Tuesday 15 May 2012

Russians have overtaken Brits

Published: 26th October 2011

*Russians overtake Brits as biggest buyers in Alicante

*Russians overtake Brits as biggest buyers in Alicante
Russians have overtaken Brits as the biggest buyers of holiday homes in the region of Alicante in Spain according to new figures published this week.

According to Jesualdo Ros, head of the regional developers’ trade body, the majority of homes bought by foreigners in Alicante in August were Russian.  The British have fallen behind Scandinavian, Dutch and Belgian buyers says Ros.

Figures from the Fuente Colegio de Registradores published in August showed the number of Russian buyers in the whole of Spain was up 19% on 2010.  However, in absolute terms, the number of Russian purchasers still lags British buyers by a factor of nearly three to one. Russians were the fourth most prevalent group after British, German and French buyers.

Ros reports that Russian buyers in Alicante are currently buying both high-end developments at the top of the market and bargain basement deals at the lower end.

Editor’s note

For those interested in attending the Russian Summit, the absolute deadline for printing and production is Tuesday 1st November.

Source: Developer Trade Body

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Spanish-Dream-Property/204019259614697

Three year High

Published: 14th May 2overseas property sales hit three year high
*Spanish overseas property sales hit three year high
Figures from the Bank of Spain and Taylor Wimpey Espana provide proof, if any was needed, that international property markets behave differently to their domestic counterparts.

Doom and gloom is difficult to avoid when reading reports that mention the Spanish economy, unemployment or the banking/property sectors.  Yet there are pockets of good news for our industry.

According to the Bank of Spain, foreigners invested 4748 million euros in Spanish property in 2011, up 27% on 2010.

It was the second consecutive annual rise and the highest yearly rise since the boom.  According to the banks figures foreign investment was above 2006 levels which stood at 4716 million euros.

The announcement corresponds with figures published by Taylor Wimpey Espana which show their sales figures are up 21% in Q1 compared to the same period last year.

Comment 

The Bank of Spain’s numbers do no show the break down of private and institutional property purchases.  It is likely that the 2011 figures reflect higher volume purchases by funds and institutional investors.  Private overseas property purchase in Spain is unlikely to match 2006 levels. However, anecdotal evidence from Taylor Wimpey Espana suggests there are areas with international appeal like Mallorca that are bucking the downward national trends.

Spain will always have great appeal to foreign property buyers.  However, one suspects that demand is now limited to completed properties in internationally-branded locations.

Source: Global edge