Foreign buyers flock back to Spain

Property sales made by foreign residents in Spain experienced an increase of 24.7% in the third quarter of 2011 compared to the same period last year according to statistics from The Ministry of Public Transactions.

This figure takes into account all foreigners who live in Spain while further statistics show that the provinces with the greater number of purchases by foreign residents were Alicante with 2097, Malaga with 951, Barcelona with 607, the Balearics with 516 and Santa Cruz de Tenerife at 476.

With this in mind, Spain looks set to continue this trend according to experts with a final rush of property buyers seeking out Spanish real estate. Experts are suggesting that tax breaks and low interest rates on savings accounts will be the main factors encouraging buyers to hunt down bargains.


‘The increase in property sales to foreigners shows that many buyers have been discerning enough to strike while the iron is hot and purchase properties that are well priced and in excellent locations,’ said Marc Pritchard sales and marketing director of Taylor Wimpey España.

The Holiday Lettings’ Insight Report for 2011 identified that there was a 3% increase in the number of enquires about buying Spanish property between January and October this year compared to the same period in 2010 while the report also discovered that people looking for holiday let opportunities in Spain was the second most enquired about destination among buy to let investors, after the UK, between January and October 2011.

Indeed, sellers dropped their asking prices by an average of 8.2% in 2011, according to Idealista.com, one of Spain’s leading property portals.

In terms of the cost per square meter, the average Spanish home now costs €2,084 per square meter, down from €2,270 per square meter a year ago.


‘Price falls accelerated in 2011. Everything suggests they will continue falling in 2012, by how much depends on what the banks decide to do with their real estate assets,’ said Fernando Encinar, head of research at Idealista.





‘They (the banks) will be the ones to slow down or speed up the price adjustment, and private sellers will have to reduce their prices and expectations, led not only by the economic uncertainty but also by what banks do with their prices,’ he explained.

Encinar is confident that the demand will be there if the price is right, and if banks will lend.

The Spanish government is keen to attract more foreign buyers. Earlier this year the Department of Housing organised a European road show to promote Spanish property overseas and the regional government in Valencia, a location that is very popular with foreigners, has set up a commission to study ways to sell more homes to foreigners.

In recent years, 23% of properties sold in Valencia have been bought by foreigners. The commission will study the market and ways to stimulate foreign demand for both purchase and rent.


‘We have to find out where the housing stock is and who the potential buyers are,’ said Isabel Bonig, the Valencian minister responsible for housing. She added that 30% of all sales to foreigners in Spain are in Valencia. Alicante is the most popular area with foreign buyers, accounting for 85% of sales.

The commission, comprised of government officials and representatives from the notaries, registrars, and chamber of commerce, will also look at ways to stimulate demand and promote property with a website, permanent information points and marketing activities.

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Las vegas property prediction gains interest

Homes for sale in Las Vegas Nevada have become ground zero for savvy buyers and investors looking to rebuild real estate portfolios and lifestyle. CNNMoney, MarkeyWatch and Inman News have all ranked Las Vegas real estate in top 10 cities to invest in. Trulia price-to-rent ratio research confirmed by LasVegasRealEstate.org places Las Vegas homes for sale as #1 in America.

Ashley McCormick of Realty One, Nevada's number one Las Vegas real estate company, says buyers and investors are excited about the opportunity they are able to acquire for the money. McCormick notes that out-of-state clients compare the lifestyle Vegas offers for the money and are overly impressed by the amenities of Las Vegas. She also sites the increases in offers being written site-unseen on Las Vegas condos for sale by investors who live out-of-state but familiar with the area from previous visits.

Las Vegas consistently makes the Top 10 lists such as TripAdvisor.com "Food & Wine Destinations" and CNBC "Most Diverse Cities". Vegas is also becoming a popular choice for internet companies such as Zappos.com and was sited in the Top 10 cities for 4G wireless. USNews recently listed Las Vegas in the Top 10 "Sunniest Places to Retire" in which McCormick points out that there are four active-adult Sun City Las Vegas communities with homes starting as low as $100K.

Price of Las Vegas homes is currently the leading drive behind buyers and investors choosing Vegas notes McCormick. In the last 12-months over 50% of home purchases have been from all-cash buyers and investors. With ten of thousands of bank-owned repos still entering the market McCormick has established a toll free number at 1-888-920-2292 to meet the demand of site-unseen investors. Las Vegas homes for sale are searchable online with advanced map search and images at http:http://www.LasVegasRealEstate.org

Source: JSOnline.com

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Hong Kong Property market set to fall

Concerns over an oncoming worldwide recession are affecting the appetite of potential home buyers in Hong Kong, according to the Knight Frank December 2011 Hong Kong luxury residential report.

At the same time, local and mainland banks in China have remained cautious towards mortgage lending. A number of banks raised their mortgage rates in November and early December, further hurting sentiment in the residential market.

Looking ahead to 2012 Knight Frank expects prices across all sectors to fall and rents to drop as well as some international companies downsize due to the gloomier economic outlook.

However, developers remained active in launching new luxury flats and were rewarded by encouraging responses, the report also says.

Source: PropertyWire.com

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Spain regains top property spot

Spain has reclaimed its property crown, according to the latest Top of the Props report from The Move Channel  Following America's unexpected victory in November, US property fell in popularity last month, dropping three places in the overseas portal's chart.

