# Usual Estate Agents Hype?



## Triker54 (Nov 10, 2013)

I've just got a report on the state of the Spanish property market through from 'A Place in the Sun'. They make claims such as:

'Nearly every agent we contacted had positive news from 2013, with many reporting sales up as much as 30 per cent on 2012 figures. And - following a period where Belgian, Dutch and Scandinavian buyers have become more dominant - the British are back with a vengeance, a trend that looks set to continue throughout 2014. '

This doesn't seem to tally with official statistics from neutral bodies which have been quoted previously on this forum. I just wondered what the feeling is on the ground out in Spain right now. Is there the feeling that the market has turned a corner or do you all still feel that there will be more of a decline in the market?


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Triker54 said:


> I've just got a report on the state of the Spanish property market through from 'A Place in the Sun'. They make claims such as:
> 
> 'Nearly every agent we contacted had positive news from 2013, with many reporting sales up as much as 30 per cent on 2012 figures. And - following a period where Belgian, Dutch and Scandinavian buyers have become more dominant - the British are back with a vengeance, a trend that looks set to continue throughout 2014. '
> 
> This doesn't seem to tally with official statistics from neutral bodies which have been quoted previously on this forum. I just wondered what the feeling is on the ground out in Spain right now. Is there the feeling that the market has turned a corner or do you all still feel that there will be more of a decline in the market?


In my area, which may not be very representative (Medium sized town north of Madrid city) we have noticed that rented property is moving much quicker, but because owners are have lowered prices (from 800+, to 650, to 550/ 600 in this urb) sales are still not moving - see MadLiz's posts)


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

Triker54 said:


> I've just got a report on the state of the Spanish property market through from 'A Place in the Sun'. They make claims such as:
> 
> 'Nearly every agent we contacted had positive news from 2013, with many reporting sales up as much as 30 per cent on 2012 figures. And - following a period where Belgian, Dutch and Scandinavian buyers have become more dominant - the British are back with a vengeance, a trend that looks set to continue throughout 2014. '
> 
> This doesn't seem to tally with official statistics from neutral bodies which have been quoted previously on this forum. I just wondered what the feeling is on the ground out in Spain right now. Is there the feeling that the market has turned a corner or do you all still feel that there will be more of a decline in the market?


In this area (inland village) no change. Nothing is moving apart from the odd one now and then, but then this is a fairly stable village anyway. Most of the houses that are moving are those that have fallen down!


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## maxd (Mar 22, 2009)

Only 1 or 2 units up for sale in the community I am staying in whilst we finish off our house. Depends where you want to buy, good locations at the right price sell. The issue is there are tons of white elephants cynically built by a motorway or airport that no one will want.

I got a cracking deal on a villa. Whilst sales may be up prices are still down. I think now is a good time to buy, we are 7 years in since the last highs and you still have motivated sellers. Out of 4 houses I saw, 3 are now sold.

I would really emphasize at the right price, there are people still dreaming and asking too much, so you need to look for value. Heard of an English couple near me who paid 600k for a house worth half that because they did not do enough research.


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## Trubrit (Nov 24, 2010)

I live in a beautiful area south of Toledo. There are about 25 5 bedroomed execuctive houses in my street and only 3 of them are occupied and the rest are in a very poor state of repair. The urbanization of about 200 homes is very sparsely occupied. This situation means a very low rental rate for me of 500e per month whereas these houses were initially on sale at 400,000 euros and rented for 1100 a month.


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## maxd (Mar 22, 2009)

Trubrit said:


> I live in a beautiful area south of Toledo. There are about 25 5 bedroomed execuctive houses in my street and only 3 of them are occupied and the rest are in a very poor state of repair. The urbanization of about 200 homes is very sparsely occupied. This situation means a very low rental rate for me of 500e per month whereas these houses were initially on sale at 400,000 euros and rented for 1100 a month.



