Spanish property market recovering

The Spanish property market is beginning to take a turn for the better, with the descent in prices finally beginning to slow, and increased foreign investment.

In recent data collected by luxury Spanish estate agency Lucas Fox, it has been discovered that property sales in Barcelona are up 13.5 per cent from January to May 2013 in comparison to the same period last year. Furthermore, an increase in sales transactions has been noted, with a particular interest coming from the British and Scandinavian buyers. Luxury properties have also been seen to have been selling well, with the average sales price of properties sold by Lucas Fox in the first six months of 2013 being  €1million in areas including Barcelona, Mallorca, Ibiza and the Costa Brava.

These factors combined have led to Lucas Fox experiencing the strongest two quarters of trading since the property crash of 2006/7, implying that there is a light at the end of the tunnel for the Spanish property market.

The research showed that Mallorca was the most popular tourist destination in Spain throughout the former half of 2013, with many UK and Scandinavian buyers. Interest has also been noted from those in Russia and the Far East, with Ibiza remaining popular for younger European buyers between the ages of 30 and 40. It is thought that the increased foreign interest, particularly from China and India, comes as a result of a new Spanish law granting non-EU nationals residency when spending €500k or more on Spanish property.

Lucas Fox co-founder Alexander Vaughan comments: “The first six months of 2013 saw further encouraging developments in the property market in prime areas of Spain. In all regions we cover, the numbers of offers and sales completed were significantly up on the same period in 2012. It remains a buyer’s market with even the best properties transacting at 20 to 30 per cent below their peak prices and sellers increasingly open to negotiation on asking prices. Our advice to potential buyers is to focus on location and quality. There are some great deals to be had and we think that in most areas, particularly Barcelona, the Costa Brava and Marbella, prices are at, or very close to, the bottom. We expect the trend of sellers lowering asking prices in line with buyer expectations to continue for at least the rest of 2013.’

Source: www.fly-2let.co.uk