The Latest Spanish Property News from Kyero.com - Home

Speculation and Spain’s Property Boom

2008-07-18T05:30:00Z

A recent article in the Spanish daily ‘El Pais’ illustrates the excesses of Spain’s recent property boom.

Using the example of Seseña, a massive new urbanisation of 13,500 apartments in the province of Toledo (Castilla-La Mancha) south of Madrid, the article shows that much of Spain’s recent property boom has been driven by speculation.

The developer of Seseña, Francisco Hernando (also known as El Pocero, or Mr. Drains), is now struggling to sell in competition with his previous investor clients, many of whom are offering big discounts to dump their investments. So far only 2,500 of the properties at Seseña have a first occupation licence, and only 750 people live on the urbanisation.

But Seseña is just the tip of the iceberg. In the Castilla-La Mancha region as a whole, 123,000 new properties have been built in the last 3 years, of which only 39,000 have been sold, implying an overhang of around 84,000 surplus new properties. That is 2 out of 3 of all new properties built in Castilla-La Mancha since 2005.

The number of housing starts in the region has risen dramatically in recent years: 31,000 in 2005, 37,500 in 2006, and 47,500 last year. But during that time, demand kept stable, at around 12,000 sales a year.

According to Gonzalo Bernardos, a professor and property sector specialist at the University of Barcelona, speculative developers were banking on rising property prices in Madrid driving buyers further and further away from the capital. “They thought that rising prices in the capital would drive out buyers,” the article quotes Bernardos as saying. “They bought land on the cheap planning to sell expensive flats, thinking that demand would be infinite. Now the excess of supply is enormous.”

It’s a similar story on the Spanish coast, where hundreds of thousands of holiday homes have been built for a supposedly bottomless supply of northern European buyers. But this article shows that the problem is not limited to the coast.

Full story from www.spanishpropertyinsight.com

Investment Banks Look to Spain for Bargains

2008-07-17T06:00:00Z

Lehman Brothers and other investment banks, private equity firms and hedge funds are lining up to buy distressed Spanish assets as the steep economic slowdown offers investors big discounts.

Lehman has purchased stakes in distressed senior bank debt, the law firm Ashurst said recently, providing a rare glimpse of insight into the normally secretive world of such transactions.

The U.S. bank also bought stakes in a defaulted senior bank debt agreement, Ashurst said in a brochure on distressed transactions, in which investors take on parts of troubled companies at a discount.

Such deals - not normally disclosed by banks wary of showing their positions - also include the purchase by the U.S. private equity firm Apollo of a portfolio of receivables from two Spanish banks, Caixa Galicia and Banco Popular, according to Ashurst.

"We expect more nonperforming loan sales to follow," José Christian Bertram, a partner at Ashurst, said at a presentation to investors about Spain's distressed market in London last week.

Lehman, Apollo and Carval all declined to comment.

Spain has become the center of focus for Europe's restructuring bankers, such as Rothschild, Lazard, Houlihan Lokey, Goldman Sachs and Cyrus, eager for business after years of dearth in distressed deals.

"We think Spain is going to be a very interesting market for opportunistic players," said Antoine de Cockborne, an associate at City Property Investors. "This is the start of a very difficult situation. It will hit the bottom. We're looking for discounted assets."

The Spanish economy is faltering after a decade-long boom that saw house prices almost triple. Spaniards who borrowed against the rising value of their homes to buy cars and second homes are struggling to pay their bills.

The global credit crunch and record oil and food prices are squeezing Spanish consumers and forcing local shops to close down. Empty stores with "for sale" signs have become a common sight around the country.

Investors in distressed debt are also looking at firms such as Cortefiel, a clothing retailer bought by the private equity firms PAI Partners, CVC and Permira in 2005. Its debt trades at about 50 cents per dollar.

Retailers and service providers face tough times as customers leave unpaid bills. Investors may buy the bills for as little as 10 percent of face value, offering those who risk it an attractive yield.

