Spanish Hot Property End Of Year Report 2008

Spanish Property End of Year Market report 2008 from Spanish Hot Properties



Property in Spain could represent incredible value for property buyers in 2009 according to the Spanish property experts, Spanish Hot Properties. There is lots of gloom and doom especially with the recent news that a new statistic from the Ministry of Housing helps to show that the Spanish property boom is definitely over. The number of transactions involving resale properties is back to the pre-boom low, with sales falling 47% to 178,000 in the first 9 months of the year, compared to 339,500 in the same period last year. The fall is even more pronounced if you just look at transactions in the third quarter, when there were only 45,400 home sales in all of Spain.
Sales of newly-built properties have been holding up much better, down only 16% in the first 9 months of the year. This is little comfort for developers, however, who have seen an almost total collapse in new sales contracts, which will show up in the Ministry’s figures during the course of next year. Overall, Spanish property sales are down 33% year on year. Meanwhile, the international ratings agency Standard & Poors has forecasted that Spanish property prices will fall 30% peak to trough, saying that this will be the worst property crash for Spain since the 1970s. According to official figures prices peaked in the last quarter of 2007, and S&P doesn’t expect the market to turn around before 2010. However this news should be seen as an opportunity for those in a position to buy

As Spanish Hot Properties Managing Director explains “Demand for property in Spain declined considerably throughout 2007 but we have seen a considerable increase in real interested property buyers looking to take advantage at some point in 2009 with buyers in EIRE not having to deal with exchange rate problem having the best opportunity to get a real deal in 2009. However there won’t be enough sales to sustain the really big agents who have huge overheads but the ethical professional agents who look after there clients should have a good year in 2009 and be in a very good position to be the people to deal with in 2009” confirmed Nick.

So going into 2009 property buyers looking for Costa del Sol property, Homes in Costa Blanca North and Mallorca property should who are in a position to buy should really be able to take advantage of the doom and gloom current effecting the Spanish property market.

To find out more about the Spanish property market in 2009 contact the Spanish property experts Spanish Hot Properties.

Spanish Property for Sale with Cash Back from Spanish Hot Properties

Spanish Property for Sale with Cash back from Spanish Hot Properties



The new property bargain and incentives for Spanish Property purchasers has just been taken to new heights with fantastic Christmas incentives for those wishing to take advantage of the current Spanish property market in Spain so says Susana Suspenda the Marketing and Operations manager for Spanish Hot Properties. “Its absolutely true there are no strings attached to our Christmas offer that benefit all our buyers and our Christmas Cracker runs up to 21 January 2009 for all clients who reserve a property before the closing date and some lucky people will be getting as much as 3% cash back from Spanish Hot Properties confirmed Susana.

So what is so special about this particular offer and how can a company like Spanish Hot Properties offer such great incentives for buyers in an already hugely competitive market. ”It’s quite simple really in that we at Spanish Hot Properties do not have the overheads that some of the so called major agents have which gives us two massive advantages over our competitors is that we are able to offer Christmas promotions like this one and still make a profit but most importantly we don’t have to advise a client to buy a property to keep our business going and therefore never ever have a conflict of interests and can keep 100% to our mission statement and business philosophy of look after our clients and they will look after us” . Susana explained further.

So how does this Cash Back offer work then? it’s really quite simple in that Spanish Hot Properties have special deals on special projects that already have 25% to 40% discounts from last years prices and we have decide to let our clients get a major benefit from our commission. The commission must be seen as present and a bonus and not an incentive to buy one property over another and that is why we never let the client know the Cash Back bonus until they have decided on a certain property. The cash back is between 1.5% and 3% and Spanish Hot Properties give a full cash back certificate once a client has reserved a property. Obviously the cash back is only payable if the property sale progresses to completion. All a client has to do is agree to buy one of the special promoted before January 21st 2009 and pay a reservation deposit to take that property off the market it really is that simple” said Susana.

Costa del Sol property, Mallorca homes, Costa Blanca South real estate and property in Costa Blanca North are all featured in this promotion.

Anyone who is seriously interested in find out more about this fantastic Christmas Cash Back promotion should contact Spanish Hot Properties to register their interest.

