Wednesday 24 October 2012

Ultimate Homes - Bank Repossession Homes in the Costa Blanca

As some of you know we have a wide and varied range of bank repossession properties with an extra discount of 25% until 30th November, with prices from 30.000 Euros.

Click here to see our latest listings


These properties are priced with a 25% discount included and subject to conditions. 
Offer expires 30th November 2012.

Do not delay, contact us NOW


Foreign Exchange Midweek Market Update

GBP/EUR
Range of the week: 1.2250 – 1.2360
Variance of the week on £10k= €110

Sterling fell to a 5 ½ month low against the Euro as optimism continued over the stabilisation of the debt crisis.

It’s been a relatively quiet week on the data front from the UK so far. Overnight the Pound saw decent buying interest after Mervyn King was slightly more upbeat about the economy here and the only talk of monetary easing was to dismiss recent comments made by Lord Turner (current head of the FSA and a candidate to replace Mervyn as Governor of the BoE next year). This morning’s industrial trends survey indicated a sharp slowdown in manufacturing activity at the beginning of Q4, though Sterling showed little reaction to the release as the focus is on tomorrows 3rd quarter GDP data.

The Euro fell sharply across the board this morning after weaker data from the euro zone shifted investors focus away from the recent positives on the debt crisis and back on to the economy. The services and manufacturing Purchasing Managers Indexes were both weaker than expected for September which, unless there’s a significant turnaround in the coming months, would seem to indicate the euro zone economy is still contracting. German manufacturing data was especially concerning giving the importance of this sector to Europe’s largest economy; it showed activity falling at a much sharper rate this month than in September.

This will likely add further fuel to those economists and politicians who have been have calling for an easing of austerity measures recently as unemployment rises and economies contract. Germany has yet to be swayed by any such argument and has consistently stuck by its position that deficits must be reduced in line with the fiscal pact agreed of no more than 3% of GDP. It will be interesting to see if they adjust their position if their economy begins to contract.  

Still to come this week:
Tomorrow we get the first estimate of 3rd quarter UK GDP growth. Expectations are for growth of 0.6% in part due to the ticket sales and TV revenues from the Olympics.

Commentary provided courtesy of HIFX, any questions relating to transferring currency to or from Spain, then contact us here.

Wednesday 10 October 2012

Foreign Exchange Midweek Market Update


Range of the week: 1.2505 – 1.2328

Variance of the week on £10k = €177

With nothing major in terms of data, and no major scare stories coming out of either the Euro-Zone, or the UK for that matter, the Euro has continued to strengthen back against the pound since last week’s update, although the pound has regained a little ground this morning.
Longer term, at their annual meeting in Tokyo, the International Monetary Fund has urged Eurozone leaders to act swiftly in response to the debt crisis in Greece and Spain, or risk dragging down the global economy with another financial crisis.

Sale of Spanish Homes on the Increase after 17 months of Declines

A bargain - Three bedroom townhouse for sale in Finestrat

The sale of homes in Spain increased (yes, that is right) increased to a total of 27,708 transactions in August, representing a small increase of 1.2% per month and 3.0% year on year, according to data from the National Statistics Institute (INE). This is the first rise in sales after 17 months of declines.

The data released yesterday by the INE is obtained from property records, which register the data with a delay of approximately two to three months after the completion and signing at the notary. Therefore figures for the month of August would actually refer to transactions closed in May-June, and therefore would not take into consideration the knock-on effect created by the Government announcement in July of this year of the end of tax relief and the increase in IVA (VAT) on new housing from 2013.

In theory, we should see a continued rebound in the number of transactions for the next few months and certainly up to the end of the year.

Wednesday 3 October 2012

Foreign Exchange Midweek Market Update


Range of the week: 1.259 - 1.246
Variance of the week on GBP10K = 130 Euros

As the European worries continue and the Spanish Prime Minister’s insistence that a “bailout will not be sought” it has thrown another spanner in the works. Investors had been gearing up for a bailout and many officials in the country have mentioned the preparations that have been going on behind the scenes. One of the major signals was last week’s budget which saw greater than expected austerity proposed and most saw this as the biggest indication that a bailout request was impending. It looks as though for now that the largest cog in the single currency, Germany, who are heavily opposed to a Spanish bailout, has been able to apply its pressure and prevent it from happening.

The way the exchange rates have been behaving for the past few months suggests that only “concrete news” with “concrete evidence” is likely to start a shift to either end of the 1.20 to 1.30 range.

Around 3 trillion dollars, or equivalent, is being bought and sold every single day on the foreign exchange market. And 97% of that is speculative. So without a doubt, the investors have the last say in whether the exchange rate goes one way or the other. Sentiment drives the market the majority of the time, and if they were of the opinion that the Euro was about to explode, we would almost certainly be seeing more volatility in the rate.

The fact that the Euro is stronger now compared to 3 months back makes it difficult to believe the market is on the brink of collapse.

Tinsa €/m2