Anybody Interested in Spain? Helldorado - paradise that has mutated into a nightmare

Property prices on the Costas have collapsed.

“Half the 80,000 estate agents in business at the beginning of 2007 were closed by the end of the year. Demand for cement is at its lowest level in 11 years as developers stop building.
And yet by the end of this year, there will be an estimated one million unsold properties on the Spanish market. Another two million lie empty. Add to that the global credit crunch and mounting Spanish interest rates.”


Link:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-565763/Helldorado-How-expats-dream-life-Spanish-sunshine-turned-property-nightmare.html

Re: Anybody Interested in Spain? Helldorado - paradise that has mutated into a nightm

The article in the English Daily Mail relates to the English ex Pat experience in Spain. The main points are summarised below.

• Tumbling property prices
• A glut of new properties still flooding onto the market
• Rising Spanish interest rates
• Illegal building practices holiday homes under threat of demolition.
• Adverse exchange rates GBP has fallen almost 12 per cent against the euro over the last year.

Re: Anybody Interested in Spain? Helldorado - paradise that has mutated into a nightm

All of the above points, with the exception of the exchange rates, will affect Irish owners or investors too!

Re: Anybody Interested in Spain? Helldorado - paradise that has mutated into a nightm

At Tourist Rates, the fall in the value of the £ v. the Euro is nearer 17%. In fact for practical purposes, let's say 20%. I know a number of Brits who have put overseas purchases on hold. For those of us invested in the UK stockmarket, our buying power in Euroland is effectively down 30% since this time last year. Obviously this will impact on property purchase, but also on overseas travel/holidays. Those 'bargain' studios & apartments in places like Egypt & Cape Verde suddenly seem a long way away, and the trend in oil prices is only going to exacerbate that. For people looking for a 'place in the sun', a patient approach to distressed sellers in the depressed Spanish market might be an option to consider. After all, you don't have to fly there. (When I lived in Germany in the 80's, coach holidays to Spain were very popular & cheap).