Monday 26 November 2012

Automatic Residency for Buyers in Spain

Benidorm Playa Levante
Foreigners who buy properties in Spain valued at 160,000 Euros or more may automatically get residence cards in a new Government initiative to encourage homebuyers from overseas. It has been assumed that the move is mainly aimed at Chinese and Russian nationals, but the Government does not believe it will lead to a sudden rush for residence certificates to be approved.

The threshold of 160,000 euros is merely a guideline which may change in the future with fluctuations in the market. They say it is mainly so that when holiday home owners from outside the EU wish to travel to Spain to spend time in their properties, they will not have to apply for a visa every time they want to get into the country.

With well over a quarter of a million homes in Spain sitting empty and most Spanish people being unable to afford to buy them because of fear of job loss or, where they are working, banks' new restrictions on offering mortgage finance, the only way to revive the housing market in the country is by attracting foreign buyers – and that is where there is a great deal of interest.  And now that the market has suffered such a dramatic fall with prices at a fraction of what they were five years ago, more and more buyers from abroad are seeing property in Spain as an investment.

Giving people residence rights automatically when they buy a home has already been introduced in Portugal and the Republic of Ireland.

Up until now, buyers from outside the European Union are not guaranteed residence in Spain. They are obliged to have a NIE number, but are frequently only given a temporary residence card that does not allow them to work.

Contact us now to find out more about the fantastically priced properties we have available.

Wednesday 21 November 2012

Midweek Currency Market Update

£/EUR
Range of the week: 1.2398 – 1.2452
Variance of the week on £10k =  €54

Rates this week have been steady and are consolidating here with little indication of the next move in GBPEUR.

For the UK, data has been incredibly light this week, with the main event being this morning’s release of the Bank of England’s minutes for November’s meeting. No big market surprises here following the quarterly inflation report last week. Vote of 8:1 for no change to QE and 9:0 to hold interest rates, virtually no impact on the value of GBP so far.

In Europe the rumble of debt crisis continues with a failure to agree on a deal to give Greece the next tranche of its financial bailout this morning, with a pledge to meet again next Monday. Greece is waiting on around £25billion in aid which was suspended in the summer over concerns it was not meeting the conditions of its bailout programme.

Again market data for this week is sparse for the Euro zone with German producer prices coming in flat yesterday morning. Friday will see GDP figures released for Germany. As the powerhouse of Europe any downward movement on the expected 0.2pc (quarter on quarter) could have an impact on the EUR.

As always do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or doubts regarding currency exchange

Tuesday 13 November 2012

Latest musings from Ultimate Homes

This is certainly an interesting time for potential buyers of Spanish property, who can find bargains wherever they care to look. For the British, the exchange rate is also favourable as Sterling has risen to relatively new highs against the Euro, thus providing them with far greater purchasing power than even one year ago.

Interest there is and we have seen a huge increase in the number of daily enquiries but that is now converting into sales, with recent figures from the National Statistics Institute yesterday confirming that for the second consecutive month, home sales rose, this time by 0.9% compared with the month of September 2011. The year-on-year rise in housing purchases recorded in September is the second consecutive increase, after August registered an increase of 3% year-on-year after a negative run of 17 months of declining home sales.

Needless to say during that period of declining sales, house prices have fallen dramatically. And in fact they have fallen so dramatically that you can find as an individual legally built property in prime locations and at a bargain price which you are unlikely to lose much money, if any, should the market in general continue to decline (which it probably will).

It may not go up by much for many years but it should hold its value. Meanwhile, you can enjoy using / living in a property in Spain that will provide you with access to a quality of life that will enchant you – and that may just prove to be one of the highlights of your existence.

Here are some of the more popular properties we have listed at the moment based on visits to our webpage.

Oliva Nova, two bedroom apartments from 50.325 Euros

Fortuna, Murcia - Three bedroom villa from 73.605 Euros

Condado de Alhama, Murcia - Two and three bedroom apartments from 40.425 Euros

Polop, three bedroom detached villa - 116.250 Euros

For more information on these properties or any other property on our website, do not hesitate to contact us and ask us why now is the time to buy in Spain


Tinsa €/m2