I doubt Toledo is the first port of call for your average Northern European buyer as it is inland. If you are looking on the coast or in Tenerife where we are it is a different story. I also had a letter in my postbox a letter from a lady who viewed the house before me and wanted to buy. 

The old owner had a for sale sign that I left up and asked me to take it down because he was getting 3 or 4 calls a week. I was away for a couple months, so was unable to.

It is nonsense comparing the whole of Spain as it varies from place to place. In Madrid and Barcelona now funds like Blackstone are bulk buying up prime real estate whilst outside Madrid you have whole new built towns that are not going to sell in the next 15 years. A good lesson perhaps if you are thinking of selling too one day, buy somewhere good and you will not be stuck complaining you cannot sell your house.


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## Triker54 (Nov 10, 2013)

Thanks for the replies - very interesting. We're looking for somewhere traditional on the edge of a village and a few kilometres from the coast - either the costa del sol or near Oliva. We're looking for somewhere we will be happy and that means it won't be in an area that's very touristy. We know this will make it harder to sell but we think we'd rather have ten happy years of enjoying peace and quiet rather than ten years in a house which is a good investement but which we wouldn't enjoy.


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## Expatliving (Oct 21, 2013)

Estate agents tell porkie pies in all countries, only the foolish are taken in.

The Costas will never return to the heady heights of the mid-noughties. Property was overpriced massively, with little infrastructure to warrant the high prices. If you live in a spectacular location, you can add a premium, if you live near a huge city with employment and opportunities, you will have investment utopia.


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## Madliz (Feb 4, 2011)

There are many, many properties for sale. There are currently 1·4m ads on idealista.com in the 'for sale' section. This suggests that many people want to move, for whatever reason, which tends to suggest that there could be many buyers out there too. Living in Madrid, my viewers are Spanish and their problem is lack of mortgages or lack of a sale on their own property. Nearly everyone who has viewed my house has their own to sell. People trying to get on the housing ladder cannot get a mortgage so those of us higher up are also stuck. I have a Spanish friend who, along with her husband, has a full time work contract and has for years. They have saved a 20% deposit on an apartment, the mortgage repayments will be less than the rent they have been paying for over five years, yet they cannot obtain a mortgage. I'm convinced that a little extra lending will kick start things, which will surely only benefit the economy - taxes on the sale, removal costs, work to be done, new fixtures and fittings, etc.

If people can get finance again, things could pick up quite rapidly. I want to sell and then I want to buy and I am not alone.


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## StevejR1 (May 21, 2013)

We have been seriously looking at properties in Andalucia for the last 9 months.

When we first started looking nothing was being sold. But we have noticed that since the new year that some properties have been sold on the estate agents we've looked at. So it would appear that things are starting to move. I'm not sure if that is because of increased interest, or more realistic prices though?

I was told only yesterday, that sellers are less likely to accept silly offers now because they are feeling more confident of the market. Blurb or truth?...who can tell?


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## maxd (Mar 22, 2009)

Even worse for me the house opposite sold to some English people recently and there is some land in between our house and theirs that I want to buy. The guy in my bank told me yesterday that they want to buy the very same land 

Either it goes to a bidding war or we carve it in 2. I thought no one else would want it in a million years.


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## maxd (Mar 22, 2009)

Steve.R said:


> We have been seriously looking at properties in Andalucia for the last 9 months.
> 
> When we first started looking nothing was being sold. But we have noticed that since the new year that some properties have been sold on the estate agents we've looked at. So it would appear that things are starting to move. I'm not sure if that is because of increased interest, or more realistic prices though?
> 
> I was told only yesterday, that sellers are less likely to accept silly offers now because they are feeling more confident of the market. Blurb or truth?...who can tell?


IMO you will never be able to time the bottom exactly. All I can say is I see stuff moving at the right price and in the right locations. If you like something drive a hard bargain and try and get it accepted.

