Monday 29 October 2007

Euribor down for the first time in two years

We have now seen two years of consecutive increases in the Euribor rate, adding more and more to our monthly mortgage repayments (as they tend to be variable here in Spain). That said, are we seeing signs that its topping out? Of course no-one knows for sure but for the first time in two years Euribor has dropped this month.
The 12 month Euribor rate (the main indice of reference for mortgages in Spain) stands at 4.595%, the lowest in two months, but still much higher than October 2006 when it stood at 3.799%.
A study by BBVA has predicted last week that we should see Euribor at 3.9% by the end of 2008 - good news for us mortgage payers!!

Friday 26 October 2007

Father of "The Godfather" in Alicante


Film director Francis Ford Coppola was in Alicante yesterday visiting the film studios at Ciudad de la Luz (http://www.ciudaddelaluz.com/). Staying at the 5* Amerigo hotel in the heart of the old town, he also partook in "caƱas y tapas" at the excellent Taberna del Gourmet where the patatas bravas are without doubt the best ever IMHO anyway.

Tuesday 23 October 2007

Off plan can still be a good investment


There are still plenty of good long-term off plan investment property opportunities in selective areas of Spain. Investors in Spain now realise that longer-term capital gains are still available and are prepared to buy off plan property and then stay in the market for a few years, as opposed to the speculative flipping of property. Spain is still a popular place for the British to invest. Rather than people investing and wanting their return back quickly, a lot of people are buying in a more educated way.

In a new annual report on the international property market, the Association of International Property Professionals estimates that nearly £20 billion was spent by UK buyers on overseas homes last year. The study shows that Spain and France are the top two markets for Britons buying property abroad.

Also just announced yesterday, an iminent 6% increase in the Penthousr property prices at the Condado de Alhama Golf Resort - current prices are from only 137.400 Euros, less than 100.000 GBP.

Monday 22 October 2007

Foreign investment grows by 30%

Foreign investment in Spanish property continues to increase. Figures just released by the Bank of Spain show an increase of 30.6% during the period January to July 2007 - in numbers, we are talking about 3.445 million Euros, 810 million Euros more than the same period in 2006 and in fact more than the whole of preceeding year.

Wednesday 17 October 2007

Brits still dream of a place in Spain

Bad weather in the UK throughout the summer had led to almost half of Brits surveyed considering buying a place in the sun.
A survey of 1000 people by Yorkshire Bank found that 43% of people were considering the purchase of an overseas property.
Spain was again found to be the most popular destination with 45% of respondents sayiny that they would invest in a holiday home in Spain. 31% said they would buy a property in Spain to retire whilst 32%would consider it as a long term investment - the only way to consider an investment in my humble opinion.
Also interesting 15% would seiously consider it as the best option to get a foot onto the property ladder.
Goes to show that Brits are still convinced that owning a property in Spain is still worth pursuing, both from an investment and a lifestyle aspect.
The negative aspect at the moment here is that the banks in Spain have gone from one extreme to the other following the sub-prime problems in the US and are being very tight with non-resident mortgages even though in many cases clients are puting down 20 to 30% on a property - this will come back to haunt them as bank managers make their money loaning money to the rest of us.

Wednesday 10 October 2007

Average prices up 5.45% in first six months of 2007




As the title above says, the avearge price per square meter of residential property throughout Spain has increased by 5.45% during the first six months of 2007. This may come as a surprise to doom and gloom merchants but is based on a study of the transactions carried out by the real estate franchise group Tecnocasa (200 offices in Spain). To put it in perspective, that figure is well down on the 18% or so during the first six months of 2006. However, it does show that property prices are still on the up (on average).
Also of interest was that the average property takes 112 days to sell during the first six months of 2007 compared to 94 days inb the same period of 2006.
All this really confirms that the market is slowing but not collapsing as some would have you believe.

Wednesday 3 October 2007

API - Agente de Propiedad Inmobiliaria

Ultimate Homes are proud to announce that through our association with the well-respected Tore Kotte who runs a legal practice in Albir, we have been accepted into the Spanish real estate regulatory body.
What is an A.P.I.?
An "A.P.I." (Agente de la Propiedad Inmobiliaria) is a professional estate agent who is legally appointed and recognised by the Public Administration to perform his duties, and to ensure that all transactions are carried out in a proper and correct manner.
What does it mean to you?
The officially registered A.P.I. estate agent performs the necessary and legal duties to ensure a correct property transaction according to the regulations of the Association of Estate Agents, to which he is responsible, when dealing with third parties.
Stricly speaking, we have always operated under our own strict code of ethics anyway but now as members of the official regulatory body, it can only give our clients more confidence to work with us, and let us work for you.

Slow down claims first Spanish victim




The Valencia property developer Llanera has become the first high-profile victim of the credit crunch in Spain, declaring insolvency yesterday after failing to meet payments on €748m of debt.
The fashionable builder, known for its links to Charlton Athletic Football Club, was unable to reach agreement with Lehman Brothers and other banks on a refinancing deal, a sign that foreign creditors are no longer willing to underwrite Spain's property market.


Llanera said it faced "extreme difficulties" as a result of reliance on short-term borrowing. Credit costs have shot up since the collapse of the market for commercial paper and CDOs (collateralised debt obligations).
It blamed the squeeze on the "evolution of the Spanish property market and the relentless increase in Euribor". The Euribor rate, used to price floating rate mortgages in Spain (98pc of the total), has jumped to a six-year high of 4.72pc.
Eight rate rises by the European Central Bank since December 2005 have taken their toll, but the final blow was the sudden widening of Euribor spreads by an extra 70 basis points over ECB rates since the summer squeeze.

Tinsa €/m2