Is Spain Still a Good Investment
If the world economic collapse has taken its toll on property prices worldwide then surely no area has been affected more than the traditional Spanish Costa’s, mainland Spain has long been Northern Europe’s favourite holiday destination, with cheap flights and favourable exchange rates British became the largest single group of non Spanish home owners.
The slowdown in the UK economy and subsequent decline of property purchasers has devastated the Spanish property development industry with many companies going into administration leaving many houses unbuilt and dreams shattered as purchasers who paid substantial deposits on off plan property found themselves unable to recover their deposits and unlikely to see their property built.
These tragedies of course bring opportunities, property prices are now typically 25 – 30 % below the peak in 2008 and with the Spanish property market beginning to pick up real bargains can be found, wise investors know to steer clear of properties on large high density urbanisations developed in the 1990’s and early 2000’s as these properties however cheap are difficult to resell and tend to prefer new or nearly new properties in or close to the popular tourist attractions like golf and sea.
By using a proper investment led agent attractive properties can still be bought at 20% discount from current bank mortgage valuations.
Obtaining a mortgage for your property is more difficult than previously with some banks prepared to only offer 60% of valuations and underwriting criteria’s are much more stringent than previously, nevertheless 70% LTV lending is available on selected developments.
Rental returns can cover mortgage and running costs of your investment property in Spain if a reliable professional agent is chosen to handle your property.
Spain has so much to offer; a developed infrastructure, widely spoken English, low cost living, established legal system and a great climate, with over 300 days of sunshine every year it is hardly surprising that over 50 million people visited Spain during 2009 for tourism purposes and has the second biggest tourist industry in the world worth over 40 billion euro’s.
Spain is and will remain a popular holiday and retirement destination for Northern European visitors in particular, its popularity remains high and with a fantastic climate, easy access, and a great infra structure a properly chosen property will prove a great investment.
