The Ultimate Homes Blog

A ‘SOFT landing’ is forecast for the Spanish property market, according to a new study from Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, with demand and supply reaching sustainable levels. “House prices have undergone a further slow-down, the moderation in demand from households has gathered pace, and the indicators of activity are starting to show some deceleration on the supply side,” the report said. “Household spending on housing will slow in 2007 and 2008, a fall-off is expected to be intense but without turning negative in real terms,” it added. “Investment in housing is therefore expected to fall back from a growth rate of 2.8% in 2007 to 1% in 2008.” Meanwhile a new report by the UK mortgage lender Halifax confirms that house prices in Spain have risen faster than anywhere else in Europe, surpassing even the UK market. They believe that the slowdown in the Spanish property market is a positive thing, after five years of exceptional price rises. According to their figures, Spain’s property ...

Spain’s struggling twentysomethings are to receive cash handouts to help them to move out of their parents’ homes. In an attempt to tackle a big housing crisis – and capture young voters – the Socialist Government is to offer €210 (£150) a month to those aged 22 to 30 whose salary is less than €22,000. The move comes after a ten-year housing boom that has sent property prices rocketing by 150 per cent and left thousands of young Spaniards unable to afford soaring rents. Many are living with their parents until well into their thirties. Prices have been pushed up partly by the voracious appetite of British investors and holiday-home buyers to snap up villas in the Spanish sun. In a series of mass demonstrations across the country over three years, thousands of low-income Spaniards have demanded more affordable housing. With six months to go before the general election next March, cheaper housing will be a significant issue for all parties. With his eye on the youth vote, José Luis RodrÍ...

Figures from the Bank of Spain reveal that foreign investment in Spanish property increased by 19.2% in the first 5 months of the year compared to the same period in 2006. The total amount invested by foreigners to the end of May was 2.252 billion Euros, almost the same as the amount invested in 2005, though still significantly below the 2.925 billion Euros invested in the peak year of 2003. The figures do suggest that foreign demand for Spanish property has picked up significantly since last year, even though reports say that the market is still very slow. By the end of the year we should know whether foreign demand has rebounded, or whether these figures can be explained by some other factor.

An estimated 1 million Brits now live in Spain – and after decades of Little England mentality, there are signs that the expatriates are integrating at last into the Spanish way of life. Graham Forster may have come to Spain partly in search of the sun, but sea and sand can’t have had too much to do with it. The pretty Andalusian village where he has settled is a 40-minute drive from the coast – or would have been had I been able to find the winding road to it on my map. Eschewing the concrete costas and looking inland, the 49-year-old Liverpudlian watchmaker found a perfect place to settle in Álora , a whitewashed village in the shadow of an ancient hilltop castle. “I wanted the Spanish lifestyle, rather than Little England in the sun,” he explains, taking a rest from fixing clocks in the afternoon heat. Five years ago, he moved here with his family and enrolled his son Jonathan and daughter Jessica in the local school. After four years of lessons and considerable help from his neighb...