Spanish House Prices Continue to Fall
Brits are jumping on the Spanish property ladder
Foreign investment in Spain is growing steadily with British buyers leading the way.
Prices have fallen around 38% since they hit their peak and UBS bank estimates they have another 8% to drop before stopping.
This, together with a concerted effort being made by regional estate agents and tourism boards to improve Spain’s tarnished image, is leading to high hopes that increased foreign investment will eventually help to revive the country’s property market.
The market should also be bolstered when a new law granting automatic residency to non-EU nationals buying property worth at least €500,000 is passed.
British buyers accounted for around 16% of the foreign market when foreign investment shot up by 12% in 2012, and over 5.5 billion euros spent in 2012 compared to 4.7 billion euros in 2011.
Even though the Spanish property market has been very up and down over the last few years, it's still proving really popular with investors due to the large number of properties available and the chance to negotiate a bargain, and the chance to live in the sun of course!
As per a large proportion of Europe, the chance for getting a mortgage isn't as good as it has been, but with a large deposit you could be accepted for a mortgage of around 65-70% of the value of the property. As with buying property in the UK, you still need to go through the same process and look for the right advice before purchasing.
For many buyers the clincher is the climate, the culture and facilities in Spain, over and above making a tidy profit of their property.
Thanks to Taylor Wimpey for the news update.
