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Forecasts for the commercial real estate market in Spain improve 1

SpainHouses.netSeptember 2, 2013April 2, 20201 Comment

Although Spain continues to be affected by the uncertainty that has impacted the country over the past five years, an economic recovery does now appear to be closer and forecasts for the real estate market have improved.

It is expected that the Spanish economy will continue to contract over the coming months, and the fall in GDP in 2013 is projected to be similar to that of 2012, with the economy shrinking by around 1.6% and domestic demand is expected to remain weak but this will be partially offset by a more positive contribution from external demand, the report says.

GDP forecasts for 2014 indicate that growth will be close to 0.5%, boosted by an expected improvement in the global economy. The outlook will also be aided by the measures taken by the European Central Bank (ECB) to stabilise and ensure the survival of the Euro. ...continue reading "Forecasts for the commercial real estate market in Spain improve"

HMRC’s warning to owners of second homes in Spain

SpainHouses.netAugust 26, 2013August 26, 2013Leave a comment

British tax residents with second or holiday homes in Spain are being urged by the UK tax authority, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), to “come clean” about any unpaid tax or capital gains, despite the deadline to avoid increased penalties for not doing so having passed last Friday.

HMRC’s Property Sales Campaign is targeting those selling homes in the UK or overseas, where capital gains tax should be paid on any profits made. Property owners had until 9th August to declare any unpaid tax on property sales and have until 6th September to pay the tax owed.

The Revenue is warning those who have sold holiday homes in Spain, and elsewhere, that a failure to report accurately could mean they face tax investigations, plus fines and interest could be added to the pending tax bill.
“It is better to come to us before we come to you. After 6th September, HMRC will use information it holds about property sales, in the UK and abroad, to identify people who have not paid what they owe. Penalties – or even criminal prosecution – could follow,” asserts Marian Wilson, Head of HMRC Campaigns. ...continue reading "HMRC’s warning to owners of second homes in Spain"

Millionaire foreign investors to buy property in exchange for visas 1

SpainHouses.netAugust 19, 2013August 19, 20131 Comment

Thousands of non-European Union high-net-worth individuals are expected soon to invest in luxury Spanish properties, in return for being granted permanent residency in Spain, according to international real estate experts.

In a bid to revitalise the property sector, and therefore the wider economy, the Spanish government announced last October that those who invest more than 500,000 euros in real estate will be allowed to stay indefinitely in Spain, and therefore the entire Schengen Area, which consists of a group of 26 European countries.

“The law is due to be passed any day, but it is now more likely to come into force in September, after the summer break. We will not know the exact process until the law is enacted but it is expected to be an administrative one involving checking the applicant has all of the necessary documentation.” Explains Alex Vaughan, a partner at an estate agency specialising in high-end properties.
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The bright side of the property crisis

SpainHouses.netAugust 12, 2013March 31, 2020Leave a comment

Development madness turned Spain into the European country that created the most urban land between 2000 and 2006, according to a recent study by the European Environmental Agency (EEA). A series of satellite images show that over this period, Spain accounted for 24 percent of all newly developed land in the European Union, followed by France with 12 percent and Germany with nine percent.

The subsequent economic crisis has served to slow down this trend, benefiting green areas and arable land, as well as some of the animal and plant species that live in them. But the real estate bubble has left behind enough land already classified as available to build on to last the next 35 to 40 years at an average annual pace of around 150,000 new housing units, according to the Public Works Ministry's Urban Information System.

That means there are 709,577 hectares of land that could still be rescued and returned to nature.

It is this great pocket of land that environmentalists want to win back by having it reclassified as green space once more, at least in cases where construction is not imminent. It will not be easy because money, or the promise of it, is at stake.
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Regional coastal decree eases restrictions on urban development 1

SpainHouses.netAugust 5, 2013March 31, 20201 Comment

The Junta de Andalucía’s new law to protect a 500 metre-wide strip along the region’s coastline that it still undeveloped is to be less severe than expected.

The decree, drawn up by the PSOE-IU coalition at the helm of the Junta, will affect some construction plans on the Costa del Sol, but not as many as the town halls (most of the governed by the PP) had feared.

The ‘Plan de Protección del Corredor Litoral de Andalucía’ is to be on public display until October 31st to allow affected parties to present their objections.

The decree does affect residential plans for some 204 hectares of land previously designated for construction in several municipalities.

A total of 3,577 homes had been due to be built on this land, while another 193 hectares were the location for development projects (involving 3,893 homes) that will be partially affected. The land in question is in areas that do not have an approved ‘partial’ development plan that allows the construction. Projects on land that do have partial plans will be able to go ahead.
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