# Anyone struggling to sell their property in Spain?



## mollymcc (Jun 15, 2021)

The value of properties dropped after the financial crash and now with Covid and Brexit selling is difficult with high selling costs


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

mollymcc said:


> The value of properties dropped after the financial crash and now with Covid and Brexit selling is difficult with high selling costs


Not around here it hasn't, even with a lot of Brits living here. 

I know several people who have sold recently, quickly, & around asking price, & local agents seem to be crying out for properties to sell.


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## tardigrade (May 23, 2021)

Depends on where you are - countryside ( campo) or city.. A lot of people are looking for escapes from the city now after being forced (lockdown) to live a portion of their lives in an city apartment.


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## stevec2x (Mar 24, 2012)

I'm trying not to be rude. Would you ever say, struggling to sell a property in UK? Somewhere between lands end and john ogroats!?


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## Barriej (Jul 23, 2012)

Not in this area either. (inland of Albir, Polop).
In fact properties are going pretty quick.

We live in a small village with a sort of urbanisation (its complicated) and there are always flats for sale. Most find a buyer within a month (the only one that is still for sale is a private sale and they had squatters).

In fact two of the large villa's I can see from the roof have recently sold, one to a Brit couple who want to turn it into a B&B (they wont be living there though) and the other to a Dutch family.

The local estate agents window is looking quite bare and his other office in Callosa is the same.
He still has about 60% of his enquiries from Brits as well.

To be honest I don't think the OP has any real idea.


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## Isobella (Oct 16, 2014)

Last I saw on SPI for the first quarter of this year sales were 20% down. Personally I only know the CDS and if you look at Viva there are thousands on sale in every town. Difficult to get an unbiased report on a forum, look for official figures from the notaries etc.


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## kaipa (Aug 3, 2013)

It really depends where you are. Spain is never really a boom market like UK ( exception Mad/Bar). Top end sells bottom end is slow always has been. You have to remember Spain ( unlike UK has a surplus stock of housing). It is not a place for speculation.


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## Barriej (Jul 23, 2012)

kaipa said:


> It really depends where you are. Spain is never really a boom market like UK ( exception Mad/Bar). Top end sells bottom end is slow always has been. You have to remember Spain ( unlike UK has a surplus stock of housing). It is not a place for speculation.


Have to agree there, its never the place to look at making money off bricks n mortar. 
We were looking in the window of an agent in La Vila today and they seem to have lots of 'rent to buy' and friends of ours have just done the same thing with a place near us. 
Seems to be the 'new' thing.


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## Overandout (Nov 10, 2012)

We bought in Madrid in 2007 so you can imagine that it is now worth less than half what we paid. If I had to sell it I would certainly struggle to get what I need to clear the mortgage, but the same happened in the UK years previously so it's not really a "Spain" thing. 
I just rent it out and the rent almost covers the mortgage payments. I see it as an investment, allbeit a long term and poor one!
Before Brexit, UK buyers bought less than 2% of Spain's properties, so the Brexit impact is virtually irrelevant.


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## lard_ascending (Sep 16, 2020)

Overandout said:


> We bought in Madrid in 2007 so you can imagine that it is now worth less than half what we paid. If I had to sell it I would certainly struggle to get what I need to clear the mortgage, but the same happened in the UK years previously so it's not really a "Spain" thing.
> I just rent it out and the rent almost covers the mortgage payments. I see it as an investment, allbeit a long term and poor one!
> Before Brexit, UK buyers bought less than 2% of Spain's properties, so the Brexit impact is virtually irrelevant.


I'm surprised that you say that. The following is from a recent article:

_El *precio de la vivienda en Madrid* alcanzó en marzo de este año su máximo histórico. Según el informe de Idealista, el precio del metro cuadrado se situó en los 2.900 euros, un 0,8% más que hace un mes y un 3,5% más que hace un año. La cifra es la más alta del registro de Idealista que se inició en 2006, es decir, hace 15 años. _


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## Overandout (Nov 10, 2012)

I guess there are areas in the centre of Madrid that have surpassed the peaks of 2006 / 2007 which bring up the averages (entire builidngs are being sold to investors for holiday lets at stupid prices), but in the peripheral areas I can assure you that it is not the case. 
Also, I'm not sure if the data from Idealista is concerning Madrid Capital or Madrid Community?
According to Tinsa, in Madrid Capital, the average price in 2007's peak was 3,974€ /m2, so we are not really anywhere near that price now.
Statistics of course can usually be made to show whatever people want, but the facts speak for themselves and it is usually easy to compare real examples.
We paid over 230k and identical apartments in the same building now are for sale for 150k asking price.


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## Isobella (Oct 16, 2014)

I wouldn’t trust Idealista figures.