Bank of America and WestLB bought a portfolio of receivables from Vodafone in Spain worth €190 million, according to Ashurst.

But chasing assets in Spain can be harder than investors think, because servicers - agents in charge of recovering debts - are not as sophisticated as in other countries, said Juan Hormaechea, a partner at Ashurst.

"The services market in Spain is underdeveloped; they are slow and not used to mortgages," Hormaechea said. "Some buyers buy portfolios without knowing that the servicer will become the bottleneck."

Prices are another barrier, as distressed assets may have to fall still further to attract investors.

"At the moment, we have more sellers than buyers," Bertram said.

Full story from www.iht.com

Bin Ladens Retreats as Spain’s Property Slump Bites

2008-07-16T05:49:00Z

The number of 500 Euro notes in circulation in Spain, known locally as ‘Bin Ladens’, has declined in line with the Spanish property market, suggesting a quirky gauge for measuring activity in the Spanish property market.

Locals call 500 Euro notes ‘Bin Ladens’ because, when the Euro was first introduced, everyone had heard of them, but nobody had actually seen one.

That didn’t last long. At the height of Spain’s property boom, you were far more likely to see a ‘Bin Laden’ in Spain than in any cave on the Afghan-Pakistan border. By last July one quarter of all 500 Euro notes were circulating in Spain, despite Spain issuing fewer of them than any other Eurozone member when the currency was first introduced. Nor does the size of Spain’s economy justify the presence of such a large proportion of the Eurozone’s highest denomination note.

So why so many ‘Bin Ladens’ in Spain? Because corruption in the property sector, along with a popular practise of paying for property with cash under the table, creates a lot of demand for high-denomination notes. ‘Bin Ladens’ make it easier to handle large quantities of cash, converting them into the currency of choice for bent town hall officials, money launderers, organised criminals, and fast buck property speculators, all of whom piled into Spain’s property boom.

But since last July, 4 million ‘Bin Ladens’ have dropped out of circulation in Spain, according to a recent article in the Spanish press. This has coincided with an alarming slump in the Spanish property market, and a government clampdown on town hall corruption. In the absence of reliable Spanish housing market statistics in Spain, you could do worse than look at the number of ‘Bin Ladens’ knocking about. Call it the Spanish property market ‘Bin Laden’ index.

Full story from www.spanishpropertyinsight.com

The Wisdom of Four Years of Spanish Property News

2008-07-15T08:00:00Z

This week, I received another comment on my original Vicios Cultos article. Just as I mangled the 'ocultos' part, it seems I also corrupted the translation of ‘vicios’. Thanks to Roger Cooper who kindly set me straight (again) with these words:

“Vicio does, of course, have the same primary sense as English/French ‘vice’. But, in context, the meaning can be quite different. Just as our ‘vicious’ has moved away from any strict link with ‘vice’, so, in modern Spanish, ‘vicio’ can mean simply ‘defect’, ‘fault’, with no suggestion of moral turpitude."

"A speech defect, for example, is ‘un vicio de diccion’, without any suggestion that, say, a stammerer is immoral. It even has an ironic slang meaning, so that ‘de vicio’ usually means ’’brilliant’, ‘phenomenal’, just as ‘wicked’ does in our young people’s slang, without any suggestion of evil”

Phew, it’s good to finally get that moral turpitude out in the open.

With this 190th newsletter, we’re getting close to the 200th issue of Property Pulse – hard to believe I’ve been sending this out for almost four years now. The actual 200th issue is scheduled for October 21st – due to the summer holiday break.

It’s interesting to take a quick look back on four years of news articles. For example, there were very clear signals a long time ago that the Spanish property market was all set to change. As early as the middle of 2005, we had good cause to suspect the hype around the property market boom.

Also in mid 2005, the Valencian Land Grab Law was all set to disappear. To be fair, the name of the law has changed but we’re still suffering from some underhanded behaviour in that region of Spain as this long list of articles demonstrates.

