and becoming desperate.

The petition was started by journalist and author Giles Tremlett, who has written for both the Guardian and the Economist. He gave an interview with The Local where he said that he started the petition because of what dual citizenship would mean to him personally and the practical benefits.

Tremlett said that after living in Spain for as long as he has he now has a dual identity. Tremlett is currently based in Madrid and has residency and lived in Spain for over 25 years. Because of this he was unable to vote in the referendum as there was a 15 year limit. He feels that he has been stripped of his European citizenship without being able to have his own say in the matter.

The petition follows the words of the German Vice Chancellor, who said that Germany should offer dual citizenship and urged other countries in the EU to do so as well. The Brexit vote has left many of the roughly 400,000 British expat wondering what will come next for them. Many of them are also worried about what will happen to their pensions and their right to buy property. Acting Prime Minister Rajoy has assured Brits living in Spain that they won’t wake up to find their rights stripped from them.

Tremett is one of the people who is deeply concerned about his pension following the Brexit vote. He has worked in both Spain and the UK and is now unsure what would happen to his pension if he was to move back to the UK to take care of his parents before returning to Spain.

He also made the argument that Spaniards living in Britain can apply for dual citizenship after five years but no such option exists for the Brits in Spain. Dual nationality doesn’t exist in Spain and to become a Spanish citizen one would have to renounce their original nationality. Tremlett is concerned that his sons, born in Spain but British nationals, do not have the right to denounce their nationality.

The petition also argues that there is a precedent for this kind of legislative change allowing double citizenship. Just last year Acting Prime Minister Rajoy granted dual citizenship to the ancestors of Jewish people who were forced out of Spain as part of the Spanish Inquisition of 1942.

Tremlett believes that dual citizenship would solve some of the problems that Brits in Spain are having, but admitted it wouldn’t solve all of them. He says that Britain was a part of the EU for 40 years, while Spain has been for 30 years now. This is more than long enough for people to buy property in Spain and build an entire life and future around being a European citizen. He feels that to have all of that suddenly stripped away is dramatic and traumatic.