More Bad News for Spanish Property Market
Published on Friday, May 15th, 2009
As if the scandals, demolitions, arrests and repossessions weren’t enough, more bad news for the Spanish property market was published this week in the New York Times.
It appears that the Spanish government have basically shot themselves in the foot if they were hoping that they could kick start some sort of positive promotion of the nation’s real estate landscape in the press!
They have published some findings and statistics relating to who actually buys property in the nation, and as a result, there is nothing positive that anyone can actually say!
It’s really rather hard to ignore the fact that the Spanish property industry is in crisis and that the real estate market in many parts of Spain is suffering significantly. This has had a massive impact on so many people’s lives, with those who need to sell a home to release equity or escape Spain altogether effectively prevented from doing so by market conditions.
According to a newspaper report out today, Gillian Merron, the British minister for consular affairs in Spain has intimated that expatriate unemployment rates in mainland Spain are rising. This is worrying news for those already living in Spain and committed to their new country – and it’s also concerning for anyone contemplating moving abroad to the sunshine in Spain to escape the gloom of the UK.
Spain is still one of the top choices with Britons who would love to escape to the sun. It’s so close to the UK, so easily accessible with cheap flight airlines servicing the main tourism airports well, it has an enviable climate, there are already plenty of Brits living in Spain…and all in all, Spain ticks so many boxes for would-be retirees and expatriates that its appeal is not diminishing.
British visitor numbers arriving in Lanzarote fell back dramatically in the last month of 2008, according to figures just released by the Spanish airports operator AENA. This suggests that the double whammy of the credit crunch and the recent fall in the value of the pound against the euro has started to bite deep into Lanzarote´s all important tourism industry.
The Spanish property market reached a peak in pricing terms exactly a year ago, according to Spanish Property Insight, and since then it has seen a radical shift in its fortunes. The property bubble has burst, fraudulent activity has been identified, builders have gone bankrupt and prices have crashed.
Whilst other sectors of the 
Property prices in Spain are falling, have further to fall and are currently crippling the market, according to the majority of commentary on the Spanish property market at the moment. This is creating a stalemate situation that is preventing buyers from entering the market, and creating an opportunity for landlords as the demand for rental accommodation rises.
