Spain Real Estate News
Russian tourism is the type that has grown most on the Costa del Sol during the past year. It has become a strategic market and its importance could rise still further if one of the bureaucratic processes which burdens it could be eradicated. The government wants to cancel the requirement for tourists from Russia to have visas and it is working hard within the European Union to achieve this objective.
...continue reading "The government wants Russian tourists to enter Spain without a visa"
The Popular Party (PP)'s refusal to back a popular initiative for the concept of dation in payment, whereby a homeowner unable to meet mortgage payments can cancel the debt with the bank by handing over the keys, was met with indignation by the Mortgage Victims Platform (PAH).
On Tuesday the government presented its amendments to the so-called Popular Legislative Initiative, which reached the lower chamber on a wave of public support that included 1.5 million signatures.
The rest of the parliamentary groups accepted the basic points of the proposal: universal and retroactive dation in payment; a halt to evictions; and the creation of a glut of social housing to support those who have lost their homes.
The PP, though, stated that "not now, nor during the parliamentary process" of amending the proposal will it entertain universal dation in payment. "It is an insult to the people affected," said PAH spokeswoman Ada Colau on Wednesday. "The PP has caved to the bullying of the banks." The government, she added, has destroyed the spirit of the bill by quashing its main objectives.
...continue reading "Popular Party blocks key elements of draft eviction bill"
Investors now get better gross rental yields in Barcelona and Madrid than in London or Paris. Assessing house prices and 
the amount that could be eared renting our property, the findings by a Spanish property portal concluded that gross residential rental yields in Barcelona (4.1 cent) and Madrid (4 per cent) are now better than London (3.4 per cent) and Paris (3 per cent).
Falling house prices and the glut of people who cannot afford to do anything other than rent means that investors are winning at both ends of the Spanish property market. Not only are they able to pick up bargain real estate, but are then able to set a high amount of rent, increasing their income.
...continue reading "Spain Better to Rent than the UK"
Some five years after the bursting of Spain’s massive property bubble, the casualty list of companies and individuals that have fallen victim to what former US Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan termed “irrational exuberance,” in this case for bricks and mortar, continues to swell.
Real estate firm Reyal Urbis on Tuesday told the National Securities Commission (CNMV) that it was calling in the receivers after failing to reach an agreement with its creditors to refinance 3.6 billion euros in debt in what is the second-biggest failure in Spanish corporate history. The biggest collapse was also a property company: Martinsa Fadesa, which eventually managed to escape being wound down after reaching an accord with its bankers to pay back 7.2 billion euros in liabilities over 10 years.
In a later statement to the CNMV, Reyal Urbis said it remained in talks with its creditors to find a solution to its financial problems. It said that the solution would revolve around setting up a subsidiary to which practically all of its assets and liabilities would be transferred. The option also remains open to creditors of canceling loans granted to the group in exchange for property assets, an arrangement known as dation in payment.
The CNMV suspended trading in Reyal Urbis shares, which closed Monday at 0.1240 euros, giving it a market capitalization of a mere 36.2 million euros.
Reyal Urbis’ creditors include the asset-management firm Sareb, the so-called bad bank set up by the government to absorb the toxic property assets of the country’s banks, an arrangement that may also help out the sclerotic real estate sector.
...continue reading "Real Estate Company, Reyal Urbis, calls in the receivers with debt of 3.6 billion euros"
The worst appears to be over for the top end of the property market in Spain’s Balearic islands with demand increasing especially from wealthy overseas buyers.
Americans, Russians and Chinese buyers are increasingly attracted to the lifestyle offered on Mallorca and Ibiza.
Throughout the property downturn demand for holiday homes in Mallorca has remained high, largely due to the mix of nationalities involved. The island is two hours flying time from most northern European cities and more than 80% of buyers in Mallorca are not Spanish. Properties on the island are also popular with Germans, Austrians, Swiss and buyers from Scandinavia.
Overseas buyers are attracted by the pretty inland villages, beautiful coves, marinas and beaches, imposing mountain ranges and 24 golf courses. Upmarket design is also helping to attract buyers. The Philippe Starck designed superyacht marina Port Adriano, Nikki Beach and Jumeirah Port Soller Hotel and Spa all opened in 2012.
...continue reading "Ibiza and Mallorca bucking the trend in Spanish property market"