That dip was all Spain needed to soar back to top spot, along with several other property stalwarts. After buyers seemed to flock to America to avoid Europe's troubled markets, Spain, Portugal and France charged up the table, pushing America down to fourth. In total, the top three destinations accounted for just over a third of all enquiries on the site in December.

While US enquiries fell by 7.32 per cent, Spain's popularity dropped by only 0.18 per cent. This steady level of attention, driven by low prices and the country's reduction in VAT during 2011, reflects the continuing demand for Spanish property from lifestyle buyers.

Indeed, investors returned to old favourites France and Portugal too. France's enquiries increased by 1.05 per cent to hold third place, proving that holiday home demand can still buck the Eurozone's downward trend if the prices are right. Italy's enquiries increased in December as well, but its smaller monthly rise of 0.65 per cent was still not enough to compete with November's victor.

The end of 2011 also saw a last-minute rush of attention for Barbados and Morocco. The two new entries to TheMoveChannel.com's Top 10 replaced Cyprus and Greece at the bottom of the table. Coupled with the rise of the United Arab Emirates, which jumped a hefty eight places to number 12, it suggests that despite Spain's return to form, investors are still willing to look elsewhere to avoid Europe's more troubled economies.

Managing Director Dan Johnson comments:

"As 2011 ends, the fluctuations in the Top 10 show the changing buyer demands in an uncertain market. Spain has always been a traditional choice for lifestyle buyers, as evidenced by the constant level of interest in the country. In fact, for the majority of last year, Spain was the most sought-after property destination on TheMoveChannel.com, so its return to the top spot seems an appropriate end to the year.

"Barbados and Morocco are equally attractive lifestyle choices that are free of Eurozone anxiety, but France and Portugal's strong performance in December is a reassuring sign for more familiar property markets. As the New Year begins, we shall see if the popularity of these European countries will be strong enough to weather the economic climate in 2012."

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Europe and Asian prime markets set for mixed 2012

European and Asian residential prime city markets are expected to have a mixed 2012 according to consultancy firm Knight Frank, while government intervention and economic uncertainty looks set to dampen prices in Asia-Pacific.

In its Prime Global Forecast, Q4 2011 edition, Knight Frank says “price falls are expected in 44% of cities, no change in 12% and rising prices in 44%”.

Eastern European cities such as Moscow, St Petersburg and Kiev are forecast the largest growth in the continent. However, Knight Frank Resident Research’s Kate Everett-Allen believes that there is a lack of continuity across the table.

“Perhaps the most interesting trend is the lack of homogeneity across the continent,” she said. “In Europe, Geneva and Madrid will, we believe, see prices decline in 2012, but we expect Moscow and Paris to be among the strongest performing markets.”

Asian predictions are also diverse, with Knight Frank believing Bangkok, Beijing, Kuala Lumpur and Jarkata will experience rises …  while the likes of Shanghai, Mumbai and Hong Kong will fall.

“In most cases these price falls have been partly driven by government regulation,” Everett-Allen added. “These steps were bolstered in recent years, as concerns over speculative investment rose and rising household wealth created price pressures.”

“The measures have proved hard-hitting and have included curbing multiple home ownership, halting bank loans for uncompleted projects and increasing interest rates.”

Liam Bailey, head of residential research at Knight Frank, said that continued international investment to safe-haven prime property purchases could prove risky.

“[In Europe and North America] the continued outperformance of the top-end property markets, alongside wider poor economic prospects, has already created a political backlash in some locations, and the potential for further targeted tax and regulatory changes to reduce perceived wealth inequality is not impossible.”

However, Bailey added, “The situation that prime markets in Asia-Pacific face is very different, with political action focused on dampening down and controlling price growth.”




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Property prices set to rebound?

After much speculation in recent months over the interest rate cut effect on property prices, recent data proves it was certainly a gear changer in November 2011, with the greatest increases recorded since December 2010, according to RP Data-Rismark‘s November Hedonic Home Value Index results.

In November, the index reported that capital city home values rose by 0.1 per cent and regional dwelling prices climbed by 0.3 per cent in seasonally adjusted terms.

Rismark’s Christopher Joye said this positive result in November is a confidence boost for the first quarter of 2012, which is now projected to experience a price rebound particularly as new home loan approvals for established dwellings continue to rise since the downturn in March last year.

Over the 12 months to November 2011, the total return for investors in capital city property markets remained positive overall at 1.2 per cent, however significant diversity still remained across these housing markets, said RP Data senior research analyst Cameron Kusher.

Source: APIMagazine.com.au

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Valencia looks to stimulate housing market

The regional government in Valencia, Spain, has set up a special commission to study ways in which the region can sell more homes to overseas property buyers.

Up until the crash, 23% of properties sold in Valencia went to buyers based abroad and the commission has been asked to look into new ways to stimulate demand from overseas investors.

“We have to find out where the housing stock is and who the potential buyers are,” Isabel Bonig, the Valencian minister responsible for housing told OPP. And it is an important market to get right … 30% of all properties sold to foreigners in Spain are from the Valencia region. Alicante is the most popular area with overseas investors.

The commission will include government officials as well as representatives from the legal side of the business and from the commercial sector. The local chamber of commerce will be involved, and it members will be asked how the area should stimulate demand and promote its real estate opportunities via websites and other types of marketing.

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