Spain
Spain is Back
Spain is the perfect choice for people wanting to buy property in Europe. The country has a great variety of landscapes, from mountains and lakes in the north to sandy beaches, olive groves and vineyards in the south. The south-eastern Mediterranean coast has been one of Europe’s most popular holiday destinations for decades.
Spain’s economy grew at its fastest quarterly pace in six years during the first three months of this year. The revival of the Spanish economy—the euro zone’s fourth largest—has been one of the more positive developments for the currency area over the past six months.
Since Spain’s entry into the European Union, life in the country has modernised whilst still retaining its traditional festivals and life in the countryside remains mainly unchanged. Visitors revel in the more intimate and unspoilt village life that is missing in most countries and the relaxed and slower way of life in Spain along with the affordable economy and culinary delights that each region offers.
Home sales increased 14% in the first three months of this year compared to the last three months of 2013, prompting the Registrars to talk of a ‘change of trend’. There were 83,022 sales in the period of which 37,731 were new homes and 45,291 were resale.
After six consecutive years of house price declines, especially intense in certain periods, everything points towards the end of this scenario drawing to a close, giving way, at the least, to price stability.
Spain has been actively encouraging investment orientated immigration through a generous Golden Visa scheme, which is proving very popular with overseas buyers. The General Council of Notaries in Spain published data showing that US, Chinese and Russian buyers were among the most active foreign buyers in Spain during Q1 2014 with buying activity from each nationality increasing by 88.9%, 83.1% and 62.6% respectively, compared with 2013. 19.4% of all Spanish property sales in the first quarter of the year were to foreign buyers, 47.9% being non-residents. Andalucía saw one of the strongest increases in property sales, increasing by 32.5% with many buyers being attracted to the cosmopolitan town of Marbella and its close proximity to Malaga airport and the tax haven of Gibraltar.
