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Seeking a solution to the problem of illegal homes in La Axarquia

SpainHouses.netJune 30, 2014March 31, 2020Leave a comment

To find solutions for properties built on land not zoned for construction but which has been subject to subdivision and can therefore not be included in Decree 2/2012 which relates to making properties legal, and those properties for which the works licences have been annulled. These are two of the objectives of the Save Our Homes Axarquía association – Salvemos Nuestras Casas en la Axarquía (SOHA) in Spanish - which is formed by about 400 foreign residents who own illegal properties, in a series of meetings it has begun with the Junta de Andalucía’s general planning directorate to look for solutions to the problems of illegal houses.

The president of SOHA, Philip Smalley, who is also a Partido Andalucista councillor in La Viñuela, and the association’s secretary and town planning councillor in Alcaucín, Mario Blancke, had a meeting on 19th June with the general director of the planning directorate, Rafael Márquez, to discuss the problem of houses which have been built on land not zoned for construction which had been illegally subdivided. According to article 185.2 of the Law of Urban Planning of Andalucía (LOUA), there is no time limit after which the authorities can no longer demand that the land be returned to its legal state and this means that the owners cannot hope to make their properties legal.
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Spain: Magnet for Global Bargain Hunters

SpainHouses.netJune 23, 2014June 23, 2014Leave a comment

As one of the most moribund housing markets in Europe, Spain has become a magnet for global bargain hunters. Real estate prices are down as much as 50 percent from their peak during a housing bubble, and investors from Asia to the United States and Britain are flocking to Spain to try to catch the uptick.

British Airways flights to Madrid are packed with London-based real estate executives. The hedge fund Baupost is buying shopping centers, Goldman Sachs and Blackstone are buying apartments in Madrid, and Paulson & Company and George Soros’s fund are anchor investors in a publicly listed Spanish real estate investment vehicle. Kohlberg Kravis Roberts just bought a stake in a Spanish amusement park complex. Big-name private equity firms and banks are teaming up with and competing against one another on huge loan portfolios with names like Project Hercules and Project Octopus.
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Spanish Property Market is on the Verge of Recovery

SpainHouses.netJune 16, 2014April 2, 2020Leave a comment

The downward trend in the property market in Spain is drawing to a close and it is unemployment that is hindering a full recovery, according to the International Monetary Fund.

With unemployment still hovering around 26% the real estate sector is unlikely to move into full recovery mode just yet, says the report author James Daniel, head of the IMF’s Spain mission.

But the report does point out that the country’s economy has ‘turned the corner’ after economic improvements took hold in the second half of last year and continued in the first quarter of 2014. Indeed, it adds that the Spanish economy is now growing at its fastest pace since 2008.

It also says that labour reform and wage moderation are helping turn job destruction to job creation. Compared to a year before, unemployment fell in the first quarter of 2014 and jobs, as measured by social security affiliations, increased by about 200,000 in April.
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New plans for emblematic Madrid’s building ‘Edificio España’

SpainHouses.netJune 9, 2014June 9, 2014Leave a comment

The regional government of Madrid has given Banco Santander the go-ahead to begin work on redesigning the interior of the Edificio España. Once Spain’s tallest building, the 117-meter-high tower block dominates Madrid’s Plaza de España, but has been vacant since 2005.

Santander has already found a buyer for the 1950s building once the project, which has been designed by Norman Foster and Carlos Lamela, is finished. Chinese businessman Wang Jianlin has offered €260 million for the deal.

The interior of the building will be ripped out and is to be converted into a shopping mall, a hotel and around 300 luxury apartments. The distinctive red-brick façade and sides will be maintained.

According to information seen by EL PAÍS, the plans proposed by the bank will see the commercial space of the building increased from 10,000 to 15,000 square meters, creating a huge retail center in the heart of the capital.
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The Spanish ‘Golden Visa’ and its effects so far

SpainHouses.netJune 2, 2014June 2, 2014Leave a comment

Fewer than 100 of the world’s super-rich have taken advantage of the Spanish government’s offer of a residency permit in return for investing in the national economy or buying property in Spain. The so-called “golden visa” scheme was introduced in September 2013, aimed at foreigners buying properties worth more than €500,000; investing €1 million or more in shares of publicly traded Spanish companies; depositing at least €1 million in a Spanish bank account; or making a major business investment leading directly to meaningful job creation, or having significant socioeconomic or technological impact.

The government says it has issued 81 visas on the basis of people meeting these requirements, and that 72 of the cases involved property purchases.

