Coming soon:Building Plot, Ronda area, 12 Ha, 800.000 Euros, with license to built a cortijo with a vineyard
Back from Summer HolidaysThe summer holidays are ending, back to normal again. I went with my family to Holland, had a great time in the Dutch Chiringitos, got a blinck of the VOC history in Vlissingen of the 17th Century, when the Dutch traded all over the world and had a super sailing trip to Morocco and Ceuta. My kids loved all the dolfins they saw in the Straits if Gibraltar. I hope you had all a nice summer and hope to find the right property or sell your property soon.
Property Market review
Property MarketThe property market is in many sectors still declining. Due to the Tsunami in Japan, the collapse of some parts of the Arab world, financial problems in Europe and the USA, the debacle of Greece we think many people put their property purchase intentions on hold.More visitors onlineLucky we are seeing an increase of 20% more visitors on our website. We expect better results in Q4 and Q1 2012.News highlightsVAT VAT on new homes will be reduced from 8pc to 4pc for the rest of the year.
As recently as July last year, the Government increased VAT on new homes from 7pc to 8pc in an attempt to increase revenues and reduce the budget deficit.
The opposition Popular Party has promised to extend the rebate for an extra year if it wins the general election in November.
Price drop
22,518 vendors dropped their asking prices in July, 50pc more than the same time last year, according to idealista.com
Home sales
There were 24,699 home sales in June (excluding social housing), down 26pc on the same time last year, below even June 2009, when the crash was thought to be at its lowest.
Compared to June 2007, sales were down 60pc.
Why are transactions still falling? Partly because the credit crunch is still in full swing and partly because the abolition of mortgage tax relief at the end of last year brought forward sales that might otherwise have taken place in the first half of this year.
New Housing
New housing biggest in Andalusia and Valencia.
Why are the regions with the biggest surpluses also building the most? Some housing market experts say it is because those regions have too many of the wrong sort of homes (holiday homes) and not enough of the right sort (affordable primary residencies) – a glut and a shortage at the same time.
Decline of asking – sales prices
Resale asking prices are still going down with 8.2% according a property portal idealista.com.
So where are Spanish house prices heading? Down, according to Nouriel Roubini, the bearish economics professor of NY University who correctly predicted the financial crisis. “Spain is the reality that everyone is ignoring,” he warned, speaking at a recent conference in Madrid. Thanks to high unemployment and the housing bust he forecasts prices will fall another 25pc.
Another 10pc down, implies the Bank of Spain, saying the market will bottom out 25pc below the 2006 peak, having fallen 15pc so far. If so, this crisis will have been as bad as the 70s, when Spain went through wrenching change after a property bust and its transition to democracy.
Josep Oliver, economics professor at the University of Barcelona (UAB) also says that prices have fallen 15pc and will fall another 10pc if past housing busts are anything to go by, and if housing affordability is to return to “reasonable” levels.
As for Angel Cano, a Director of BBVA, one of Spain’s biggest banks, prices have already fallen 30pc since the peak and have another 5pc to 10pc to go before they bottom out. He also says prices have fallen 50pc in some coastal areas, with large concentrations of holiday homes.
José Blanco, Minister of Public Works, has other ideas. Prices won’t fall much more because “they have already fallen enough,” he argues.
In its latest economic report, the Spanish Banking Association (AEB) says only that the real estate sector adjustment is not yet over, and that both prices and stocks have to fall before things will get better.
Mortgage rates rise, Mortgage lending down
Euribor (12 months), the interest rate normally used to calculate mortgage repayments in Spain, rose to 2.183pc in July, a percentage change of +1.8pc on the previous month.
On an annualized basis, Euribor is now 59pc higher than it was a year ago, meaning higher monthly repayments for borrowers with variable-rate mortgages.
Sources: El Mundo, Diario Sur, Propertyinsight.
How is Villas&Fincas doing Q1 was good, Q2 we clearly can say a desaster. As mentioned above likely due to the Tsunami Japan, Collapse of Arab world, European and American dept and financial problems and many doubts of Greece depts.We do have a interesting clients again, since mid August a higher amount of visitors online (20%)We have a positive feeling for the rest of 2011, however it will be hard work to get a client interested in your properties. Also the competition in pricing, certain areas are still not reduced with 40% and buyers have an enormous choice in numbers of properties.
New Website DesignAs we mentioned in an earlier newsletter, we are in the proces to renew ouw website with the newest technologies and SEO design.With our webdeveloper Inmoba we hope to have at the end of September a new state of the art Website.Technologies are going fast, we redesigned our website 2 years ago, now, we will renew it again to have the best to promote your property.We are going to utilise sophisticated, intelligent and creative marketing. Incorporating our new web design, social media, internet will attract new clients all over the world and we will use more video. We want to be prepared before the recovery of the property market in Spain. We keep specializing in Casares, were our office is and will try to find the most interesting country properties in Andalusia for our buyers, including Country Club La Zagaleta and Madronal in Benahavis.
Oscar Ernstsen Villas & Fincas: Ctra. de Casares s/n, 29690 Casares Malaga SPAIN
Phone: + 34 952 895 139, Mobile: +34 636 546 796 E-mail: [email protected]
Oscar Ernstsen | 31st August 2011