Worldwide woes hit Spain
Spain has always held a special place in the hearts of us Brits; ever since the 1960’s and the advent of the package holiday, Spain has been the destination of choice for generations of us. This love of Spain, has indeed, shaped Spain and its tourist industry; the rise of the ‘Costas’ and their mostly Anglicised nature together with the widespread ownership of Spanish properties by Brits are just two signs of this British-Spanish symbiosis.
The Spanish property market it seems is not immune though, to the general worldwide woes in housing markets, and with the outlook appearing fairly serious here, the demand for second residences in Spain has dropped considerably.
This has been borne out by the official figures that tell us that whilst property prices have risen by some 270% in the past 10 years, the figure has slowed dramatically this year. Spanish analysts are predicting further declines in the coming year and are citing a massively inflated ‘bubble’ as a precursor to a bust in the markets.
As always though, it is worth remembering that all markets are cyclical and if there is, indeed, a sharp decline in property prices, there comes a point where prices return to compelling levels, which then ushers in buyers wishing to avail themselves of properties at ‘bargain’ prices.
I’ve always fancied a costal getaway in Galicia…and I don’t mind waiting for prices to drop…how about you?