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 infrastructure is already in place and we could hardly say Spain is the next big thing. But if you are searching for a home/holiday home as are the majority of our clients, then having the infrastructure in place makes a big difference.

With regards to the market, anyone who has listened to Steve or myself would know we have been banging on about it being a buyers market for some time. We do try to list properties at a price which will sell and sometimes it may take us several months negotiating with a vendor until we do actually list a property, mainly due to their unrealisitically high expectations.

And whilst share prices did fall by some 20% last week, one in particular is up more than 10-fold since its listing a year ago. Hardly a collapse.