It was in early 2006 that corruption in Marbella first hit the news. Even though that particular location seems to be addressing its issues, it is, of course, still coping with the fallout from that spate of publicity. Just last month, a similar set of circumstances hit the news concerning Estepona – just 20 minutes down the coast from Marbella.

Still on the subject of illegal building and corruption – this time in Catral, it’s easy to see how today’s story is linked to similar articles stretching back to the middle of 2006.

The perspective I gain from this quick excursion down memory lane is that it will take a while yet for Spain to clean up it’s image – at least as far as property is concerned. Despite moves to operate more transparently, Spain’s system of funding local councils via the process of granting building licences is doomed to perpetuate the current cycle of corruption.

Similarly, the election process in Spain often places opposing political parties in power at regional and local levels. When a regional government instigates a witch-hunt into corruption at the local level, it’s a safe bet they won’t be concentrating on towns where their own political party is in office.

Long term, I am optimistic that Spain will get the better of these vices and defects in their political and legal machinery – because they are doing more than simply paying lip-service to the ideals of transparency. Now that its property market is taking a beating, this would be an ideal time to push through new legislation to systematically eradicate corruption and inefficiency in the housing system.

I’d increase tax revenue with a massive clamp-down on black money deals. This would also produce a core of believable data about the actual value of housing in Spain. With less money changing hands illegally and an official handle on house prices, my guess is that the market would recover more quickly and more predictably.

In the meantime, don’t think of Spain as the accident black spot of Europe – it’s not, not by a long stretch. The issues Spain is tackling are the same in all ‘developing’ countries – they take years to solve and move beyond. If you’re thinking about buying property in Spain, use an independent lawyer and an independent surveyor, take your time and do your own homework.

This approach was true 4 years ago – and it will probably still be true in another 4 or 40 years from now. Let’s hope by that time I’ve found something new to write about in Issue 2,000 of the Kyero.com Property Pulse Newsletter.

Martin Dell, Kyero.com

Catral Illegal Homes Remain

2008-07-15T05:20:00Z

The municipality of Catral, in the Vega Baja region of the Valencian Community (South Costa Blanca) is infamous for its problem with illegally-built homes, 1,300 of which were built and sold to Britons and other foreign buyers between 2000 and 2007. The problem was so bad that 2 years ago Valencia’s regional government suspended Catral’s urban plan as a first step towards sorting out the town’s urban planning chaos. But now, almost 2 years later, the Spanish press reports that no further progress has been made, and owners of illegally built homes remain trapped in legal limbo.

The town hall, now run by the right of centre Popular Party (like the Valencian Government), can at least point to some evidence of an effort to address the problem. Over the last couple of years it has drafted 4 urban plans, 3 of which were rejected, and the latest of which will be considered by the Valencian government this month. The Valencian government, on the other hand, has done nothing other than issue 217 charges for urban planning infractions.

Aurelio David Albero, Catral’s Mayor, is confident that the latest plan will be approved, but has no idea what it will cost.

“Whatever it costs [to legalise homes], our objective is that builders, developers and owners will foot the bill, but not the owners of legal properties, nor the farmers that have kept out of the urbanisation business,” Albero told the Spanish press.

Albero also admits that illegally built homes are a burden on the local economy. “They are owned by residents who don’t pay any taxes, but who enjoy services such as rubbish collection, postal services, health and education, all of which has pushed the town hall into debt of 1.8 million Euros.”

Whatever the final cost of legalising homes in Catral, that end appears as far away today’s as it did 2 years ago.

Full story from www.spanishpropertyinsight.com

Expats Hit With New Demolition Orders in Almeria

2008-07-14T07:00:00Z

Expats are facing the demolition of their homes in the latest town planning scandal to hit Almería province. Around 19 properties, all lacking building licences and first habitation certificates, are facing the bulldozers in the El Fas district of Cantoria.

