Spanish Mortgage Approvals Up 19.2% in June

Spanish Mortgage Approvals Up 19.2% in June

The data continues to be good for the Spanish property market

Official notary data for June in Spain has shown that the rate of mortgage approvals for residential property increased at the highest rate in a decade. 

The statistics show that the 23,223 mortgages granted across Spain in June of this year was 19.2% higher than in June of last year. The figure means that almost half – 45% - of the properties purchased in June were financed through mortgages. 

An overall total of 51,477 homes were registered as bought in Spain in June – an increase of 17.4% over June of last year, and the second-sharpest monthly increase since back in 2007. The only month in the decade since then that topped the sales from June was December 2012, when property transactions were inflated for that month ahead of new rules for income tax to be introduced in January 2013. 

The remarkable sales figures from June are another marker of the strengthening real estate sector of Spain, which has been boosted by sustained demand from domestic and foreign buyers alike, along with the increased generosity and less strict nature of lending criteria from Spanish banks and the increasing prices across almost every region in the country. 

The notary data showed there was a 1.4% price increase in June of this year compared to last year, with the average square metre of property selling at €1,358. The average size of mortgages reflected this increase in house prices, as the average mortgage has increased 6% to €129,704 with data revealing that mortgages accounted for an average of 76% of the total purchase price of houses bought via mortgages. 

The market for new builds is also on the increase, with sales of new properties rising 10.8% in June compared to June of last year.

A Tale of the Generous Boss and What Make Marbella a “Treat” Destination

Marbella is the best place to come in Andalucia 

If you were to run a Google search for “Marbella” this week you would be inundated with pictures of happy employees from the travel and party firm Red7, who were treated by their employer to an all-expenses paid staff holiday to sunny Marbella as a reward for all their hard work.

The story has become such a hit with leading tabloids because it has everything an online story needs to be easily digested: There’s the Costa del Sol and Marbella; there’s pretty girls in bikinis; there’s the sunny backdrop; and there’s more than enough to make everyone reading it jealous.

The managing director of Red7 Ian Lucas must no doubt be enjoying all the free publicity. It also reflects well on him as the owner of a specialist in partying and travelling. It’s clear the man knows how to choose a good location, a good time, good reasons, and a good vacation length to reap plenty of excellent PR.

There’s a larger story working itself out here outside of the generous boss doing a generous thing. That is the question of what makes Marbella the destination of choice for these kinds of work-based rewards.

Now we do understand that most British firms will just spring for a hundred quid or so at a local Wetherspoons when they decide to treat their staff, but there is still the curious trend – mostly found in London recruitments, sales, and marketing companies – that looks at Marbella as being the carrot on a stick at the end of the year, the reward for hitting targets, the dream of summer that can be realised when the staff go above and beyond to boost business and make money.

There’s no denying it’s a smart strategy; work out a target that allows for a Marbella trip while still keeping the company firmly in the black. Even if it doesn’t go as planned, profits and staff motivation are still on the up.

Marbella is the perfect choice of destination for something like this. It’s close – which allows for a few days stay; unlike the Caribbean which – while appealing visually – is not worth the cost in terms of productivity and financial cost. Marbella has a reputation for being glamorous, which sure to motivate staff to see and enjoy it for themselves. The on-the-ground costs of staying in Marbella are cheaper than most people realise, and it offers a wealth of variety. Companies can hire their own yachts, nightclubs, beach bars and restaurants, or they could just stick their staff in a hotel room and leave them to their own devices until it’s time to go home.

As great as Benidorm, Barcelona, Tenerife and Ibiza are, they have either too little going on or too much (particularly Barcelona) to make them a viable destination for work reward programs. On the other hand, Marbella offers the complete package and has an undeniable level of prestige that make it stand out.

If you’re out on the beach and you happen to see some office workers packing away the cocktails, you should cut them some slack. They’ve likely worked long and hard to get there!

