Fire lights up La Nucia

The massive blaze started at 9.20 on Saturday morning with the fall of an electricity pylon. The Army were also called in to fight large forest fires which broke out at in La Nucía. Upto 14,000 people were put on alert in some 25 different urbanisations having to be evacuated from their homes in La Nucía, Benidorm, Finestrat, Polop de la Marina and Alfaz del Pi, because of the fire which started in the El Copet area, according to the Mayor of La Nucía, Bernabé Cano.

It’s thought that the collapse of a high tension pylon in the high wind was the cause of the fire. The Terra Natura and Terra Mítica theme parks nearby were also evacuated as well as the hotels in the Villaitana complex. Firemen set up firebreaks to stop the flames reaching a butane gas deposit and petrol stations.

More than 500 firefighters were on the ground at the scene, aided by 60 Guardia Civil and 40 National Police, among others. 171 soldiers from the Military Emergency Units in Zaragoza and Cuenca joined the fight, and fire fighting experts from Valencia and Madrid were also called in.

There were no reports of any injuries but at least five homes are thought to have been lost.

Temperatures rose by ten degrees as the 100 km/hour winds in Alicante brought tropical temperatures from the Canaries to replace the last week of low temperatures.

Spanish Developers believe that home prices will not decrease further

"Housing prices have already gone through a lot of adjustment" - that’s the belief of Jose Manuel Galindo, President of the the Association of Developers and Builders of Spain (APCE in it's Spanish initials), according to an interview with El Mundo newspaper last Friday. Galindo maintains that the developers are carrying out an adjustment in production to facilitate a solution for the close to 600,000 unsold homes on the market (valued at approx. 120 billion Euros). He stated that in 2007, 600,000 new homes were built and in 2008 the number was reduced by half, to between 250,000 and 300,000 properties, a figure that may be reduced again to 150,000 houses this year.

ECB cut's interest rates

The European Central Bank has slashed interest rates by half a percentage point to 2% as it attempt to breathe some life back into the region's ailing economy. It iss the fourth cut by the ECB in as many months and brings the total reduction since then to 2.25 percentage points. The cut was widely predicted by economists, and followed the Bank of England's decision last week to reduce rates by half a percentage point to 1.5pc - the lowest ever level in the UK. Economists are predicting further rate cuts to follow in the eurozone.

A Place in the Sun backs Spain

Spain is still the number one destination following a survey carried out by the magazine "A Place in the Sun" which showed it to be the most popular destination for Britons.
Despite the negative news that has surrounded Spain for the last few years and the current credit crises, we are not surprised by such findings.
Where else can you enjoy such a balmy climate, stunning beaches and beautiful scenery, all for just a short low-cost flight from the UK.
Of course the weather yesterday was a little colder than normal for this part of the world, with temperatures reaching -7ºC in inland regions of Alicante. It's not expected to last though you'll be glad to hear (read).

Alicante continues to be the most popular province in Spain

A three-bedroom country house in Alicante priced under €150,000 is the most popular type of property for international buyers in Spain, according to H2 2008 data released yesterday by Kyero.com.

Its analysis of email enquiries through its site found that Alicante (24.3%) was the most popular province in Spain for international buyers, followed by Malaga (13.2%), Granada (11.5%), Tarragona (7.6%), Valencia (6.1%), Almeria (5.7%) and Murcia (5.1%), with ‘others’ accounting for 26.3% of enquiries.

Overall, just seven provinces attracted almost three-quarters of interest from foreign buyers, with the remainder shared between 40 other Spanish provinces.

"The criteria of foreign buyers differs significantly from that of Spanish property buyers,” said Kyero.com MD, Martin Dell. “Unsurprisingly, Spanish buyers favour big cities such as Madrid and Barcelona, yet the majority of foreign buyers are more interested in traditional inland property or a beachfront lifestyle."

Of the 90,000 email enquiries, 68.2% were made in English, followed by Spanish (11.8%), French (7.1%), Dutch (6.6%), German (2.8%) and Danish (1.6%). Enquiries in Portuguese, Italian and Russian were very low, however, Dell put this down to the availability of the respective languages on the site late into 2008.

Comparing the latest enquiry report with previous issues, Alicante province ranks consistently as the most popular since 2006, with Granada and Malaga jockeying for second position.

In the last three years, Alicante province is the only one of the top five to have increased its share of enquiries from 18.2% in 2006 to 24.3% in 2008. Each of the other contenders has lost share - to Alicante and to other, less familiar areas of Spain.

Top-5 share of enquiries by Spanish province

Rank 2008 2007 2006
1. Alicante 24.3% Alicante 17.4% Alicante 18.2%
2. Malaga 13.2% Granada 16.4% Granada 17.4%
3. Granada 11.5% Malaga 14.4% Malaga 16.2%
4. Tarragona 7.6% Almeria 9.0% Almeria 7.9%
5. Valencia 6.1% Valencia 8.5% Tarragona 7.5%

The good news for estate agents is that foreigners are increasingly interested in buying more expensive properties. Since 2006, the proportion of enquiries for properties over €500,000 has quadrupled - now standing at 4.5% of all enquiries made.

The trend at the other end of the price spectrum has also changed significantly. In 2006, 28% of enquiries were made about properties priced under €50,000. In 2008, that percentage decreased to just 17.7%.

The most popular price range of €50,000 to €150,000 attracted a steady 40% of total enquiries each year but the higher price ranges all increased their share of enquiries over time.

Share of enquiries by property price range

Price range (€000's) 2008 2007 2006
Under 50K 18% 21% 28%
50-150K 40% 42% 40%
150-250K 23% 21% 20%
250-350K 10% 8% 7%
350-500K 5% 5% 4%
Over 500K 5% 3% 1%

Country houses (30%) once again attracted the highest level of enquiries at Kyero.com, followed by villas (24.8%), apartments (18%) and townhouses (15.9%). Three-bedroom units attracted the highest number of enquiries, with 28.5%, closely followed by two-bedroom units at 23.8%. Swimming pools were only requested by 39.5% of potential buyers.

New Year - New office

With the change over to 2009 now upon us, we have moved to a new office right in the heart of the old town in Benidorm. Our new address is:
Edificio Almaza, Calle Tomas Ortuño 6, Benidorm 03501 .
The fixed telephone will also change to: +34 966 112 773
We have decided upon the new offices for a number of reasons, but the main reason is the huge savings in rent, which will allow us to increase our spending on advertising. The clear changes in the way the public now start their search for a (second) home in Spain suggests that a window full of properties for sale is no longer as efficient as it used to be in the past.
Positive as always, we are confident this is a step in the right direction for us as a company, and we will also be able to increase the exposure of the properties for sale via the world wide web.
Here's to a prosperous 2009!!