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Showing posts from May, 2007

Valencia to host F1 Grand Prix

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The harbourside circuit will draw comparisons with Monaco as Valencia will host a Grand Prix from 2008 after agreeing a deal with Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone. The race, to be called the European Grand Prix, is scheduled for late in the season on a newly-designed circuit around the Spanish port’s streets. The seven-year agreement is conditional on the People’s Party holding power in local elections to be held this month. The new deal means Spain will have two Grands Prix next year, with Barcelona staging the other. Ecclestone has previously said that no European country should have more than one race. The Valencia circuit will be between 4.1-4.3km (2.5-2.7 miles) long and its harbourside location is bound to draw comparisons with the Monaco Grand Prix. According to Spanish media, Ecclestone insisted the race must be on a street circuit rather than the nearby Ricardo Tormo track in Cheste which hosts a round of the MotoGP and is also used for F1 testing. Valencia’s willingness ...

How Spain thrives on Immigration

Imagine what would happen if a prosperous Western nation threw open its borders, allowing immigrants to flood in virtually unchecked. Soaring unemployment, overstretched social services, rising crime, even rioting in the streets? Not in Spain. Over the past decade, the traditionally homogeneous country has become a sort of open-door laboratory on immigration. Spain has absorbed more than 3 million foreigners from places as diverse as Romania, Morocco, and South America. More than 11% of the country’s 44 million residents are now foreign-born, one of the highest proportions in Europe. With hundreds of thousands more arriving each year, Spain could soon match the U.S. rate of 12.9%. And it doesn’t seem to have hurt much. Spain is Europe’s best-performing major economy, with growth averaging 3.1% over the past five years. Since 2002, the country has created half the new jobs in the euro zone. Unemployment has plummeted from more than 20% in the 1990s to 8.6%, within shooting distance of t...

Engel & Volkers to open 300 new offices in Spain

For a change, it appears there is a positive slant on Spain (tongue planted firmly in cheek). The German real estate agent Engel & Volkers believes that the Spanish market has huge potential for growth and will look to have a total of 300 offices nationwide over the next few years (currently there are 53 offices). Their typical market is the higher end tourist market but they are reporting strong growth in the Spanish market too. Really backs up what we are trying to do here at Ultimate Homes. Spain is still one of the most desirable locations for foreign buyers and the fact that the local population make up a large percentage of buyers too will continue to support the market.

Is this the end of the world as we know it..........

It would appear that due to several Spanish builders seeing share price volatility on the Madrid stock exchange, a number of so-called property experts are revealing the end of the world is nigh. How this effects Mr and Mrs Smith who holiday a couple of times a year in their villa in Spain is beyond me. The slump in construction sector shares last week was severe but analysts overlooked the fact that Spanish property prices are still rising, albeit at about 7 per cent a year instead of the much higher gains that were the norm over the last decade. Whilst the party may be over for the 20% or more a year gains, we are hardly talking a property price meltdown. Investors who buy in good quality developments in pleasant surroundings should not be worried either. The capital value of bricks and mortar is likely to be worst affected at the bottom of the market, where there is considerable oversupply. Whilst I would agree that if you want a big profit quickly, Spain is not for you. The infrast...