Spain has the highest proportion of flat-dwellers in Europe and the lowest percentage of people living in houses, according to a report by Eurostat.
The latest figures on European housing reveal that two out of three Spaniards live in a flat, while in countries such as Britain, Croatia and Norway, more than 80 percent of people live in houses.
Flats are also a popular form of accommodation in Latvia - where 65 percent of the population live in a flat - Lithuania (58 percent) and Greece (57 percent).
But unlike their flat-dwelling European cousins, most Spaniards own their own homes - 80 percent own while only 20 percent rent. They just prefer those homes to be flats and not houses.
Residential property sales in Spain are continuing to rise with the latest data showing that the number of transaction recorded by notaires increased by 7.3% compared with the same month in 2014.
It marks some 18 months of continuous growth, the figures from the General Council of Notaires shows with its analysis report saying that the recovery in the housing market is being maintained.
A breakdown of the data shows that apartment sales increased by 6.2% year on year, more than double the increase recorded in October 2015. This was due to sales of free price apartments rising 8.3% and also sales of second hand apartments rising by 12.2%.
It is now several years since the property bubble burst and it has taken several other sectors with it, resulting in situations that would have been unthinkable years ago. One of these is the Golf Hills Village development which is only 95 per cent completed, but which has now been put to auction. It is the first time in Spain that this has occurred with an unfinished development, but the situation is not as exceptional as it may seem. Since the year 2000 BNP Paribas Real Estate, which is handling the transaction, has carried out 148 auctions involving 11,800 properties and a figure of more than 500 million euros. The auction will have a reserve price of 7.3 million euros and those interested will have to make sealed bids for amounts higher than this in front of a notary. The bids will be opened on March 18th and the highest bidder will be able to take over the apartments and sell them on, or make whatever use of them they may wish.
The owner of the development is the Midamarta company, which is part of Caja Castilla la Mancha. This company began to acquire properties from the bank but they were transferred to the Fondo de Garantía de Depósitos de Entidades de Crédito (FGC) after the Bank of Spain intervened in the savings bank, towards the cost of the 1,300 million euros that had been used to save it. ...continue reading "Unfinished Development in Estepona Goes Up for Auction"
Spain had tried already to create the European 'Miami'.
A combination of hotels, apartments and retirement homes for European pensioners and partly-retired professionals, all over the Spanish coast. The project included the construction and updating of communication infrastructures, such as the AVE, highways and airports. Now, big plans are coming again.
Las Vegas
The first one is the Eurovegas,which is getting great presence in the media because the American company that will develop the mega casino is in Spain, checking two likely locations, Madrid and Barcelona. The entrepreneur Adelson demands, among other petitions: lands expropriation, special tax treatment, and smoking permission in public places. In returns, up to 250,000 employs will be created, Adelson say. Some sources make sure that most of Adelson’s requirements has been satisfied, and only the casino location is left to know.
Palma de Mallorca Cathedral
The second project is in Mallorca. The developer Roland Ras has presented to the Govern Balear a plan in order to remodel Palma’s Habor. This undertaking could create up to 33,000 employs. The stipulated period to finish the redesign is around 5 years. The work would be over a surface area of a million square metres and the industrial area would be enlarge in nearly 400,000 square metres.
The project would be developed by a private group with American and German funds. ‘Now is a good moment to invest in Spain and we see an opportunity for it’ Ronald Ras said.
This is the moment for those who would like to purchase a house in the beach
The prices have gone down around a 38% along the Mediterranean Coast. Most of this decrease had been cause by the banks. Here there are examples:
Comunidad Valenciana
In Castellon, towns as Peñíscola o Vinaroz, make the most of the geographical conditions, such as the closeness of the sea and the mountain, to sell houses that in some cases were finished years ago. In the tourists cities of Oropesa or Benicasim is very important also the presence of real estate agencies owned by financial institutions.
Second residence in Spain
Those who are looking for a good offer will find a wide variety of them in Valencia Province, from Sagunto to Oliva, and in many cases is even possible to negotiate the price. The most interesting offers are located around the Ribera Baja, and the comarca of La Safor.
Alicante gather the biggest tourist offer. Marina Alta, Jávea and Calpe are the most famous destinations. The city of Benidorm keeps being one of the main references in the region. It is possible to find properties in Cala Finestrat for a price under 122.300 €, or even less, from 120.000 € in Villajoyosa.
With the exception of Marbella, the financial institutions are the main seller in the Andalusian coast. In Almería, it is easy to find one or two bedrooms flats from 54.000 € to 110.000 €, in towns like Vera, Mojácar or Roquetas de Mar. In Almuñécar, in the coast of Granada, there are 90 square meters for only 189.423 €.
Two bedrooms flats from 136.600 € in Nerja. And in Torrox, one bedroom and 95 meters flats, from 168.840 €. The minimum price in Torre del Mar is 114.246 €. Furthermore, real estate agents and banks are competing for the little area of Rincón de la Victoria.
Additionally, there are apartments for less than 134.030 € in Torremolinos, and studios for less than 45.000 € in Fuengirola. On the other hand,in Marbella where the number of properties from banks is minimum, the prices are higher, between 155.540 € and 259.000 €.
The excess of property in this region is smaller than in Valencia or Andalucía, with the exception of Tarragona.
Although Girona and Tarragona concentrate the biggest amount of properties, some seaside towns in Barcelona, such as Castelldefels o Sitges, keep being important points to buy a second residence or even a first one.
The developers, Realia and Vallehermoso, are selling in Sant Feliu de Guíxols, two and three bedrooms flats from 139.000 € and 232.399 €, respectively.
Cambrils, in Tarragona Province, offers the widest number of available properties.
Balearic and Canary Islands
House in Ibiza for 350.000 €
The islands do not scape from the competition between banks and real estates developers. More relevant in Canarias than in Baleares, it is causing a bigger decrease in prices.
In the Balearic Islands, in Ibiza as well as in Mallorca, it is possible to find three bedrooms flats from 262.000 €, apartments for 165.000 € and studios for 42.500 €. In Ciudadela (Menorca) flats for 110.000 €.
In the Canary Islands, there are houses for sell from 63.000 €, and flats from 55.000 €. Moreover, It is possible to find apartments from 37.700 € in Tenerife.
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The latest figures on European housing reveal that two out of three Spaniards live in a flat, while in countries such as Britain, Croatia and Norway, more than 80 percent of people live in houses.
