The Spanish State Secretary for Housing showcases property at the Property Investor Show & OPP Live 2011
A delegation comprising ten or so Spanish property developers and real estate departments of financial entities showcased a sample of the properties available at a technical open-day in London to promote Spanish real estate in the United Kingdom.
The event was organised by the Ministry of Public Works in collaboration with the Spanish Institute for Foreign Trade (Spanish acronym: ICEX) and held within the framework of the Property Investor Show & OPP Live 2011, one of the main real estate events held in the United Kingdom.
The State Secretary for Housing, Beatriz Corredor, who accompanied the Spanish business leaders, took part in the open-day, explaining the situation of the property market in Spain, price trends, the residential stock available and the legislative reforms implemented by the Spanish Government.
The objective of the open-day was to put Spanish companies in contact with professionals operating in the sector in the United Kingdom and enhance the collective nature of the Spanish offer. The aim, explained Beatriz Corredor, "is to recover communication, distribution and commercialisation channels lost during the crisis with the main emitting markets interested in the Spanish real estate sector, principally in the holiday segment, which makes up one third of the overall real estate offer in Spain".
Property prices in Spain have dropped by 17 per cent on average and 22 per cent in real terms since they peaked, but in some areas, particularly with the greatest demand as holiday homes, prices have dropped by over 30 per cent, and even by 50 per cent in some cases. The stock of properties available, which began to drop in 2010, amounts to 687,000 properties in total, 61 per cent of which are on the Mediterranean coast and Spanish islands.
Furthermore, the Government of Spain has approved a VAT reduction for the acquisition of new homes until 31 December 2011 from a rate of 8 per cent to 4 per cent. New measures have also recently been approved to strengthen transparency, guarantees and legal security in the Spanish real estate sector.