Spanish property crash?

I,_Brian

I'm getting kind of mixed signals about the Spanish property market:

I was under the impression that the Spanish market was already in a big downturn - aka, crash - but it seems some reports are still talking about a crash yet to happen:
http://www.property-roadmap.co.uk/186-property-crash-in-spain.html

Can anyone on the ground provide a general overview of the property market in Spain at present?

Also, is Portugal being impacted as yet, or does that look more secure?

sheslookinhot

I have been looking at buying a flat in Eastern Algarve since the beginning of the year. My observations are property is not fast moving, if moving at all, and the exchange rate has made property 15-20% more expensive for UK buyers.

napoleon

I thought house prices were crashing throughout Europe and the English-speaking world. Spain, UK and Ireland are particularly over-valued. beware

I,_Brian

sheslookinhot wrote: »

I have been looking at buying a flat in Eastern Algarve since the beginning of the year. My observations are property is not fast moving, if moving at all, and the exchange rate has made property 15-20% more expensive for UK buyers.

Ouch - that's a very good point about the exchange rate - sounds like investment in European property offers a big danger signal at present.

[Deleted User]

Yes the value of property is likely to fall on average world wide.

The exact figures will only be known when the event is consigned to history.

DocProc

I was interested to find out recently, that SAGA (famous for Insurance, Holidays, Cruising, Publishing and Financial Services for the over 50's market) are now involved in the Overseas Property Market, particularly in Spain.

https://www.saga.co.uk/secure/overseas-homes/

SAGA are not 'daft' and neither too, are their clientele. Particularly so with the knowledgeable and widely experienced 'over 50's' age group.

jon3001

If you can't sell your Spanish property then you could always raffle it off!
http://www.newyearmillionaire.com/

They'll even throw in the Harley.

mr_magoo_5

I have a friend living in Spain and they are experiencing huge drops in value of property. He lives in what was the boom area of Andalusia, but he tells me Spain is
in a mess already, unemployment is rocketing and the Government are going to push though legislation to reduce speed limits for cars and turn off 50% of the street lighting to save money!
I suggest you keep your cash in the bank for several years, as the worst is yet to come.

sweetica

is there any one in the position of buying a few years ago , builders not completing on time and still now trying to get deposit back
there must be many GB citizens the spanish have fleeced and it seems
nobody any where is able or wants to DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT
Could any one from this site help

baby_boomer

mr_magoo wrote: »

I suggest you keep your cash in the bank for several years, as the worst is yet to come.

Telegraph - Mortgage books written down by 35% in anticipation of another stage to the house price crash

"....Fitch said the loss provisions on the debt suggested a write-off of 35pc against book value. "What they are effectively saying is that property prices in Spain are going to fall by almost that much [35%]," said Andy Brewer, the agency's senior director for structured credit.

The arrears rate on the most recent vintages has reached 7pc to 8pc, with high levels of default among foreign residents. Fitch said it suspected that British and other North European owners of second homes in Spain were throwing in the towel.

This may create serious legal complications. British owners may assume that they can walk away from a Spanish property that has fallen into negative equity. In fact, they can be pursued for the assets and income in Britain until the outstanding debt is paid off...."

opinions4u

Despite some impressive gains over the decades I do think we always always need to consider:

1) The value of property can go down as well as up.
2) Property costs money to maintain.
3) Investing in overseas property exposes you to local tax and land laws that you may be unfamiliar with
4) Investing in assets valued in foreign currency exposes you to additional risks of currency fluctuations.

This applies through good times and bad !

That said, I've been sorely tempted by th mix of falling values and favorable exchange rates to dabble in Florida. Probably just missed the boat on that opportunity!