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Published on 1 Comment on Right to Adequate Housing in Spain

From Human Rights Watch. The Spanish government has failed to take adequate measures to avoid and alleviate the impact of the housing and debt crisis amid economic down-turn Flat for sale in Santander 300x225 - Right to Adequate Housing in Spainin Spain. Since the economic crisis began in 2007, banks have foreclosed on over 500,000 properties under a procedure that leaves individuals and families saddled with significant debt and no realistic pathway towards discharging their debt. Immigrants, women heads of household, women victims of economic abuse, and children are among the vulnerable groups affected by the crisis.

Spain’s social crisis around evictions and debt arise in a context of decades of government policies aggressively promoting home ownership and borrowing and inadequate efforts to ensure an appropriate and affordable stock of rental housing and sufficient investment in public housing. Irresponsible lending, unfair terms in mortgage contracts (such as exorbitant default interest rates), unscrupulous behavior by intermediaries such as real estate agencies, and the lack of oversight during the boom economic years contributed to the current situation.
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Published on Leave a comment on Rise in Property Sales in Spain

Property sales in Spain increased by 12.6% in May compared with the previous month, with the Balearics seeing the biggest increases, according to the latest data from the National Statistics Office.

house in Marbella 300x225 - Rise in Property Sales in SpainThe data also shows that new home sales were down 8% from a year earlier and second hand homes up by 16% which could be good news for those who have been unable to sell.

The biggest annual increases in May were in the Balearics with a rise of 33.1, Cantabria was up 30.4%, Andalucia was up 10.7% and Catalonia was up 3.1%.

The biggest decreases were reported in Castilla-La Mancha with a fall of 15.2%, Galicia with a fall of 6% and Comunidad de Madrid was down 5.5%.

Meanwhile, the latest figures from the General Council of Notaires shows a sharp rise in the number of Chinese buyers in Spain, suggesting that they are responding to the golden visa rules which grant citizenship to non European Union nationals who invest a minimum of €500,000 in real estate.
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Published on Leave a comment on House sales fall for third year in a row

The Spanish housing market remained locked in a trough in 2013, six years after a massive property bubble burst.

23671122 1251066 foto 872872 - House sales fall for third year in a rowAccording to figures released by the National Statistics Institute (INE), the number of homes sold last year, excluding public housing schemes, fell 1.2 percent from a year earlier to 276,600 after falling 11.3 percent in 2012 and 18.2 percent in 2011. During the height of the boom over 800,000 houses were exchanged in a year. In December alone sales fell 11.0 from a year earlier to a new monthly record low of 18,619.

The only respite the market has had since boom turned to bust was in 2010 when sales increased 4.8 percent, driven by the purchase of new homes before the introduction of a hike in value-added tax.
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Published on Leave a comment on Marbella doubles the number of licences granted for new housing projects

The construction sector in Spain in general may still appear to be in a coma, but in Marbella there are further signs of activity in the property market. At least, that appears to be the case according to information from the Town Planning Department, where the number of new building licences granted in the first six months of this year was double that in the same period in 2012. Until June, 123 licences were issued, whereas last year the figure was 64.

Apartments in Marbella - Marbella doubles the number of licences granted for new housing projectsThe councillor for Town Planning, Pablo Moro, is convinced that this data reflects the fact that the construction sector in the town is beginning to reactivate. “This shows that there is more activity in terms of new building in Marbella and the town continues to be a focus of attention for many investors who now have confidence in it again”, he says.

Although the figures are light years away from those registered before the bursting of the property bubble, the rhythm of growth in applications for new projects does invite optimism and, for some people, it is beginning to dispel doubts about whether the town would, after all, be one of the first in Andalucía to show signs of economic recovery.
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Published on Leave a comment on Temporary injunction against Andalusia anti-eviction decree

The Constitutional Court on Thursday ordered a temporary injunction against the controversial anti-evictions decree passed earlier this year by the Andalusian government until it can resolve the constitutionality of the measure.

1019884 15724 1 - Temporary injunction against Andalusia anti-eviction decreeThe Rajoy administration filed a suit against the law on June 28. In its ruling, the top court said it was ordering a temporary halt in applying the decree as a precautionary measure until it can study the case.

The decree, passed by the Socialist regional government of José Antonio Griñán, protected the most vulnerable from being evicted from their homes as a result of foreclosures. It also allowed the Andalusian government to take over any empty property owned by the banks and to let people who have been evicted live there for up to three years. The regional government would pay a nominal rent to the banks.
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