HOW HEALTHY IS THE PROPERTY MARKET?
Having had many years of booming sales, Spain, like the rest of the world has hit recession. The building sites were put in mothballs, the men layed off and the banks shut down the lending facilites. Promotors sat with lines of completed houses but no buyers. All was doom and gloom and 2008 was a very bad year for estate agents. The question is where do we go from here?
Lesley McEwan of Cadizcasa says” 2008 was undoubtedly a very difficult year and we saw many estate agents closing down. The early part of 2009 was likewise poor. However, in the second half of this year we have seen a slight upturn in the availability of lending facilites from the banks and this has given us an increased number of especially young Spanish couples looking to buy their first home. Prices are still low and it is going to take time for them to rise but we are selling and the market has started to move. It looks like recovery will be slow and very painful for many as we have large stockpiles of houses complete and ready to move into so the construction industry is going to be in limbo for some time but we are off the starting blocks.” When asked about prices she said “ prices are still low compared to previous years and there are a lot of bargains out there for people looking to buy. In the case of UK owners who are taking the money back to the UK the current exchange rate is helping pad the lower sale prices. After the appropriate costs and taxes many are breaking even or making a small profit. The industry is far from perfect but we are on the road again and we just need to keep moving forward until the natural momentum is restored”.
