Real Estate & Funds News in Spain from Propertyshowrooms.com

Spanish property prices "are readjusting"

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Many vendors are reconsidering the amount they are asking for their properties in Spain, which has resulted in greater interest from Scandinavian buyers.

This is the assertion of Marc Pritchard, sales and marketing director of Taylor Wimpey de Espana, who noted there has been a shift towards more realistic valuations in the country's real estate sector.

"Prices across Spain are readjusting with sellers and agents pricing more reasonably," he stated.

Commenting on a report published by Kyero, which revealed buyers from Sweden, Holland, Belgium, Norway and Denmark are showing a particular interest in Spanish homes, Mr Pritchard said his firm has seen a rise in demand from this demographic, especially on the Costa Blanca.

Research conducted by Caxton FX and published in the Independent on Sunday last month revealed that Spain is still popular among British buyers as well. According to the study, the south European nation was the second most popular location for overseas buyers, with only France attracting more attention.

Supply of distressed Spanish property rises

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 00:00:00 GMT

There has been more distressed property coming on to the market in Spain over the past few months, it has been revealed.

According to the Global Distressed Property Monitor published by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) for the third quarter of 2011, Spain experienced one of the greatest increases in the number of such assets available.

However, real estate experts in the nation believe that the rate at which this stock is put up for sale will slow by the end of this year.

Meanwhile, demand for distressed property in Spain fell among specialist funds that have been targeting this asset class during the three months from July to September, compared to the previous quarter, the survey found.

Simon Rubinsohn, Rics chief economist, commented: "The deteriorating picture is most pronounced in the southern European countries, which remain at the centre of the euro crisis."

Research published by Savills earlier this month suggested that investment activity in Spain's commercial property sector is being reined in by uncertainty in the global economy, with investors taking a "conservative" approach to the nation's real estate market.

Sale of Santander properties 'unlikely to affect wider market values'

Thu, 3 Nov 2011 00:00:00 GMT

The value of Spanish properties is unlikely to be affected by Banco Santander's attempts to offload a sizable portion of its real estate assets.

In an article on PropertyInSpain.net, sales manager for the firm Ben Walker commented that any deal between Santander and overseas investors will have "zero effect on property prices in Spain".

He noted that many people currently considering purchasing a home in the country are doing so for lifestyle reasons, rather than as a pure investment.

"Today there are more lifestyle buyers than investors, but there are still huge numbers of properties on the market that keep the prices at a record low level," Mr Walker explained.

Last month, Dow Jones Newswires cited a report by Spanish publication Expansion, which revealed that Santander was in negotiations with two private equity funds about the sale of some of its real estate portfolio.

However, a source with knowledge of the deal claimed that the highest bid offered at that point was €1.3 billion (£1.1 billion) - far short of the €3 billion the bank hopes to achieve by selling off these assets.

Spain Stops Reassurances as Crisis Deepens

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Spain's finance minister Pedro Solbes has stunned the markets with an admission that his country faces the worst economic crisis in its history as the full effects of the property crash spread through the economy.

"This crisis is the most complex we have ever lived through given the plethora of factors on the table at the same time," he told Punto Radio in Madrid, breaking with past efforts to put a reassuring gloss on events.

Mr Solbes said the Madrid bourse had suffered an "earthquake", crashing 27pc since the start of June. He blamed the toxic cocktail of high oil prices, the global credit crisis and the sharp slowdown in the key export markets of North America and Germany.

The comments follow this week's bankruptcy of Martinsa-Fadesa, Spain's biggest corporate failure. The property developer - with an empire of housing estates, hotels, shopping malls and hotels - collapsed after failing to refinance €5.1bn (£4bn) of debts. The company's demise was a textbook story of aggressive over-expansion at the top of the cycle, driven by high debt gearing. It has €11bn of assets.

Mr Solbes has pursued a rigorous "no bailout" policy, saying Martinsa-Fadesa took "excessive risks" and must now face the consequences. He has reportedly clashed with cabinet colleagues, who are now searching for any means to stop the downward spiral in the economy.

El Pais reports that house prices crashed by 20pc in the second quarter compared with a year earlier, based on 183,000 completed transactions.

The Martinsa-Fadesa collapse has sent tremors through the whole property and construction sector. The share price of giant developer Sacyr has halved over the past month.

The two banks with most exposure to the Martinsa-Fadesa are Caja Madrid, at €900m, and Banco Popular, at €400m.

Goldman Sachs has issued "sell" recommendations on a clutch of Spanish banks, including Bankinter, Banco Popular and Banco Sabadell, warning that the sharp turn in the credit cycle could prove worse than the recession in the early 1990s. "The consumer is more leveraged today than in any of the previous cycles," it said.

The ratings agency Standard & Poor's has not yet taken a decision on whether to downgrade Banco Popular and Caja Madrid.

In reality, this is unlikely to be the worst economic crisis in Spain's history. Philip II defaulted on his sovereign debts three times in the 16th century after he bankrupted the Spanish Empire to pay for his Counter-Reformation wars against Protestants. He crippled the Italian banking system in the process - much to the benefit of London and Amsterdam.

Full story from telegraph.co.uk

Foreign property income 'can supplement pension funds'

Thu, 4 Oct 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Returns from foreign property investments are being used by some to fund their retirement, experts have stated.

Investment specialist Scottish Widows said that many people saw traditional pension schemes as "a bit risky", prompting them to seek alternative sources of revenue.

In addition, more than four in ten of those polled by the firm said they did not believe they could get by on a state pension alone.