Almost half of the new residents are Chinese and Russian millionaires, with the remainder coming from Ukraine, Lebanon, Ecuador, Qatar, Egypt and Iran, among others.

The new visas do not come with a work permit, or include family members or spouses (though these may apply separately); nor are beneficiaries required to live in Spain – although they must visit the country at least once a year. They will, however, be allowed to move freely through the Schengen Area.
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Spanish Lenders Took Back Nearly 50,000 Properties in 2013

SpainHouses.netMay 26, 2014May 26, 2014Leave a comment

Spanish lenders repossessed 49,694 homes from defaulting borrowers in 2013, a 10% rise from a year earlier, figures released on May 19th by the Bank of Spain show.

Of these, 38,961 were first residences, according to statistics provided by the banks.

The vast majority of properties were empty at the time of repossession.

Meanwhile, the proportion of cases involving dation in payment, in which borrowers in arrears hand over the keys of the property to the lender that approved the mortgage to cancel debt obligations, reached 32.5% of all repossessed homes.

This represents a rise from 2012, reflecting the introduction of new legislation to make this option easier. Borrowers have mostly opted for key return in the case of holiday homes, not primary residences.
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Bad Bank to Finish 116 Homes on Costa del Sol 2

SpainHouses.netMay 19, 2014May 19, 20142 Comments

The demand for cheap holiday homes on the Costa del Sol, especially those destined for the foreign market has revived the interest of Sareb (‘sociedad de gestión de activos procedentes de la reestructuración bancaria’ or bad bank) in completing the stalled building work on such properties.

The company, created in 2012 as part of a condition laid down by the European Union in exchange for aid of a hundred billion euros to Spain’s banking sector, is responsible for dealing with toxic assets and has now turned its attention to two developments in Malaga province, totalling 116 homes.

Of these a hundred are concentrated in a residential estate in Casares, though the company will not yet say where. The homes are in the final phase of construction - 80 per cent built and in some cases lacking only electricity or phone connections or painted walls - and with works to re-start in July are expected to be completed by the end of the year and put on the market.
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Still Waiting for a Fully Recovery of the Property Market

SpainHouses.netMay 12, 2014May 12, 2014Leave a comment

Despite reports of foreign buyers snapping up bargain properties in Spain, the country’s real estate market will not recovery fully until banks relax their lending rules, it is claimed.

Currently the maximum loan to value for non-residents in Spain is around 60% but a buyer also needs to pay up 15% of the purchase price in taxes and fees so some considerable upfront outlay is still needed to buy a dream home in Spain.

The latest official figures confirm that mortgage numbers in Spain have dropped for the 46th consecutive month up to February 2014. Experts believe that the country is in no danger of a full recovery, let alone a property boom, as average house prices have fallen by 30% since 2008 and mortgage lending dropped from a peak of €173 billion in 2007 to just €26 billion in 2013.
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More Foreign Buyers in Spain but Less Brits

SpainHouses.netMay 5, 2014April 2, 2020Leave a comment

More foreign buyers are buying property in Spain but the traditional purchasers from the UK are in decline, according to new data from property lawyers.

According to a new report published by Spain’s Notaries the number of foreign buyers increased by 9.8% in 2013 but the proportion of British buyers continued to fall.

Foreign purchasers accounted for 21.4% of all Spanish residential sales or 55,187 transactions in 2013 and it also highlights the areas that are popular with overseas buyers.

A breakdown by nationality showed the number of homes purchased by British buyers accounted for 14.7% of foreign purchases compared to 34.3% prior to the financial crisis in 2007.

Instead, French, Russian, German and Belgian buyers increased in number in 2013, rising by 10.9%, 8.2%, 7.8% and 6.9% respectively.
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Marbella’s property market is showing great signs of recovery

SpainHouses.netApril 28, 2014April 28, 2014Leave a comment

Statistics churned out by the real estate sector continue to bring positive news for Marbella. At a time when the price of holiday homes continues to fall all over Spain, the Costa del Sol town is recovering its upward trend, showing the greatest increase in property values on the holiday home market.

These, at least, were the findings of a survey carried out by the valuation firm Tinsa, which places Marbella third in Spain in terms of holiday home prices (per square metre), a list that is topped by Sitges in Cataluña.

The report, published earlier this month, is based on the results from the first quarter of this year. In one year holiday homes in Marbella have increased in price by 4.8 per cent while in other towns on the Costa del Sol and the rest of the Mediterranean coast prices continue to fall. The study has taken into account the year-on-year result from the first quarter of last year.
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