Although the case has been going through the courts for almost two years residents only got to hear of the news late last month when they were served with a summons to attend the Justice of the Peace and were asked if they wanted to take part in proceedings against the accused.

The public prosecutor says the builders sold the properties to third parties despite knowing they had been built on non-urban land and without permits. He also reminded the judge that a court had ordered a halt to construction work in June 2006. Acting on behalf of the government, he asked for the houses to be demolished and for the expat home owners to be compensated.

Expats are claiming the local mayor, Pedro Llamas García from the right-wing Partido Popular (PP) party, and the solicitors who initially represented them, repeatedly assured them that the properties were all legal. An expat spokesman for the Cantoria Residents’ Association, who wished to remain anonymous, said they had been “led up the garden path” by builders, solicitors and the council, and suggested the latest scandal could be the tip of the ice-berg.

He said: “Around 200 other properties in Cantoria are going to be in the same position. We bought in good faith and it turns out we were lied to and defrauded by everyone.”He added bitterly: “We were viewed as sheep ready to be fleeced.”

At the centre of the case are two individuals accused of fraud. Defendants Karen Smit and Julio Piñeiro, who are named as the developers of the El Fas complex, have been charged with selling illegal properties. If found guilty the two could face up to two years in prison and fines of up to 22,000 euros each.

The charges are the result of an investigation in 2005 by the Guardia Civil’s environment protection branch, Seprona. Costa Almería News has had access to court documents related to the case dating as far back as 2006. Giving evidence at a preliminary hearing, Ms Smit admitted the homes in El Fas had been built without a licence. Sr Piñeiro, also giving evidence, said he spoke to “some people at the council who verbally agreed to the construction of the homes” and that ‘taxes’ had been paid.

In a further twist, Ms Smit is also the partner of Daniel Poetsema, who appeared seventh in the list of candidates for the PP at the last local elections and who is allegedly behind the sale of the properties. Controversially, Mr Poetsema signs himself as deputy mayor in all correspondence to expat residents, even though he is not a member of the ruling council.

Mr Poetsema has led an intense campaign to try to reassure the troubled expat community that “there are no illegal buildings in Cantoria”, claiming the area is exempt from town planning restrictions imposed by the Junta because of a local by-law. However, a legal source consulted over this matter dismissed Mr Poetsema’s claims as “rubbish”.

In another development, PP mayors and councillors from 18 municipalities, including Cantoria and Partaloa, meeting this week to discuss town planning scandals in Almería claimed they were being targeted by the socialist-led Junta for belonging to an opposition party. In a statement released after the meeting, the PP said the Junta “only applied the law strictly if the council had a different colour to the Socialist party (PSOE)”.Neither Mr Poetsema nor Sr Llamas García were available for comment.

Full story from Costa Almeria News

Eco-Friendly Homes Popular in Spain

2008-07-11T06:14:00Z

Mass urbanisations and high-rises are becoming less popular as buyers search for environmentally conscious homes.

The maturing of the Spanish real estate market and movements made away from mass urbanisation and high-rise property development may well be impacting negatively on the rate at which such formerly constructed accommodation is being sold, but in direct parallel it is having a positive effect on the quality of homes being constructed for the lifestyle market.

The Spanish property development frenzy of the last decade that resulted in massive resort-style developments being constructed for those who wanted an accessible holiday apartment in the sun, or an affordable fly-to-let investment purchase, are proving less popular these days as other property markets open up and offer a more affordable choice buyers.

Meanwhile, the evergreen and enduring appeal of Spain as a stunning, tried and tested lifestyle destination for retirees, relocating expatriates and those in search of the good life means there is now an emerging trend in those wanting to buy quality Spanish property.

There has been a sharp and direct increase in consumer demand for homes in Spain constructed in an environmentally conscious way, for property for sale away from resort developments and for properties that allow buyers to truly realise their dream of living an idyllic lifestyle in a fantastic overseas destination where the natural landscape, fabulous climate and excellent quality of life that they are buying into are enhanced by a spacious, well-constructed home, located in an appealing destination.

