The pull of visiting Spain is undeniable and property investors all over the world once again have Spain on their radar as a country to invest in property. Although the financial climate has been challenging in Spain over the last five years, experts in the financial and real estate industries agree that now is a great time to invest in Spanish property.
Recent news published on The Telegraph have reported that some British-owned properties are being bulldozed in Spain which will inevitably add caution for many investors. Experienced expert property finder, Anthony Bloom sells villas in Javea and Moraira which are costal towns in Costa Blanca and very popular with British expats and offers the following advice for those looking to invest in a property in Spain.
“Unfortunately there’s been a lot of corruption over the years in Spain and many officials have been taken to task and imprisoned for changing or breaking the planning laws for self interest. This has been rife and even more so on the mass developments built during the boom years. I advise to invest in a well established location that has stood the test of time with properties that have been properly registered and documented with the land registry and local authorities”.
Guadix 4 by Iguana Jo, on Flickr. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
“Avoid new developments, especially in rural locations because of the land grab laws and also the risk of corrupt land reclassification to enable it to be built on. If it’s a first line property, ensure it does not break EU coastal law. One has to be careful when buying and it is also prudent to study the history of the local council and it’s approach to planning law. You also need to have a really good lawyer that knows the area well. If buying a property, always ensure you have all of the correct documentation and do not buy without a cedula de habitabilidad and ensure everything, if not already, is correctly registered for size and description with the land registry on the day of completion. The property may have been extended illegally or built larger than originally agreed or too close to the boundary”.
A Great Investment Opportunity: Spanish Real Estate
Whether you are in the market to buy a vacation home in Barcelona, a chic city flat in the heart of Madrid, or become a retired expat with a villa on the coast, the prices of many properties in Spain are at a level that provide excellent investment opportunities. After a half a decade of serious financial crisis, Spain is beginning to pull itself out of a financial tailspin, which is reflected by the interest of financial investors in real estate of all shapes and sizes. Bill Gates made the clearest indication of the investment opportunity available in Spanish property by becoming the second largest shareholder in FFC, a Spanish construction company in October 2013.
Attractive Property Prices
The price of properties over the last five years have dropped by almost 50%, according to experts in the field. The decline in prices fluctuates depending on the type and location of the real estate property. Nonetheless, the prices are low, which provides a lucrative financial opportunity for investors. This includes primary residences, holiday homes as well as commercial developments, such as shopping malls.
An Increase in International Investors
After several years of analysing the Spanish marketplace, there are over two hundred investors who are interested in investing in the Spanish property market. With more investment in the infrastructure in Spain, more jobs will become available over time. As the economy begins to improve, the real estate market, including the rental market, will increase substantially.
Increased Partnerships with Foreign Investors
If you’re interested in purchasing commercial or residential real estate in Spain, there are many opportunities to partner with foreign investors. Strategic partnerships with foreign investors will help you to stretch your investment so that your capital investment increases substantially. This will allow you to buy much more property than you would be able to on your own, while still maintaining managerial autonomy.
Increased Profitability
Not only have prices dropped substantially on Spanish real estate in the last five years, the profit margin has also increased dramatically. The return on property investments are almost double what they are in most other European countries at this time. The current real estate marketplace in Spain offers the savvy real estate investor a substantially higher return rate on his or her investment than in prior years. The risk is also higher, but as the economy stabilises in Spain, the return on an investment will still net a handsome return.
