Croatia: Set to join EU

The former Yugoslav nation of Croatia has wrapped up its accession talks with EU officials, and should become the Balkans' first member of the bloc by mid-2013, a move that is sure to boost values for property owners.

As the last round of discussions came to a close yesterday, EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele said the body was pleased with Croatia's efforts to reform its economy and political system since it broke from Yugoslavia. "In 20 years of independence, Croatia has changed tremendously", Fuele told reporters in Brussels. "It has made impressive progress in meeting EU membership criteria. Today, this has been rewarded." 

The next step for the country is the signing of an Accession Treaty, which will be drawn up by the end of this year. It will then have to be ratified by all 27 existing EU member states before Croatia can officially become part of the bloc on its planned accession date, July 1, 2013.

Lydnem Comment

EU membership is good for countries such as Croatia. It makes it easier for non Croatian's from other EU countries to live and work for and they get a lot of aid as a country. It is more debatable for more developed countries such as the UK who seem to just put money in and not take it out.  A positive for property investors in the country 

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Spain: Property has reached the bottom BBVA

At the end of last year, chief investment officer at the private banking division of BBVA Enrique Marazuela told the Reuters Global Wealth Management summit that the housing market in coastal regions of Spain is starting to recover in terms of transaction volumes.

Though Marazuela said that new wealth creation should not be expected in the short and medium term in Spain, he said that some areas of Spain’s battered real estate sector were close to reaching a bottom in valuations.

Property on Spain’s coasts, where the market is largely driven by British and other European second-home buyers, has already stabilized, he said.

“Now what we have seen is that the houses on the coasts . are starting to recover not so much on prices but in transaction volumes and that is coming from European citizens that want to have a second house in Spain.

Source Bancaja

Lydnem Comment.

For some time now we have thought that the Spanish market is at or near its bottom. it is hard to say exactly when the bottom occurs, it doesnt ring a bell, as they say. There is a glut of property held by the banks but even they say that a third of it will never sell as it is rubbish. We feel that this figure is conservative, very conervative. We see what they have and it is only good for demolition. So with a property market near or at its low it is time to seriously look as the best properties sell first. Also, a recent surge in sterling against the Euro has reduced sterling prices by around 10% in recent months. Take a look HERE or tell us what you are looking for by completing this FORM and we wil send you properties fitting your criteria. Act now while the banks still offer good mortgage loan to values, it will not last!! 

CLICK HERE for spanish repossessions