This in turn has led to new areas of Spain becoming popular with those who want to buy into unspoiled regions where local government laws and policies have protected the natural landscape.

One such area of Spain especially popular with buyers seeking the good life is Murcia. Planning laws define different zones in order to protect the pine forested mountain ranges and the vast majority of areas around them.

If developers are looking to build urbanisations there is an abundance of land which is designated for this purpose. This land is typically near to towns, cities and motorways.

As you head towards the stunning national parks the zoning changes to extremely low density so you can only build one property per five acres of land. The idea behind this intelligent approach to planning is to avoid the mistakes made in other parts of Spain, maintain the natural appeal of the region, and preserve the beauty and attraction of Murcia for generations to come.

Mike Hamilton, managing director of local real estate agency Casas de Lorca comments: "Many developers are missing the very real point that increasingly consumers require environmentally-conscious homes with such things as solar power, eco-friendly water conservation methods and where the environment into which they are moving will remain unchanged and unspoiled.

"They want spacious properties with large gardens, they want these properties to be built in areas of outstanding natural beauty and they are not willing to compromise.

"For the developer astute enough to recognise this demand and sympathetic and intelligent enough to embrace government policies rather than try to avoid them, there is great opportunity to be had in terms of constructing fabulous real estate in an ethical manner that is hugely sought after.”

Some properties in the region come with a five-acre plot of land, allowing purchasers to become virtually self-sufficient if they want to. Additionally they have almond trees or vineyards which reduce CO2 and also enhance the natural habitat for flora and fauna. Solar energy hot water is becoming increasing popular, as is solar pool heating.

Full story from www.homesworldwide.co.uk

Spain Property Market More Transparent

2008-07-10T06:08:00Z

A bit of good news for once. The Spanish property sector has made some progress towards cleaning up its act, according to the latest bi-annual report on real estate sector transparency published by Jones Lang LaSalle, an international property consultancy.

In the 2008 edition of Jones Lang LaSalle’s Global Real Estate Transparency Index, which measures corruption in real estate sectors worldwide, Spain has risen two place from 18th in 2006 to 16th today. As a result, Spain is now rated 10th in Europe, and 16th in a world ranking of 82 real estate markets.

Corruption is not the only variable measured by the index, which also takes into account other factors such as legal frameworks, respect for private property, levels of professionalism, and the availability of reliable market statistics. The improved availability of information, plus greater professionalism in the Spanish property sector lie behind Spain’s rise in the rankings.

The Index, which Jones Lang LaSalle says provides a rigorous framework for comparing the level of real estate transparency across world markets, shows that nearly half of the countries surveyed in 2006 demonstrated a significant improvement in their transparency score two years later.

“Transparency levels globally are improving as governments seek to streamline regulatory and legal hurdles to aid cross-border movement of capital and corporate facilities,” says a press release from Jones Lang LaSalle. “Only Venezuela posted a lower transparency score this year compared with 2006, principally due to changes in government regulations and new taxation policies targeting foreign investors.” In keeping with historical results, Anglo-Saxon real estate markets remain the most transparent in the world. Top of the ranking are Canada, Australia, the US, New Zealand, and the UK, in that order.

Full story from www.spanishpropertyinsight.com

Do Brits Still Want Property in Spain?

2008-07-09T05:31:00Z

British consumers are still keen to buy property in Spain, even if the current market conditions are forcing them to delay their purchase, an industry expert has said.

Mark Stucklin of Spanish Property Insight explained that there was still demand for property in Spain from people in the UK and some were even using the current market conditions to their advantage.

He explained that the recent reports about the failure of the investment market in some parts of Spain had put an end to the phenomenon of "speculative herd buying". Instead, people who genuinely wanted to own a holiday home in the country were "doing their research".

"There are still people with money who want to buy in Spain for their own reasons, and if they’re going to buy they’re going to use this market to get better quality and they can now buy at a better price than in the last few years, so in a way they are already getting better value," Mr Stucklin added.

