Spain property bargains, despite weak Pound
By Sue Brown, 25 May 2008
Interest in buying property in typical Euro destinations such as France and Spain is waning as the poor exchange rate increases costs for British buyers. In contrast, the latest HiFX Monthly Global Property Hotspots Report reveals increased interest in American properties as buyers are attracted by the weaker dollar and US property prices which have fallen by around 30% in the last 8 months.
According to the report, enquires for France and Spain have decreased by 11% and 12.5% respectively since March. Mark Bodega, Director from HiFX explains, "Sterling weakened significantly against the Euro over recent months, reaching an all-time low of 1.2344 in April. This has increased the cost of property for people buying in sterling.
“Spain has also been particularly badly hit, with talk of falling property prices, especially in the over supplied Costa regions, making new buyers wary of investing in the country,” adds the report.
While admitting that UK inquiries levels are down year on year, specialist website, PropertyInSpain.Net claims that recent discounts on new build prices and more realistic asking prices on resales “has more than compensated for the decline in the value of Sterling”.
Added sales manager, Ben Walker: “Taking in the prices of Spanish bank repossessions and Must Sell properties, the overall price levels on our website provide double compensation for the lost buying power of Sterling. This means many prices are still nearly 15% lower than the equivalent of last year – bargains that are generating good levels of inquiries from serious buyers.”
The HiFX Global Property Hotspots Report also reveals increasing interest in emerging markets such as Panama, Egypt and Brazil, but warns holiday home owners to be very careful about committing to emerging markets and exposing themselves to the wild currency fluctuation experienced in these developing destinations.
PropertyInSpain.Net provides a unique one-stop, “search-buy-fund” service with 16,000-plus properties on offer including a special “Bargains Showcase” of 100 homes that is ranked number one by Google every day.
Spanish Bank Repossessions | 'Must Sell' key ready homes
Property in Spain Information Centre
Spanish Property News Service