Costa del Sol Market Report December 2008 from Spanish Hot Properties

Costa del Sol Property Market Report December 2008 from Spanish Hot Properties



As 2008 draws to a close and the sterling exchange rate impact further on an already depressed Costa del Sol Property market how will things go in 2009? The oversupply of Spanish property at the bottom to middle end of the Costa del sol property market hasn’t got any better and the saying at the beginning of the year that it’s a good time to buy and a terrible time to sell has just compounded itself and for the majority of people its not good news explained Nick Stuart managing director of Spanish Hot Properties, Spain’s number one internet based real Estate Agency. According to Nick there are two very positive things to look for in 2009 that may help a little bit, the first being the first sign that investor groups have targeted 2009 as the year to take there pick of great value property investments and the second being that the price that UK owners of Spanish property can accept for there property if they intend to move back to the UK is considerably less than 12 months ago with the current rate of exchange. Nick explained “for the first time we are getting genuine enquiries from property groups and funds who see 2009 as the best year to move in and like all good investors they don’t wait for everything to hit rock bottom before moving in but nearly rock bottom and 2009 seems to be that year if our enquiry level is anything to go by. Also with the exchange rate being so low some UK citizen who need or want to return to the UK can afford to take 30% less than 12 months ago and still be better off in sterling terms a good example of this was Davie and Alicia Jones who had a sale fall through 12 months ago for their townhouse at €400,000 which would have equated to 275,000 in sterling terms but could now accept €310,000 and be no worse off in sterling terms”.

With Spanish bank repossessions likely to grow in 2009 it is highly unlikely that Spanish property prices will start to increase until 2010 and the reality is that more and more fantastically priced property will come to the market in 2009.

So going into 2009 it is most definitely a buyers market but due to the wide choice it makes sense to deal with a profession property agent who has its client’s interests at heart. “Spanish Hot Properties don’t believe in subsidized Discovery trips for the obvious reason that it’s not in the client’s interest and at the end of the day all expenses have to be found from somewhere. When making an investment in excess of €175,000 it makes sense to be able to have the time to make the right choice and not be under pressure from someone who may be under pressure to make a sale to keep his job. Most professional companies in the current market will pay the cost of your trip if you end up buying from them so it’s much better to take control yourself and work with an agent that has your interests at heart” explained Nick

Anyone wishing to contact Spanish Hot Properties can do so via phone or online at http://www.spanishhotproperties.com/.

Property in Spain Investment Overview from Spanish Hot Properties

Property in Spain Investment Overview for 2009 from Spanish Hot Properties

Well it’s been a truly horrible year for the world property markets and not just Property in Spain. However Spain has been hit exceptionally hard due to the extremely high percentage of property owners and buyers that originate from the UK and the impact they have on the International property market here in Spain and the current Sterling to Euro exchange rate seems like the final nail in the coffin to some developers and must sell home owners here in Spain, well that’s the view of Susana Suspenda the Marketing and Operations manager for Spanish Hot Properties. “Right now there are a lot of depressed people here in Spain who just cant see things getting any better and to a degree they are right but there are some real positives for 2009 for those property buyers and investors who are in a position to buy with prices coming down to such a level that in 2009 you will be able to buy certain properties and especially new properties at a price you couldn’t build them for once you have factored all the costs in. With more and more bank repossessions coming onto the market it is very unlikely that you will see an upturn in Spanish property prices in 2009 and it will probably be 2010 before you really start to see the market moving in a positive direction” explained Susana.

So the next big question for Investors is where to invest in Spain? Do you buy where there is truly incredible value in places where there is a huge oversupply of property, places like Costa del Sol and Costa Blanca with certain properties costing less than it would cost to build today or do you invest in places such as Mallorca where the price drop has been far less and on paper represents less value for money but due to the forward thinking local government with much less oversupply of property it is more likely to see a rise in these property prices before the prices increase in the Costas but the starting price per square meter is likely to be higher and therefore less gains are likely to be achieved. According to Susana Suspenda these are difficult decisions but the investor is fortunate to have such a choice and different investment fundamentals to take into consideration before making a decision. “Right now you can buy a brand new Apartment near Puerto Banus for €200,000 that was over €350,000 less than 6 months ago, however in Mallorca you can buy a brand new Apartment in Mallorca at a similar price that was €260,000 some twelve months ago. Its fairly clear which one is the better value but for investors value is only one of several considerations before deciding to invest and probably more importantly for investors its about there own investment strategy including simple things like income and growth” explained Susana.

Spanish Hot Properties through there Investor club and Spanish bank repossessions & distressed sales initiatives have provided and continue to provide with the information and support needed to make the right investment choices in a market that offers great opportunities as well as great pitfalls in 2009

Anyone interested in finding out more about buying property in Spain in 2009 should contact Spanish Hot Properties either by phone or by email.

Spain Finally getting to grips with the Spanish property market

With the news from the the Ministry of Development that Spanish Planning approvals fell by 59% in the first 9 months to the end of September coupled with the news that New housing completions in the first 9 months of the year are down compared to the same time last year is this good news for the Spanish property market?