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## kaipa (Aug 3, 2013)

I sold my first property in 2001. That was the boom time in the South of Spain. I did very well from that sale. A couple of years ago I saw my same flat for sale for a price slightly less than I got for it. Just shows how bad the market became after the crisis. In the boom years people made a living just flipping properties. It was always primed to fail and now it ploughs on sluggishly. I think for many Brits who maybe dont stay more than 5 years it's better to rent as it is hard to get your money back with the market and the taxes you pay.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

lard_ascending said:


> I'm surprised that you say that. The following is from a recent article:
> 
> _El *precio de la vivienda en Madrid* alcanzó en marzo de este año su máximo histórico. Según el informe de Idealista, el precio del metro cuadrado se situó en los 2.900 euros, un 0,8% más que hace un mes y un 3,5% más que hace un año. La cifra es la más alta del registro de Idealista que se inició en 2006, es decir, hace 15 años. _


I think it very much depends. Against all odds some friends of mine sold their mini apartment in Plaza Dos de Mayo area (central Madrid, narrow streets, crowded area, supposedly exactly what people are NOT looking for) for asking price after @4 months with several interested buyers... Others have lots of problems.


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## Chopera (Apr 22, 2013)

Pesky Wesky said:


> I think it very much depends. Against all odds some friends of mine sold their mini apartment in Plaza Dos de Mayo area (central Madrid, narrow streets, crowded area, supposedly exactly what people are NOT looking for) for asking price after @4 months with several interested buyers... Others have lots of problems.


I guess it might have been bought by someone looking to rent it out.

People I know looking to buy in our area of Madrid (Arganzuela) say it's impossible to negotiate, because sellers won't drop prices at all. They are happy to sit on properties for ages because interest rates are so low. It doesn't cost them much to keep waiting. For the market to start falling there has to be some distressed sellers - people who have to sell, and adjust their asking price accordingly. That might happen if nterest rates start to climb, but I don't think it's imminent.


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## Isobella (Oct 16, 2014)

kaipa said:


> I sold my first property in 2001. That was the boom time in the South of Spain. I did very well from that sale. A couple of years ago I saw my same flat for sale for a price slightly less than I got for it. Just shows how bad the market became after the crisis. In the boom years people made a living just flipping properties. It was always primed to fail and now it ploughs on sluggishly. I think for many Brits who maybe dont stay more than 5 years it's better to rent as it is hard to get your money back with the market and the taxes you pay.


Flipping properties was hype put out by Agents and developers. Like a Ponzi scheme the first ones were ok. I know a few who got stung buying off plan thinking they could flip. problem was most didn't want to buy them because they wanted their own to flip. Took an Irish friend 8 years to sell 2 apartments in Puerto Banus and at a loss.


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## Isobella (Oct 16, 2014)

These figures dated feb this year are from INE and the Spanish notaries.



https://www.spanishpropertyinsight.com/2021/04/23/spanish-home-sales-in-february-2021/


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## woodpecker9 (Jan 22, 2021)

xabiaxica said:


> Not around here it hasn't, even with a lot of Brits living here.
> 
> I know several people who have sold recently, quickly, & around asking price, & local agents seem to be crying out for properties to sell.


I quite agree, it’s the same where I live, loads selling to British as soon as they hit the market and well over pre recession prices, especially inland properties. Not sure how the transactions took place when the UK was in lockdown.


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## tardigrade (May 23, 2021)

woodpecker9 said:


> . Not sure how the transactions took place when the UK was in lockdown.


video conference..


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## Barriej (Jul 23, 2012)

woodpecker9 said:


> Not sure how the transactions took place when the UK was in lockdown.


That bits easy, just give the solicitor POA. Thats what we did as I was working away and couldn't guarantee we could be in Spain for the exchange.
I wired the money over a week before and on the day, I got a phone call telling me all was done.

The place we are in was built between 2004 - 2006 (should have been finished in 2003) and the 3 bed ones went for around €92k and €96k. We purchased in 2019 and paid €78k and they are still going for about that now.


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## Overandout (Nov 10, 2012)

Chopera said:


> I guess it might have been bought by someone looking to rent it out.
> 
> People I know looking to buy in our area of Madrid (Arganzuela) say it's impossible to negotiate, because sellers won't drop prices at all. They are happy to sit on properties for ages because interest rates are so low. It doesn't cost them much to keep waiting. For the market to start falling there has to be some distressed sellers - people who have to sell, and adjust their asking price accordingly. That might happen if nterest rates start to climb, but I don't think it's imminent.


I think the market in Spain is at rock bottom and won't fall any further. Luckily for me after having bought at the 2007 peak, I was able to buy again in 2016. The price / m2 was around half what I had paid in 2007, but this second purchase has neither depreciated nor increased in value in 5 years. If there has been no downward trend in five years I think it is safe to say that the "only way is up".


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## woodpecker9 (Jan 22, 2021)

tardigrade said:


> video conference..


Yes I had not thought of that. With the UK previously being in lockdown for such a long time I suppose most viewing of properties was done by a virtual video tour and the reliable description from the estate agent. Amazing what now can be achieved.


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