The Ultimate Homes Blog

British and Irish property buyers are still showing considerable interest in buying real estate abroad despite the recession, according to the latest figures from the international search website, primelocation.com. And Spain is the number one search destination, pushing France into second place, according to their latest figures. Bargain prices in Spain are believed to be the reason it has sprung to the top of the list although Spain has always been very popular with UK investors. Searches for properties in Spain have increased 27% year on year. The country now accounts for 30.53% of international searches. France is the second most popular with 27% and the US in third place with 14.34%, that's up 87% compared to May 2008 and could be due to bargain properties in Florida. Searches in Portugal have also increased by 15% since May 08 and by 12% since April 09 while Italy is showing a 13% increase in searches since May 08. Italy is in fourth place with 6.24% of searches, followed by ...

The Tinsa House Price Index for May 2009 ha just been released and it certainly makes for encouraging reading. Last month's TINSA report fell a little flat because of the hope it would show that the decrease in house prices had reversed. Actually, both the March and April TINSA reports showed that Spanish property prices had remained at a relatively stable 10% down on an annual basis. While this is far from exciting - and a far cry from a complete turnaround - the TINSA data does suggest that house prices in Spain have bottomed out. For the past four months, the TINSA index has been steady, 10% down Y-O-Y. Compared to the dramatic decline measured between the middle of 2006 and the start of 2009 - this is quite a significant change in the trend. Te TINSA data is a far more accurate measure of what's actually happening in the Spanish property market. The official government data from the Institute of National Statistics and Ministry of Housing are only admitting a 10% decline in...

The credit crunch never happened. Billionaires still want to flash the cash in the most conspicuous fashion. And one UK/Spanish developer has just broken ground on a 30 million Euro house in the exclusive La Zagaleta estate in the hills outside Marbella. La Zagaleta is one of the most exclusive and luxurious residential developments in Europe. Located on the Costa del Sol, this private complex covering 900 hectares is close to the Serranía de Ronda, a short drive from Marbella and only 40 minutes from Malaga airport, with connections to all major European destinations. La Roca del Rey (The King’s Rock), as the property will be known, will be built in one of the most desirable locations in La Zagaleta, says the developer, on an elevated 18,000m² plot (four and a half acres) complete with striking rocky outcrop, looking over the Mayor of Moscow’s pad. The home will be visible from kilometres away. Arranged over three floors with 4,400m² plus of living accommodation interspersed wi...

Euribor, the interest rate normally used to calculate mortgage payments in Spain, fell from 1.771% in April to 1.644% in May, a percentage change of -7.2% month to month, and -67% year to year. After 8 consecutive monthly declines, annual repayments on the average mortgage based on Euribor will fall considerably. According to the National Institute of Statistics, the average Spanish mortgage is 119,000 Euros, Euribor +.075%, with a 26 year term. Monthly repayments on mortgages resetting to May’s Euribor will fall by 223 Euros to 512 Euros per month, a major relief for many of Spain’s hard pressed borrowers. Euribor has started June with further falls.

Some interesting news following the release of the study carried out by Fotocasa (the Spanish property portal) regarding price movements during the first quarter of this year. Average prices in Benidorm still remain the highest in the Communidad Valenciana at 2.726 euros per sq.metre, a decline of 0.9% during the quarter and 4.9% year-on-year (March 2008 to March 2009). Interestingly enough El Campello is located in second position with an average price of 2.502 Euros per sq.metre which is actually up by 3.2% over the last 12 months. At the other end of the scale, Torrevieja has one of the cheapest average prices of 1.524 euros per sq.metre, and experienced a decline of 16.2% over the year. Alicante, as the capital of the province in which we work and live has an average price of 2.000 Euros per sq.metre and has seen declines of 2.6% during the quarter and 6.4% during the last 12 months. Prices in general throughout Spain have shown declines over the last 12 months, with an averge pric...

With definite signs of recovery being noted in the USA and UK, it is good to also hear positive news from the Salon Inmobiliario de Madrid, the largest Spanish property meeting, which closed its doors on Saturday. Whilst this year had seen a smaller number of exhibitors, the number of visitors and sales during the fair were substantially higher than those registered last year. In total, more than 60,000 people visited the fair and the various stands in search of offers, with discounts available of up to 50% on the initial price. Eloy Bohúa, director of the SIMA, was satisfied with the result of the fair, and trusts that "the dynamism that have seen these days is translated into a resurgence of sales over the coming months". In general, almost all developers who attended SIMA achieved results which surpassed their expectations.