Wednesday 30 January 2008

Euribor ends the month with the biggest fall in six years.

Good news in that the Euribor rate, used to calculate mortgages in Spain, has this month seen its biggest fall since October 2001, more than six years ago.
From its close in December of 4.79% it has subsequently fallen to 4.5%, which in time will have a knock on effect for mortgage payers.

Tuesday 29 January 2008

A Place in the Sun puts Spain at number one

According to a survey published this month by A Place in the Sun magazine, property investors like a bit of adventure mixed in with a fair amount of security when making a choice of where to buy abroad. It came as little surprise that it’s good old Spain that takes the number one spot for the second year running as the UK’s top overseas property spot but check out whose creeping up the stakes.

Organisers at the recent A Place in the Sun Live exhibition, at the NEC Birmingham, conducted the poll amongst attendees: France maintained its 2006 second place on the chart and Turkey surged into third place, thanks to a wide marketing campaign and broad tourism investment across the country. Countries that many thought would feature highly are clearly just not that popular any more - for many, a case of the reality not living up to the hype. Bulgaria and Croatia were two to suffer significant drops in popularity on last year, down 5 and 6 places respectively.

The USA’s weak dollar continues to add to its appeal, with Brits currently able to take huge advantage of great value for money as the country goes through an uncomfortable ‘credit crunch’ on the back of its 2007 lending crisis. The USA leaps six places, up into fourth. The recent push to promote all things Italian has clearly paid off, up three to five and Canada surprised everyone, soaring seven places, up to ninth place. Egypt’s success as a winter sun destination is paying dividends, up three places to 11.

And it isn’t just holiday home purchasers who are driving a change in trends: Australia jumped from 20 to 15 as an increasing number of UK residents choose to swap Surbiton for Sydney. A massive 389,000 Brits relocated permanently to Oz last year alone, according to the Office of National Statistics.

2007’s Winners and Losers as ranked in the UK’s Top 20 overseas property destinations according to A Place in the Sun:

1. Spain ( - )
2. France ( - )
3. Turkey (+1)
4. USA (+6)
5. Italy (+3)
6. Cyprus (-1)
7. Greece (-1)
8. Bulgaria (-5)
9. Canada (+7)
10. Cape Verde (-1)
11. Egypt (+3)
12. Portugal (-5)
13. Morocco (-1)
14. Caribbean (-1)
15. Australia (+5)
16. Montenegro (+2)
17. Croatia (-6)
18. Dubai (-3)

Monday 21 January 2008

Foreign Investment in Spain on the UP

The evolution of foreign investment in Spanish property continues.
From the heights of the 7.072 million Euros invested in 2003, followed by 6.650 million in 2004, 5.495 million in 2005, and finally 4.766 million Euros in 2006, the figures for 2007 appear to be bouncing back.
The latest figures available show that up until the end of October, 4.721 million Euros has been invested by foreigners in property, which is some 22,9% more than the 3.840 million Euros invested in the first ten months of the previous year, 2006.
Also, the month of October registered the second larhgest volume of investors for the year with a total investment of 547 million Euros, and that compares very favourably to the 435 million Euros invested in the October of 2006.
When the headlines scream sell, the smart investors move back in.

Tuesday 8 January 2008

Spain is still the dish of the day





Although the overseas property market has expanded and diversified - where probably even the most obscure country has a website dedicated to the wonderful investment opportunities to be found within - Spain remains the perennial market leader; a position that we believe it is set to hold for a long while to come.
As far as love affairs go, the Brits’ infatuation with Spain has often bordered on the obsessive. From their constant desire to pop round for a visit (16 million Brits descend on Spain every year), the Brits have been doe-eyed for Spain since the first package-holiday tourists touched down in the liberal, swinging sixties. Since then, we have been transfixed by Spain’s beauty, heat and relaxed attitude. And while France is more ‘her indoors’ - appealing to an older, more traditional crowd - Spain has definitely played the role of the sultry mistress, where playing away has never been more fun.
But is the love affair over? Has Spain lost its appeal? Are our heads being turned by the younger, racier locations of Eastern Europe, Africa and the Caribbean? Recent press reports announcing Spain’s demise have been a little premature to say the least. There has certainly been a marked decline in property sales, and prices are no longer rising at the rate they were four or five years ago, but the property market in Spain remains one of the strongest and most dynamic in the world.
The facts speak for themselves: 800,000 new homes were built in Spain last year(2007), which is four times that of the UK. Of course, not every property is being snapped up, but there are still approximately one million British-owned properties throughout the country, with an additional three million foreign-owned homes on top, with the Spanish Ministry of Tourism predicting that a further three million non-Spanish residents will purchase property in the country by 2025. So the demand is definitely still there.
The wobble came about earlier in the year when shares of some of Spain’s leading property developers, saw their share price correct. To the uninitiated, this sparked a panic that the property market was heading for a crash, when in reality all that had happened was a slight correction of share values in the stock market; a correction that was required to stem the astranomical share-price rises that have come to characterise Spain over the past decade. The correction in the stock market was in fact forgotten within one month as share prices of the construction companies in most cases had recovered.
However, whereas the slump may have been felt in the more traditional areas of Spain – namely the Costa del Sol – property prices elsewhere have been healthy. Alicante has seen rises as has Murcia, and the Costa Blanca in general posted price increases of 8% over the past 12 months (according to Spanish Government figures). prices just are not collapsing.
Ally these figures to Spain’s nationwide standing as one of the strongest economies in the Eurozone and the picture for the Spanish property market really is not as bleak as it is being made out to be.
And anyway, the country’s attractions are immune to market conditions. If share prices fall, the sun still shines. If property prices remain stagnant, the wonderful way of life continues at its (extremely) leisurely pace. And if short-term investors are struggling to sell their properties, the Mediterranean breeze will still roll in, cooling the brows of even the most fraught investor.
The plan of attack in a mature market such as Spain’s should be to have a long-term plan. A 10 year timeframe should be the minimum plan for the sensible investor: ten years to soak up the sun, the culture, the language and, yes, the heady concoction of different cultures, each vying to put their own stamp on this ever-enduring and ever-accommodating land. So, do not neglect Spain – treat her with the respect she deserves and you shall be justly rewarded.

Thursday 3 January 2008

Happy New Year

We at Ultimate Homes would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year 2008, full of good times, happiness and prosperity. And whilst the festivities in Spain will continue until Sunday evening, by which time the Three Kings will have been and gone, I hope you have all had a good one!!
Finally, a thought for the new year - choose your real estate agent carefully, even be nice to them, especially the good one's because underneath it all, they might even be human.

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