Spanish Real Estate Market Shows Promise

Property sales portal Kyero reports Spain?s property outlook has improved in the first quarter of 2012 when compared to the last quarter of last year. Experts at the firm expect prices to hit bottom before year?s end, which means the residential property market could see substantial growth through 2018. The optimism is bolstered by increased interest from foreign buyers from more prosperous regions in the Eurozone like Sweden and Norway who are looking for deals. Sales to Norwegians are up 61% in Spain, with Swedes trailing at a still-impressive 43% in areas such as Costa Blanca. These and other buyers are taking advantage of prices that are the lowest they?ve been in a decade. For more on this continue reading the following article from Property Wire.

It looks like sellers and their agents are pricing more realistically as asking prices of Spanish property continue to show a small but consistent decline quarter on quarter, according to new figures.

The latest Spanish house price index from specialist property sales portal Kyero shows that average prices nationally were ?252,000 in the first quarter of 2012 compared with ?256,900 in the final quarter of 2011.

The firm expects prices to bottom out completely this year and a slight upturn for 2013. ?We expect foreign buyers from stronger Eurozone economies to continue to buy property in Spain while prices are low,? a spokesman said.

?Starting in 2013, we expect a slight upturn in prices will signal a more widespread return of buyer confidence, and the start of the next upswing in Spanish house prices. Hopefully, the drastic market peaks and troughs of former years will be tempered by more sustainable lending practices,? he explained.

?If the market continues to exhibit a 10 year peak to trough cycle, we should see steady house price growth in Spain between 2013 and 2018,? he added.

Agents agree with the predictions. Mark Pritchard, sales and marketing director of house builder Taylor Wimpey de Espa?a said that prices across Spain are readjusting with sellers and agents pricing more reasonably.

?At Taylor Wimpey de Espa?a we consider our prices very fair given the prime locations, space and quality of build and indeed our reduced 4% VAT offer in itself highlights that we want to make it even easier for property hunters to buy in Spain,? he said.

?Certainly, strong Eurozone nations as cited in Kyero's report such as Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Belgium and Holland as well as Russia are currently showing increased interest in property particularly on the Costa Blanca,? he explained.

?At present, the Swedish economy has been performing better than the UK and with a strong krona and a reduction in Spanish house prices, more Swedes are beginning to realise the possibilities of a life in Spain. With this in mind it is important that we spend time on this lucrative market,? he added.

Indeed, figures published by Fastighetsbyr?n, part of the Swedish banking group Swedbank, suggests that Swedish and Norwegian property buyers have pushed hard into the Spanish residential property market with purchases by Swedes up 46% and Norwegians up 61%.

Meanwhile, when it comes to the wider Spanish property market, Mallorca continues to rank highly with limited land and property supply keeping it desirable for property hunters. The Kyero index shows that average house prices in Mallorca are 181% above Spain's national average of ?253,000, standing at ?456,700 as of March 2012.

In some parts of Spain prices are at their lowest point in a decade. Chris Mercer, of Mercers, based in Murcia says that while the area is not as mainstream as say the Costa del Sol or Costa Blanca, is a market on the up and plenty of things are conspiring to make the future rosy.
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He pointed out that properties within reach of the beach and the new Paramount Theme Park can be bought for a tiny fraction of the equivalent in Marbella or Mallorca. A three bedroom villa with swimming pool can be bought for around ?125,000.

The new Corvera International Airport is expected to be fully operational by the end of 2012 and the Regional Government has requested that the proposed Mediterranean Corridor high speed AVE rail link stops at Corvera, making it the first airport in Spain to be crossed by a high speed rail link and the third, after Barcelona and Madrid, to have a rail link at all.

?This is all creating a huge momentum for holiday and investment homes and our sales team is pleasantly busy,? said Mercer.

This article was republished with permission from Property Wire.

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