In particular, the expert suggested that people were still considering "the posh part of the Costa Brava, the northern Costa Brava, [and] the Balearics in general" as places to buy in Spain.

Full story from www.moneyhighstreet.com

Vicios Ocultos - Part 2

2008-07-08T07:00:00Z

Last week, I mentioned the Spanish law of Vicios Cultos – and got a fair bit of feedback about it.

Embarrassingly, I mangled the real title of the law “Vicios Ocultos” – meaning “hidden vices”, with my “Vicios Cultos” – meaning “cultured vices” – a rather different meaning. Thanks to those who set me straight.

I also heard from a property buyer for whom the law could be extremely useful:

“I have just bought a small Spanish house which could be described as a ruin. I was told by the agent that the cracks in the wall were nothing and could easily be fixed. The day I purchased the property, a renovator caught up with me and said there were urgent repairs needed in the basement and also the roof required propping up and fixing. I paid him €2000 to do so. I then sent a man who took a structural engineer with him and yesterday I was told it is positively dangerous and should be pulled down. The so called work done was just a patchup job.”

Clearly, in this case, the buyer should examine the contract of sale to see if the “sold as seen” clause was included – something for a lawyer to decide. If not, and if the purchase was made less than 6 months ago, they may have a claim under the “Vicios Ocultos” law against the seller for compensation or a full refund.

With the benefit of hindsight, a safer course of action would have been to engage the services of a structural engineer before completing on the purchase. This advice seems so obvious yet most people skip this step when purchasing property in Spain (I did too).

Jeff Greensmith of Fincas Direct emailed me to say that he always advises buyers to have an independent survey done. Every town or village has at least one municipal aparejador/arquitecto tecnico who will do so for a relatively low fee.

Just as it makes sense to use an independent lawyer to represent your interests in a property transaction, it also makes sense to use an independent surveyor. The cost of being diligent in selecting and engaging these professionals before completing the sale will vastly outweigh the time, expense and hassle of attempting to rectify a problem afterwards – even if the law of “Vicios Ocultos” is applicable.

Martin Dell, Kyero.com

Ten Reasons for Moving to Spain

2008-07-08T05:38:00Z

According to a recent study by Currencies Direct, Spain continues to top the list of retirement hotspots for Brits who actually want to enjoy some sun in their sunset years. And it’s not hard to see why.

But Spain’s allure is not limited to pensioners. Indeed, it consistently ranks as the second most popular destination for British émigrés of all stripes. Only Australia attracts more. And while a life Down Under may have its attractions, it’s also a lot further away if you fancy a visit home to catch up with friends and family.

So if you’re considering joining the hundreds of thousands of people that up-sticks each year for a life overseas, then Spain could be the ideal place. Here are 10 reasons why:

1) Sunshine

What can be more appealing for a Brit than the promise of a plentiful supply of year-round sunshine? And much of Spain is well-endowed with those golden rays that prove so elusive at home.

Do your research before you pick a location though. While the southern region of Andalucía has an enviable winter climate, it can be murderously hot in the summer. By contrast the north and northwest see a lot of rainfall, with a climate and landscape more akin to Cornwall than that of Mediterranean Spain. Meanwhile, Madrid and the central regions boil in summer, but can get icily cold in the winter.

2) Outdoor Activities

Sunshine and warmth – perfect ingredients for enjoying the Great Outdoors, whatever your interests happen to be: sailing, cycling, hiking, golf, painting, or simply splashing around at the beach. And in the winter there’s decent skiing in the Sierra Nevada mountains in the south, or the Pyrenees in the north.

3) Natural Beauty

Unfortunately, for many people Spain has become synonymous with overdevelopment and tawdry beach resorts. But that is by no means the whole story. Yes, parts are overdeveloped nightmares. But for those that want them there are still plenty of low-key towns and unspoilt stretches of coast to be discovered.

