No longer is Spain a destination reserved for the rich and
famous. Significant changes in the Spanish property market
have resulted in funding options opening up to allow
financing not only of 100% of the sale price of the
property, but the additional taxes and costs incurred such
as those for VAT, lawyers, and stamp duty as well.
Where previously you needed a 30% down payment on a Spanish
property plus up to 14% for the additional taxes and costs,
in many cases, now you need nothing!
Amid qualms that the market is suffering, seasoned
investors know that the Spanish property market - like
anywhere else, including the UK - goes in swings and
roundabouts.
Currently the emerging property markets in Bulgaria and
Romania seem to have the edge over that of the staid
Spanish one. However, it's important to keep things in
perspective.
Whereas there is an abundance of information available
online about Spain and the Spanish property market, the
property markets of Bulgaria and Romania remain fairly
unknown and poorly-promoted, beautiful as the areas may be.
An incredible amount of money is pouring into Spain to
upgrade its facilities, including the Malaga airport and
seaport, the Malaga-Fuengirola railway, the marina at La
Cala de Mijas, and the AVE line from Madrid, to name but a
few. In Bulgaria and Romania, they have yet to rouse the
interest of foreign investors on a large scale.
Spain also boasts the most golf courses in Europe, sunshine
for almost 90% of the year, and a solid infrastructure,
which is the envy of many other countries in the region!
Eastern Europe's emerging property markets have none of
these...possibly why it is so much cheaper to buy there
than in Spain at the moment.
But is getting a property at the lowest price really ALL
you want? Part of the appeal of the Spanish property market
is that it is so well-established. There are regular
flights in and out of Malaga airport, a fairly substantial
ex-pat community in most resorts, and a reputation that's
hard to dispute. Proposed plans for a Disney theme park has
done nothing but entice the family tourist market more.
It is true that various disreputable goings-on have marred
the Spanish property market a little - off-plan developers
not giving quite what was promised and the like - however
that happens everywhere - even in the UK, so not really a
surprise. There is always going to be someone who gets a
little greedy and ruins it for the rest. A pity, but that's
life.
The key is to be careful. Astute investors use everything
to help them with their investments. This includes
conversations with the neighbours of the proposed property,
which now - thanks to the new approach by developers
regarding no deposit - could be Catherine
Zeta-Jones or Cilla Black, as equally as it could be Joe
Bloggs from the northwest.
For those who have been trying in vain to save enough for a
deposit on a place in Spain, this new trend in the Spanish
property market is a blessing in disguise.
I mean, where else in the world can you buy property
without putting even a cent down?
----------------------------------------------------
Steve Magill is the author of numerous articles on the
topic of Spanish real estate. He is a partner in
http://www.buyspain.co.uk and a Fellow in the British
Association of Entrepreneurs (FBAE). He is also an
internationally renowned Spanish property expert.
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