Interest in the Spanish property market could be boosted by new figures which indicate increased visitor numbers.

According to government statistics, the country attracted 6.2 million leisure travellers from abroad during January and February 2008. This is nearly four per cent higher than the amount recorded a year earlier, which means the country is attracting more and more winter holidaymakers. About 1.6 million visitors during this period were found to be British, although Spain also attracted lots of visitors from other parts of Europe.

Tags: spanish, property

PropertyDispatches askes why prices are not in freefall.
We note the recent article describing the continual supply of new build housing and the poor take up by the market.
So how come prices are not falling?

An interesting question is: Why haven’t prices collapsed in those areas where there is a massive oversupply of property, much of it unattractive and in subprime locations? Prices of similar properties in the US have fallen hard and quickly, but not in Spain.

As one person comments in the forum, “I’ve been looking at buying a property in the Canary’s now for over 12 months now and have not witnessed any crash. Developers still want the original price for properties “no room for negotiation”. Private sellers are refusing to drop the price on properties that have been on the market for some time, and estate agents continue to put properties on the market based on the values apportioned to properties that are not selling.” So if the market is so bad, why aren’t prices tumbling?

These are the reasons that I can come up with:

First of all, foreclosures in Spain take a long time. It appears that many mortgage lenders take a year or more to respond to mortgage delinquencies, after which the repossession process can add on another 6 months or more. This delays the time it takes for repossessions to come on to the market, so a slump in the market does not translate quickly into distressed prices.

Secondly, many investors have just walked away from their deposits (some managing to claw back part of their money), leaving their properties to developers who put them back on the market at list prices. Developers are loath to drop prices, and until now many could afford not to. This may now change, as developers are caught between falling operating cash flows, and rising financial costs, with no access to new borrowing.

Tags: spain, houses, prices

Costa Blanca is the 2nd biggest town in the Costa Blanca region of Valencia .
Costa Blanca’s many attractions include a lovely climate, busy nightlife and sandy beaches all of which help draw visitors from most of Euroope and futher afield.
Major towns and cities in the region include Murcia, Torrevieja and Benidorm.

The extra attraction to the area is its the booming property market which is helped by the weather all year round, even in Europesan winter, when temperaterues can often reach the mid 20’s.

This also helps the rental market, so when you are not using your property it is easier to rent it out, particularly over the Christmas and New Year times.You can choose to buy plpots of land and buidling soff plan, which gives you the added dadvantage of a price jump when the building is complete.

If you are working with quality developers your risk is minimised and it is even possible for some speculation where opportunity takers will invest on an off-plan project and sell it as soon as it is complete .

Alternatively if you keep your property you can dabble in the rental market and still retain the benefit of having the house designed to your own preference.

Although many Spanish estate agents are here to get you the best deal, it is recommended to utilize the service of an expert lawyer to handle vital documents involved in the conveyancing, like contract and title deeds.

The web is an excellent resource to make a research on recent market condition of Costa Blanca property. There are also specialist companies , who not only minimize the risk associated with the purchase of Costa Blanca property but also make sure maximum returns from these properties.