As a result, some were found to have turned to property investment to fund their post-working life, due to the possibility of capital appreciation and rental returns.

However, the firm has urged people to avoid becoming dependent on foreign property purchases.

Ian Naismith, head of pensions at Scottish Widows, said: "People are putting their money into property, which does have some validity, but like anything else it's best not to put all your eggs in one basket."

According to Barclays, Spain, France, Italy and Portugal are among the most popular overseas investment markets with British buyers.

Spanish investors 'could be due a refund'

Fri, 13 Apr 2007 00:00:00 GMT

British investors who have paid money towards capital gains tax for a property that they sold in Spain could be in a position to receive a refund should the move collapse, one firm has said.

Property vendor Valuvillas has welcomed news that the Spanish government has significantly reduced the levels of capital gains on property sales conducted by foreign investors.

Until now, non-resident foreigners selling property have been subject to a 35 per cent capital gains tax on their gain when they sell property in Spain. At the same time, Spanish residents had to contend with a more lenient 15 per cent capital gains tax.

Since the start of 2007, the figure has been reduced to 18 per cent, while the rate for residents has moved up from 15 per cent to 18 per cent.

This has led to Valuvillas posing the question: "Are you due a refund?"

Under current conditions, the amount is refundable if the sale falls through, but sellers will still pay the full 18 per cent should the deal is sealed successfully.

Spain still an "evergreen" market

Wed, 14 Mar 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Spain has a "good, solid, evergreen" property market, despite high prices, the director of property advice site Amberlamb has said.

According to Rhiannon Williamson, because Spain is so easily accessible and has "excellent" fundamentals, such as a stable economy, investors continue to be attracted to the country.

However, she conceded that the large amounts of available rental property and high prices have meant that some investors have become anxious about reduced rental yields.

"The problem with Spain is that it has had its property market boom and prices in the most popular locations are already high," she remarked.

However, buying a well-located property should generate a steady rental income for the savvy investor, she added.

Online firm Spanish Property Insight recently said that Spain is set to become the number one European destination for UK investors.

Investors 'boost pensions' with foreign property

Mon, 12 Mar 2007 00:00:00 GMT

British investors are increasingly boosting their pension funds by purchasing property in countries such as Spain or France, a new report has found.

According to research by Self-Catering-Breaks.com, 50 per cent of investors have bought a property in a foreign country, compared to 24 per cent who opted for the UK.

The so-called "jet-to-let" era is proving to be a good time for investors attracted to "solid" rental returns and capital appreciation, the firm stated.

Gareth Robinson, managing director, said: "With overseas property investment increasingly seen to offer both security and an enjoyable asset, a growing number of people are turning to it as part of their investment and pension funds."

The report also revealed that a fifth of UK investors finance their overseas property with a mortgage from a European bank.

It follows a survey by National Savings and Investments that found 43 per cent of young people are contemplating buying a property in Spain.

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Self-invested personal pension funds

Mon, 11 Jul 2005 00:00:00 GMT

COULD your Tuscan holiday villa form part of your pension fund, and could you buy an apartment on the Spanish coast with a little help from the British Government? This is the hope held out by proposed changes to pension legislation due to take effect next year. From “A-Day”, April 6, 2006, self-invested personal pension (Sipp) funds will be allowed to invest in residential, as well as commercial, property, and that includes property abroad. Property companies say that the new rules could create a new class of jet-to-let investor, but Sipp providers are sceptical, arguing that investing in foreign property through a Sipp will be complicated and that the British tax benefits could be offset by the need to pay tax overseas.

Sipps are a flexible type of pension fund. They used to be marketed at the wealthy, but in recent years they have become cheaper to run and more popular. Allowing people to hold residential property within Sipps is likely to boost their popularity.

On the face of it, the benefits of buying your holiday home within a Sipp are significant. Contributions to a pension fund attract full tax relief up to the maximum annual allowance of £215,000, so if a higher-rate taxpayer were to buy a Spanish villa for £200,000 it would cost just £120,000, with the Government making up the rest. Rental income is free of tax, as are capital gains. Income goes directly to the Sipp, where it can be reinvested or used to pay off the mortgage. Borrowing is allowed, up to a maximum of 50 per cent of the value of the pension fund. In other words, if you have £100,000 in your Sipp, you could buy a property worth £150,000.

If this all sounds too good to be true, then that is because it is, Sipp administrators say. They point out that there are many problems in buying property abroad through a pension fund. One is that Sipps are set up as discretionary trusts, a legal structure that few European countries recognise. So, for example, to buy a property in Spain you would need to set up a Spanish company to buy the property, with the Sipp owning shares in the company. This could be costly and time-consuming.

Moreover, they argue that tax savings in Britain could be offset by the need to pay tax abroad. Because pension funds are not taxable at home, double taxation treaties do not apply. So, in the Spanish example, if the property were owned through a company, corporation tax at 40 per cent would be payable on rental profit, while capital gains tax of 15 per cent would also be due. If the property were owned directly, the tax burden could be even higher.

Anyone wishing to buy a holiday home through their pension fund should also be aware that, whenever they want to use it, they will need to pay market rent to their Sipp in order to avoid falling foul of HM Revenue and Customs rules. However, for investors keen to get started there are ways of getting into the market now. Stuart Law, of Assetz, a property investment company, says: “Some pension administrators are already buying property on behalf of clients within Sipps. This is possible before A-Day, so long as the property does not yet have a certificate of habitation and so is not deemed residential.”

This news article was provided by Article provided by Assetz Property Investment