I spoke to a tile shop guy here yesterday and he said apart from the Brits/Germans/Scandies the Eastern Europeans are also starting to come now, particularly the Russians because of the law that you residency if you spend over 500K. That law applies to anyone not just Russians BTW and this helps that segment of housing go quicker.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Comparisons: Sandra and I used to spend a lot of time in rural Ontario..I have family there and in Quebec. We used to stay with my cousin who can be a ***** so we decided one day we would rather be independent so we went into a local estate agent. He immediately took us to view a selection of properties. We fell in love with one, a converted mill, over a hundred years old, ancient by Canadian standards. Fully modernised though.
We literally bought on a handshake. The agent told us it could be possible to complete the sale in twenty- four hours!! If the cash was in the bank. We didn't keep that much cash in our Canadian bank but we went straight to our lawyer and got him started drawing up the papers so all would be ready when we returned to the UK and accessed our cash.
As far as I can remember, the deal was completed in a couple of weeks. No stress, no hassle, very little expense for legal fees etc. This was in 2002.
I don't know if this is the norm across Canada but were we impressed....


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## StevejR1 (May 21, 2013)

maxd said:


> IMO you will never be able to time the bottom exactly. All I can say is I see stuff moving at the right price and in the right locations. If you like something drive a hard bargain and try and get it accepted.
> 
> I spoke to a tile shop guy here yesterday and he said apart from the Brits/Germans/Scandies the Eastern Europeans are also starting to come now, particularly the Russians because of the law that you residency if you spend over 500K. That law applies to anyone not just Russians BTW and this helps that segment of housing go quicker.


We are finding that it is the lower priced market, and the upper priced market (€450,000+) that seem to be selling....the ones in the middle band that we're looking at don't seem to be moving...well not in the area we've been looking in anyway. 
I do wonder if the higher priced bracket are more likely to negotiate the prices than the middle market ones? It's so hard to tell in the Spanish market....only today I was looking on the Internet at a house obviously overpriced, but 'open to offers'....price them fairly and the right people will be looking at them.


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## maxd (Mar 22, 2009)

I was also looking in the middle. I just looked for the biggest houses in the rough area I wanted to buy then viewed 4. If you are ready to commit you just need to get on with it.


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## StevejR1 (May 21, 2013)

maxd said:


> I was also looking in the middle. I just looked for the biggest houses in the rough area I wanted to buy then viewed 4. If you are ready to commit you just need to get on with it.


We are coming over again on Saturday....mainly to look at rentals, as the general opinion is that it is better to rent for a period first. We'll start with a 3-6 month rental, and once there Giulia will be looking full time for properties and areas


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## caromac (Nov 16, 2008)

A couple we know have sold their house, quickly, (in three weeks according to them) in order to downsize and buy a motorhome. They have found that the property market is indeed NOT flooded with 'decent' bargains contrary to popular belief. They are presently 'homeless' and still searching.


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## maxd (Mar 22, 2009)

caromac said:


> A couple we know have sold their house, quickly, (in three weeks according to them) in order to downsize and buy a motorhome. They have found that the property market is indeed NOT flooded with 'decent' bargains contrary to popular belief. They are presently 'homeless' and still searching.



They cannot find a motorhome?


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## caromac (Nov 16, 2008)

Sorry if I did not make myself clear - downsize house AND buy a motorhome


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

Steve.R said:


> We are coming over again on Saturday....mainly to look at rentals, as the general opinion is that it is better to rent for a period first. We'll start with a 3-6 month rental, and once there Giulia will be looking full time for properties and areas


Legal contracts are now for 6 or 12 months but then you do have one months notice period if you should wish to leave early. Landlords will not be too happy with a shorter let due to all the necessary paperwork (changing utilities etc.).

Best of luck though.


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## maxd (Mar 22, 2009)

House prices still falling | Canarian Weekly in Tenerife just saw this.

I think I may have mentioned this before that studies of bubbles from peak to trough usually end on an average at 50% of the peak price.


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