Spain Looks to Once Again go All Out on Solar Power

Spain Looks to Once Again go All Out on Solar Power 

Solar power is becoming popular again, thanks to a change in policy

Nothing boosts the economy in Spain quite like the sunshine that goes strong for upwards of 320 days out of the year. Whether it’s the tourists looking for fun in the sun or the olive groves, the sunny climate of Spain make it a top holiday destination, one of the leading producers of wine, olives, fruits, and vegetables, and even a stunning backdrop for major Hollywood blockbusters and TV programs like Game of Thrones. 

There is one thing that the sunshine hasn’t delivered for a while though, and that’s reliable solar power. Spain became a world leader for solar power between 2008 and 2010, with sweeping transformations that turned practically the whole country into a vast solar farm pumping free and clean energy straight to the Spanish power grid. 

It was a matter of time before homeowners wanted to get in on the action, and the government supported it at first by offering homeowners who installed solar panels some generous rates; essentially paying for people to generate their own solar power and feed it into the grid. 

But the solar boom of Spain, much like the property boom, grew at too rapid a pace. The government quickly came to realise that their generosity could have damaging repercussions. As more people switched to solar power, the government ran out of money to support their solar policy. The new government of 2012 started looking at ways to take back some of the money that had been spent on solar power, and introduced a controversial “sun tax”; charging people for exporting their excess power back to the grid. 

The future of solar power in Spain went from bright to overcast in a single move. Things stayed like this until recently this year when the government – perhaps feeling bolder after securing a second term and boosting the economy – decided to auction renewable energy. The premise of these auctions would be supporting renewable energy projects based on the best offers made by companies when possible. 

Wind power was the initial winner of these schemes, but the latest government-backed auction from this week saw solar power win pretty big and win the right to develop 3.5 gigawatts (GW) of brand new solar projects. This equates to around two-thirds of the current installed capacity, and the projects should be finished by 2020. 

There are plenty of benefits to this including helping Spainto meet carbon emission reduction targets, improving air quality and reducingpollution, and lowering the energy bills of consumers.

Experts Predict 10 Property Sales Increase of 10% for Spain

The prices continue to increase in Spain

Experts Predict 10 Property Sales Increase of 10% for Spain

Summer is reaching its peak and bringing optimism with it, especially to the Spanish property market, which has already performed excellently this year. 

There is so much positivity and confidence flowing through the Spanish real estate industry that the Spanish bank BBVA has predicted 2017 will see an increase in property sales of 10% compared to last year.

Most notable is that BBVA believes over 500,000 Spanish homes are going to sell during 2017, surpassing the annual threshold that hasn’t been surpassed since before the economic troubles began in 2007.

A performance like this would break the positive forecast put out by the bank at the start of the year – in an upturn created by how well the Spanish economy is recovering on practically all fronts.

BBVA are also expecting a 3% increase in the average national price. The bank stated in their last report that the typical price-per-square metre in 2017 will increase to €1,570, which will bring prices to the same level of 2004. Unlike 2004 however, there is a much bigger regional variation; as prices in places such as the Costa del Sol, Madrid, and Barcelona are expected to be much higher than average.

Official notary data released in May shows that the average price of properties was €1,318 per square metre, which would mean that additional monthly price increases are likely to happen before the country reaches the estimate from the BBVA.

Spanish Property Prices Increase 3.7% Across July

Valuation firm Tinsa recently published their latest nationwide price index for Spanish property, which showed the average property price is 3.7% higher in July of this year compared to July of last year.

While an increase in monthly pricing data has become somewhat a norm for Spanish property in the past few years, the data from July showed that the increase in property prices is beginning to be felt outside of the traditionally high-priced areas of Barcelona, Madrid, the Mediterranean, and the islands. It’s starting to spread into the rural areas that would usually be immune to noticeable fluctuations in prices.

Tinsa discovered that, for July, the regions that are typically referred to as the “other municipalities” showed an increase in average prices of 0.8%, which is the first noticeable increase in prices for around a decade.

While the increase might not be as impressive as the 4%+ increases seen along the Mediterranean, it’s still encouraging as it shows how the far the economic recovery is reaching; how it is benefiting even more people and regions.