And once away from the main tourist areas of the Mediterranean there is a surprising diversity of landscapes: from the wild coastline of Galicia to the remote expanse of Extremadura, the lush forests of the Basque country, and the majestic Picos de Europa or Aigüestortes national parks.

4) Cost of living

Since the introduction of the euro in 2002 Spain has become noticeably more expensive, as businesses of all descriptions took the opportunity to round up their prices. Nevertheless, prices for food, alcohol, petrol and property – to name just a few items – still compare favourably to those in the UK.

5) Food and Drink

Spain may not be a gourmet hotspot like France or Italy, but there is more to be said for it than just paella and tortilla (although both are delicious). And as you would expect from a country of such size, there is a great variety of styles between the different regions, with the Basque country’s cuisine having a deservedly high reputation. Likewise, while a nice glass of cava or a Rioja red are not to be sneezed at, Spain’s wine industry has far more going for it.

6) Pace of Life

Spain is renowned for its siestas and mañana approach to life. And while the pace may be picking up in the cities in particular, generally the Spanish follow a more relaxed approach to the clock. Great if you have time to go with the flow!

7) Health Care

The Spanish state health care system is among the best in the world. Indeed, the World Health Organization ranked it seventh overall when it compared countries’ health services for its annual report in 2000 (World Health Report 2000 – Health Systems: Improving Performance). And in my experience (having had two children here, one with severe allergies) its reputation is deserved: staff are well-trained, the facilities are modern, well-equipped and clean, and treatment waiting lists are short.

8) Family Life

In general, Spanish families tend to be close knit, and children oriented. It is common to see families spanning three or four generations sitting down to lunch together each day. Children are common sights in restaurants in the evenings too, rather than being left at home with the babysitters while the adults go out. And wherever they go, the children are the centre of attention, for doting family members and strangers alike (which is great if you happen to have some yourself).

9) Fiestas

Fiestas are a central feature of Spanish life. Famous extravaganzas like the bull-running in Pamplona (San Fermín), Sevilla’s Semana Santa and Feria de Abril, or Valencia’s las Fallas are well worth a visit if you can get there. But each village, town and city has its own monthly schedule of saints’ days and feast days too, which can be just as entertaining and intoxicating. And because they have specific significance to the local community they are likely to be more meaningful and entertaining for you as well.

10) Cultural Riches

Spain’s glory days as a world-conquering empire may be long gone, but a wealth of history and culture remain. There are the magnificent art galleries of Madrid and Barcelona, and architectural jewels such as the Alhambra in Granada, the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela and Bilbão’s Guggenheim museum. Or you can simply soak up the atmosphere with a stroll around one of its many beautiful cities: Salamanca, Toledo, León, Girona, Sevilla …

Paul Allen is a freelance journalist and writer who has lived in northern Spain since 2003. He is the author of “Should I Stay Or Should I Go? The Truth About Moving Abroad And Whether It’s Right For You,” a comprehensive e-book guide for people seeking advice on whether or not to move abroad. For more details about the book, and free information and advice on moving and living overseas, visit his website at www.expatliving101.com

Full story from www.expatfocus.com

Spanish Property Market Recovery?

2008-07-07T06:23:00Z

There is an end in sight for the problems in the Spanish property market, experts have predicted.

Spain has been hit hard by the credit crunch and house prices have fallen in many parts of the country.

However, the country's housing minister Beatriz Corredor this week gave an optimistic assessment of the market to the senate, reports Reuters.

"Forecasts by international and national organisations, as well as the government, point to an economic and property sector recovery beginning in the second half of 2009," she said.

Earlier this month, Ms Corredor stated that it is currently a good time to buy in Spain because the supply of property is plentiful, meaning purchasers are in a position to find a bargain.

Paul Collins of property advice website BuyAssociation recently echoed that view, explaining that investors who are in a position to move quickly can take advantage of the slowdown to secure a "great deal" in Spain.

