The Ultimate Homes Blog

A selection of photos from last weekend which I took whilst on a family excursion to the stunning little beach at Fustera, on Moraira to Calpe road, and in the area of Benissa, Alicante. We have property for sale in the surrounding area from 120.000 Euros and would be happy to share this jewel on the coast with you!

GBP/EUR Range of the week :  1.2322 – 1.2546 Variance of the week on £10k €224 The last 7 days has seen the GBP/EUR rates at the lowest level since the end of June after the ECB announced its unlimited bond buying programme giving welcome relief to our Euro Sellers. This may be a great opportunity for clients looking to convert their Euros back into Sterling as this optimism on the fortunes of the single currency may be short lived once focus shifts back to the poor health of the struggling EU nations. Concerns have already been rising this week that Spain would soon request a bailout. There is much debate about the timing of the bailout amongst the EU countries at the moment which the French, amongst others, keen to see this take place sooner rather than later. The delay in a Spanish decision comes from a reluctance to take on the new conditions that will placed on Spain as part of any bailout funds. The Germans have so far disagreed with the French position and ...

The latest news and views from HIFX: £/€ has continued to drop off the back of the ECB President Mario Draghi coming up with a plan to save the Eurozone, the rhetoric was strong and the market certainly seemed to buy it but only time will tell. This week we have been awaiting the ruling from Germany’s top court on whether the unlimited bailout rule breaks Germanys constitution. Latest news is that Germany’s court rejected the petition that Germany’s involvement in the European Stability Mechanism (one of the bailout funds) was unconstitutional and has backed their involvement in the fund. This is yet another significant positive for the Euro as Germany is due to contribute about a quarter of the money/guarantees without which the debt crisis would have intensified and the single currency crumbled. The Euro has hit a 2-month high against the Pound and a 4-month high against the US Dollar! For any currency related questions do not hesitate to contact us .

Whilst many of us have forgotten the holidays, it is fair to say that in Spain the start of the school year marks a return to normal - and back to business too. With reference to the housing market, uncertainty remains. A desperately slow attitude by the banks to new mortgage lending, together with the possibility of the new "bad bank" offloading devalued homes  to shift the stock quickly is not helping. Regardless, the situation is what is and we can not change that, but within this stormy environment that we find ourselves, there are always people and real estate agencies that are kept afloat by giving a little more, working harder and with a no surrender attitude.

The latest mid-week currency update courtesy of HIFX: GBP/EUR Range of the week: 1.2567 – 1.2666 Variance of the week on £10k €99 Data from Europe this week so far falling in line with expectations which is further consolidating the range against GBP of 1.2585 – 1.27 that we have seen for the past ten days. EZ PMI Manufacturing came in at 45.1 for August, previous of 45.3. Still shows an expected decline in conditions predicted by manufacturers in the euro zone. Euro zone PPI came in at 1.8pc as previous, while retail sales showed further decline down to -1.7pc from a previous of - 0.9pc. Main event for the week again the central bank meeting tomorrow.  The European Central Bank are expected to do something tomorrow as ECB President Mario Draghi tries to back up his pledge to do “whatever it takes” to save the euro. Predictions of an interest rate cut to 0.5pc are increasing, but more importantly the market is keen to hear further details of a new bond-buying plan which it is...