Tinsa extrapolated from the entire first seven months of 2017, with their data showing that home values in the Costa Del Sol were an average of 5% higher in July of 2017 than they were during July of 2016.

On the nationwide level, the average selling price of Spanish property is the same as back in December 2003, and it is likely to match the price increases from the years that followed back then. This time, however, the experts are confident that there won’t be the same bubble – and indeed burst and deflation – that was seen a decade ago.

Music Experts Believe Despacito Could Boost Spanish Language Uptake

It’s hard to put into words just how addictive Despacito by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee has become. This global music sensation became the first song ever to reach over three billion views on YouTube, and is hard to get out of your head once you hear it.

You might be surprised if you think that you’ve never heard the song yourself, as there are millions of people who feel that they haven’t heard it yet, only to be hit with a wave of recognition when they actually do hear the song.

There appears to be some new worldwide smash each summer, but Despacito has a unique appeal and language that gives it untold popularity and reach. The song is primarily in Spanish, which makes it the first Spanish-language song to reach the top of the US Hot 100 for over 20 years. If you guessed that the last song to do this was the Macarena in 1996, then give yourself a pat on the back.

While the lyrics of the song are so fast-paced that most people who don’t know the language will be mouthing along, music experts feel that the global reach of the song could positively benefit the Spanish language, which is already the second most popular language in the world after English.

Despacito was the most-streamed song on the music streaming platform Spotify each day for fourteen weeks straight, before finally being surpassed just last week by the song “Mi Gente” (My People), which just so happens to be another Spanish song. Mi Gente is by J. Balvin and it looks like it could go on to be another global success.

This isn’t all either; there are currently eight Spanish or Latin songs in the Spotify Top 50 right now, which the company says is the highest proportion ever. The head of Latin Culture at Spotify, Rocio Guerra, believes that there has been a domino effect. Spotify – and similar platforms – give everyone around the world access to the same songs at the same time, so it’s increasing the global reach of Latin artists.

Guerra believes that the more songs there are on the global chart, the more people become accustomed to listening to songs in different languages.

Latin as a genre is third on the Spotify streaming chart, coming behind pop and hip-hop. Latin-style music – and an increase in smatterings of the Spanish language itself – are becoming more popular in songs as well; utilised by artists such as Rihanna and Ed Sheeran.

After the Macarena exploded in 1996, there was a sharp increase in the demand for Spanish courses among language schools. There’s no data yet to show if Despacito has had the same effect, but there are plenty of signs the song has opened the ears of millions of people to the unmistakable beauty and rhythm of the Spanish language.

Spanish Population Rises for First Time in Five Years

Spanish Population Rises for First Time in Five Years

The incredible recovery of the Spanish economy has begun to have an effect on the immigration statistics for the country, as 2016 marked the first time since 2009 that the population in Spain increased. 

The Spanish population increased steadily at the turn of the millennium until 2009, whether through positive birth rates or inward immigration.

However, Europe – and in particular Spain – was hit by an economic crash in 2008 that stemmed the tide. The population stagnated in 2010 and steadily fell each year thereafter as young people held off starting a family due to the uncertain economy, and immigrants decided to try their luck in other countries. 

The tide turned in 2016 however. Data released by the National Institute of Statistics (INE) revealed the number of immigrants registering in Spain was on the increase, showing that last year saw 89,126 more people enter the country than leaving it. 

The highest number of arrivals in terms of nationality were the Venezuelans, particularly those escaping the economic hardship and the potential persecution they faced at home. Numbers of immigrants from Romania and Morocco also increased following the improvement of the Spanish economy. There was also a slight increase in the number of Brits arriving in the country, but a decrease in the number of Swiss and German immigrants. 

Even though domestic fortunes are improving, the amount of Spaniards emigrating out of the country also increased in 2016. The primary destination for these Spanish immigrants remains the UK, where they have a high chance of finding work and improving their English skills, which makes the country a strong draw.