Why Spain Still Attracts Home Buyers

Citizens from the UK are continuing to purchase property in mainland Europe, according to experts. The retired are increasingly choosing to buy homes in countries such as Spain. It is thought to be especially popular with people making a permanent move abroad. This is due to the practicality of being so close to the U.K, where flights are generally cheap and always regular. This provides people with a strong link to the U.K, making family and friends that much closer and accessible.

Countries that have acquired the euro also attract the permanent resident, due to the equality of currency rate. Therefore northern Europeans who venture to Spain to work can afford more and more to holiday in other countries. There are also many international jobs to be found in Spain. It is possible to find a wide range of English speaking jobs, although if you do have a good level of Spanish then you have access to more opportunities.

Spain particularly has exceptional weather in its south. In certain areas the sun shines almost all year round. Many people are attracted to better weather for a more outdoors life.

Spain’s Property Market in 2008

Although Spain’s property market is no longer the bargain-hunter’s paradise it used to be, promising quick and easy returns, it still holds appeal as investors place less interest on low prices and focus more on quality services and accessibility.

Valencia is a good example of a burgeoning market despite the nationwide property slowdown. The America’s Cup in 2007 and the upcoming Formula 1 event (in August 2008) have done wonders to stimulate construction, create new hotels, improve infrastructure and help residential property prices appreciate.

In Murcia, expansions at San Javier airport will boost the popularity of this already-hot tourist destination. More importantly, the construction of a new international airport in Corvera (20 minutes north of Murcia) will deliver a significantly increased number of flights to the area.

The Balearic island of Menorca is also shaping up to be an interesting option. After the passing of new laws that limit construction to protect the coastlines of the Balearic Islands, attention is expected to focus on this little-developed island. Menorca’s inexpensiveness and increased accessibility makes it a valuable choice, especially for buyers with an eye on letting their property.

Because of the changes in Spain’s real estate market that have been brewing over the past four years and came to fruition throughout 2007, a different type of investor is now being drawn to Spain and buying Spanish property is no longer a profit-driven venture.

No longer lured by low prices, foreigners who choose to buy a home in Spain are interested in factors such as access to quality services, proximity to good schools and the strength of the local economy.

This makes Spain a good choice for buyers interested in finding a long-term vacation or retirement home, especially considering the country’s still-strong letting market, which gives homeowners the ability to profit from their investment while still holding on to it.

Spanish Real Estate Companies Look Abroad

Only four years ago, few Spanish real estate companies were venturing abroad to explore foreign markets; the local residential property market was strong enough to fulfil any expectations. But much has changed in little time.

Diversification is now the best way to combat the current hardships of the market. Spanish companies are moving into foreign markets as a way of softening the transition to a slower-moving market.

Developing countries such as those of the old Soviet Union will continue to constitute the area of greatest interest for Spanish real estate companies. On the other side of the Atlantic, México and Brasil stand out with powerful real estate markets ripe with opportunities – these countries are also becoming interesting to Spanish companies from an investment point of view.

Spaniards Promised Money to Make their Homes Greener

The Spanish government is planning to bring in a policy to give home owners the opportunity to make their homes environmentally-friendly by giving out grants.

The prime minister, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero is eager to push the green issue through before the general elections in March. Zapatero has insisted the government would give 1 billion Euros in direct subsidies to renovate old homes from 2008 – 2012, which is 200 euros more than his first suggestion.

There is also another 2 billion euros in credit annually to assist Spanish residents in making there home between 25 and 60 percent more energy efficient. It will also boost the value of homes as energy bills would be cut.

Zapatero insists the money will be sufficient to renovate 500,000 homes. And it is not only homes, public buildings such as schools have also been told they will receive 200 million euros to improve there energy efficiency.

Spanish Government Smartens Up the Property Sector

The Spanish Government has launched more than 100 investigations on the issue of corruption in real estate. The civil guard has arrested 57 people and charged 126 others. These investigations seem to circle public officials and developers only six months after special police units were erected to challenge this corruption in the property market. These officials who accepted bribes from construction companies, in order to break building permits and zoning laws allowed companies to build on protected areas such as beaches.

The investigations are challenging an enormous volume of corruption that starting when Spain was experiencing a 10 year property boom, which occurred predominantly in Andalusia, where foreign buyers were victims of many building scams.

The Spanish government has started clearing the costs of illegal buildings and the Ministry of the Environment has demolished around 660 homes and hotels that were built too close to the shoreline.

The aim is to stop government officials accepting bribes in the future and making Spain a safer place in which to invest.

A Work of Art for Madrid’s Civil Courts

“Transparency” and “democracy” are the values meant to be transmitted by the new courthouse of Madrid’s Civil Justice Campus.

The building, designed by the Iraqi architectural firm Zaha Hadid, will hold 118 courtrooms and will be the largest judicial complex in the world. The design of the courthouse will also include projects by renowned architects such as Norman Foster.

“By my heel I care not” – Spain holds its chin up in the face of the Eurostar

Eurostar has done it again; impressed us even more with a faster train. It now only takes an astonishing 20 minutes to get from central London to the city of Lille in northern France. It is likely to mean an improvement to France’s tourist industry and perhaps an increase in people wanting to buy a property there. However the question has been raised whether this high speed train will have a bad effect on the Spanish property market?

Experts believe that despite all the hype, Spain’s property market still remains one of the most affluent in Europe. Property companies such as Propertyabroad.com believe Spain attracts a “very different market” than France, making the Eurostar a very minor variable in the percentage of future foreigners purchasing Property in Spain.

Missing Irish Teenager in Spain

Spanish police persist in the search for Amy Fitzpatrick, an Irish teenager who has now been missing in the Costa del Sol for over a week. Amy, 15 years old, was last seen walking home from a friend’s house on New Years Day. The search investigation is to be extended to a larger territory from where she was last observed. The teenager’s family is appealing to anyone who may be holding Amy to let her go but also to anyone who has any information about her disappearance to come forward.

Spain's oldest mayor dies while launching elderly people's home

Spain's oldest mayor to date died at the age of 92 years old, ironically while laying the foundational stone for a new old age home. The ex mayor has a sudden heart attack, in front of 100 people. Some of the 100 attendees tried to give first aid to Gregorio Garcia Antonio, but they could not revive him.

 

Pulpo A La Cocoa

Portuguese police arrested eight people in Spain and Portugal after they seized 9.4 tons of cocaine at the port in Portugal’s capital, Lisbon.

The drugs arrived by ship in Lisbon on Dec. 22, aboard a refrigerated container that contained 24 tons of frozen octopus. Of the 635 boxes meant to contain octopus, 235 were filled with cocaine, dissolved in water which also contained some traces of octopus.

This anti-narcotics police operation called, Operation Arcos successfully destroyed a network of cocaine importers to the Iberian Peninsula.