22
Properties
CoastRider
CoastRider
- Edition 569
- Edition
- October
470 20th
- March
2015
5thwww.coastridersl.com
2013
Britons buying a fifth of all Spanish
property sold to foreigners
Britons are buying a fifth of all Spanish
property sold to foreigners, as moribund
prices and a strong pound make holiday
homes in the sun more appealing.
According to new figures released by
the Spanish land registry, Britons, more
than any other nationality, are taking
advantage of a combination of favourable
economic factors. The euro has fallen from
about 80p to the pound, to a little over 70p
in 12 months, making homes in popular
areas such as the Costa del Sol and the
Costa Blanca cheaper to buy.
Slow price growth in Spain, coupled
with rapidly rising property prices at home
– in some instances, by more than 10 per
cent a year – mean that Spanish property
is making less of a dent in Britons’ wallets.
According to the Colegio de Registradores,
19.8 per cent of all property bought by
non-Spaniards in the first six months of
2015 went to UK buyers. German and
other northern Europeans are stymied by
the weak euro, while buyers from further
afield – Russians have bought large numbers of Spanish
holiday homes in recent years – have been hit by
sanctions or weakening domestic economies.
As many as 750,000 Britons live in Spain for at least
part of the year. “The British market is by far the most
important,” said Marc Pritchard, the Majorca-based sales
and marketing director of Taylor Wimpey España, which
develops homes in popular coastal areas. “There are
several factors at play, but people are starting to realise
that after years of the Spanish housing market being
depressed, it is beginning to pick up.”
Spain suffered one of the sharpest economic
downturns in the Eurozone crisis, sending property
prices spiralling. Many had ploughed retirement savings
into a dream home in the sun, but suddenly found
themselves heavily indebted and holding an asset that
was worth a fraction of what they paid for it.
But greater confidence of economic
stability at home is allowing people,
especially those with plenty of cash, to
look abroad for what are still bargain
prices. “Prices, while rising, are still low,”
said Mr Pritchard. “Even in prime
locations, properties are still at 2002
levels.”
The most popular destinations are the
sun-kissed coastal areas, with some
communities in Alicante and Marbella
dominated
by
English-speaking
residents. The house-moving website,
Rightmove, says it is the grey pound that
is driving the market. Britons aged
between 55 and 64 are the most active in
Spain, making up almost half of all
enquiries about holiday homes. Those
aged between 45 and 54 make a third of
all requests.
Housers, a Spanish-based crowdfunded investment group, is hoping to
raise about £90m to invest in 500
properties, most of them in Madrid, with
a view to renting them out. House prices in the Spanish
capital have risen by more than 5 per cent this year.
The move is likely to anger social groups who argue
that banks have been too quick to foreclose on
households who have fallen behind on mortgage
repayments. Housers’ first investment, a flat in Madrid,
was bought by 49 investors, who each share the €450
(£333) a month rent, and any capital appreciation.