As for Spanish planning approvals there were just 215,315 planning approvals in the period, compared to 526,977 in the same period last year. Taking just the month of September, planning approvals fell by 63% on an annualized basis, but rose by 49% compared to August of this year. Planning approvals for detached homes were down 46% to 43,500, compared to 80,750 in the same period in 2007. With the trend downwards and with first time housing completions have fallen year on year since the construction boom was kicking off in 2001 this may allow some of the excess housing stock to be taken off the market. Between August and September of this year 471,130 new homes were finished, compared to 475,005 in the first 9 months of 2007, all according to new figures from the Ministry of Development. If the downward trend continues, the year will close with fewer homes built than last year, when a record 641,419 new homes were completed in Spain. Given the severity of Spain’s property crash, any reduction in the number of new homes coming up for sale is good news for a market already suffering from a monumental glut of newly built homes and excessive resale properties. Despite the possibility of a small annualized reduction in the number of new housing completions, a mindboggling number of new homes- around 600,000 - will be finished in 2008. But with planning approvals down and the trend moving towards less building completions this has to be a good thing for the Spanish property.

So hopefully this is a bit of positive news and as long as this trend continues this is a good sign for the Spanish property market, well that is the opinion of Susana Suspenda the Marketing and Operations manager for Spanish Hot Properties. “it’s a start in the right direction and does tend to support our view that if you buy at any time in 2009 at the depressed prices you will do very well indeed long term as the slack starts to be taken up by people migrating to Spain and its our view that from 2010 the market will stabilize as to when property prices start to increase that is anyone’s guess but the price of some new build properties no is less than it would currently cost to build if you took all the costs into consideration. So for those lucky enough to be in a position to buy during 2009 they will be do very well” claimed Susana.

Anyone interested in finding out more about how the latest news and how it could benefit you when buying property in Spain in 2009 should contact Spanish Hot Properties either by phone or by email.

Spanish Property Market Update from Spanish Hot Properties

Property in Spain Market Update from Spanish Hot Properties

It’s been a very interesting week to date with surprise surprise all bad news with the current Sterling and Euro exchange rate seeming like the final nail in the coffin for the Spanish property market, well from UK property buyers at least.

With a recent report that recent sales of newly built homes outnumbered resales for the second quarter in a row, which is unusual. The report points out that this is due to long sales cycles in the new build sector, so today’s completions were probably originated in better times. Developers’ new sales have collapsed this year, On a quarterly basis, comparing activity in the 3 quarter to the preceding one, property sales fell by 8.6% overall, breaking down into -3.6% for new build, and -13.13% for resale. In the year period to the end of September there were 610,052 property transactions, down an annualized 26.55%, with resales down 36.31%, and new build down 13.36%. The market shrank in all but 3 of Spain’s 50 provinces, with coastal regions taking the worst beating as the holiday home sector implodes. Tarragona province, in Catalonia, suffered the most ( -47.5%), followed by Girona (-42.8%), Barcelona (-42.5%), The Balearics (- 39.4%), and Alicante (-33.9%). With the Balearic Islands figures coming as the most major surprise.

There was more bad news if not unexpected news that after months of desperate maneuverings to try and avoid bankruptcy, the Spanish developer Habitat has finally thrown in the towel, filing for administration this morning in Barcelona. With debts of 2.3 billion Euros, Habitat is the second largest developer to be forced by financial problems to seek protection from its creditors this year, after Martinsa-Fadesa. Barcelona-based Habitat, run by Bruno Figueras, just managed to avoid bankruptcy proceedings back in February, when local bankers and politicians managed to arm-twist reluctant foreign lenders into agreeing to new repayment terms which Habitat we unable to keep to. Given the state of the market, however, it is hard to see how the company will emerge from administration. Far more likely is that the company’s assets will be sold off to pay back creditors.

On a more positive note The European Parliament (EP) today released the first draft of another damning report on Spanish ‘land grab’ laws and urban planning practices that threaten property rights and the environment. There were also calls from the EP for a moratorium on all unsustainable new developments, and threats to cut off EU structural funds unless Spain puts and end to its abusive property practices. In a further threat to Spain’s access to EU money, the draft also points out that the European Commission can demand the return of funds if they have been used to finance projects that go against EU rules. It calls on Spain’s national and regional governments to “carefully review all the legislation concerning property rights to put an end to the abuse.” The lack of clarity, precision, and legal security in Spain’s existing urban planning legislation is behind most urban planning abuses in Spain, argues the draft report. It also worries that Spain’s judicial system is incapable of dealing with the problem.


So with all the negative news what does 2009 hold in store for the Spanish property market, well according to Nick Stuart, Managing director of Spanish Hot Properties “a very positive one for those buying in Spain or with EU currency Zone especially when buying from British owners who want to return to the UK who now find there Euros are more valuable when converting back to sterling thus allowing them to drop there price even further”

Anyone interested in finding out more about how the latest news and how it can benefit you buying property in Spain in 2009 should contact Spanish Hot Properties either by phone or by email.