Full story from www.ready2invest.co.uk

British Expats Medical Burden in Spain

2008-07-04T06:12:00Z

The provincial government in the Costa Blanca is changing the law because it claims elderly people who have made their home in the region are placing too high a burden on the health system.

The move has prompted fury in the expatriate community on the Mediterranean coast. It feels it is being victimised by the Spanish, following years of clashes with authorities over the country's planning laws.

Many people moved to Spain on retirement believing they would be covered by the country's medical system. Now they are being forced to take out expensive private insurance.

The decision by politicians in Valencia has caused uproar in the area and the British consulate in Alicante has been deluged with calls from concerned expatriates.

Bob Houliston, 71, a retired diplomat who is now president of the Claro political party, which represents the 20,000 expat residents of the Orihuela area near Alicante, said the move could have "serious consequences".

"The timing of this decision could not have been worse. Now is not the time to cause individual hardship and widespread uncertainty which can only add to the image problems the region has to contend with," he said.

"It should surely be possible for the United Kingdom and Valencia government authorities to find solutions for the relatively small number of British citizens living in Valencia who could otherwise face real hardship."

In 2002 the provincial government offered free healthcare to all expatriates of all EU nationalities in a bid to get foreign investment in the area's property market, which at that time was booming. The market is now experiencing a similar downturn to that being seen in the UK.

The ruling only applies to people who took early retirement and moved to Spain, mainly aged in their fifties. Older retirees and individuals on long-term incapacity benefit are unaffected, as they are covered under a reciprocal healthcare agreement with the UK.

A spokesman for the regional health ministry said: "It is costing us an extra €1bn (£790m) annually to look after a million new residents as well as long-stay tourists, and our services are at saturation point. Some come to Spain to have their heart operation or hip replacement here at a better standard and more quickly than in their own country."

The expatriates however, hope to fight the ruling. In France last year, expatriates successfully had a similar plan partially overturned, so it now only applies to new arrivals.

Full story from www.telegraph.co.uk

Andalucia Limits Golf Development

2008-07-03T07:00:00Z

In a move that some have described as revolutionary for golf-happy Spain, the regional government of Andalusia recently approved a sweeping new law restricting the development of golf courses.

The regulations, approved in February after months of heated debate, dramatically limit the number of houses that a developer can build around a course and require new courses to use recycled water for irrigation.

Throughout the country regional governments are approving similar measures in what is largely seen as a backlash against rampant golf course development. More than 100 courses have been built in Spain in the past eight years, most accompanied by high-density residential developments targeting foreign buyers. “I don’t have anything against golf,” said Juan Area, editor of El Observador, a newspaper here. “But I think there are too many golf courses.”

In Andalusia – home to the popular Costa del Sol, which is sometimes called the “Costa del Golf” – there are 118 courses, accounting for more than a third of the courses in the country. Nine new courses opened in the past four years alone, according to data from Real Federación Española de Golf, an industry group.

Critics say the golf courses were used as a Trojan horse, employing fairways and greens as an excuse to build rows of villas on environmentally sensitive land. “Probably in the last 10 years there have been more houses than golf,” said Ramón Dávila, president of Promotur, a tourism group in Andalusia. “And the government wants to re-balance this relation between the houses and golf.”

Full story at the International Herald Tribune

New Spanish House Price Index Q2, 2008

2008-07-02T09:30:00Z

Now that there’s detailed Spanish house price information on Kyero.com, we’ve taken the opportunity to streamline the pdf version of the Kyero.com Spanish House Price Index.

As you can see from the image above, it’s just 3 pages in length now – but there’s no shortage of information in there. There are average prices for 30 Spanish provinces and pricing trends going back to the last quarter of 2006.

We’ve also worked hard on the layout and presentation to make it easier to read, understand and digest – I hope you like it and that it proves to be a useful overview and companion to the detailed information now available throughout Kyero.com. Either way, love it or hate it, please let me know.

Martin Dell, Kyero.com