THERE CAN BE no doubt that to date, this year has been another bumper year for the Spanish property market, and with the official Q2 data now available, what can overseas property buyers expect over the remaining course of this fiscal year?
We ended last year publishing an article forecasting continued increases in both residential sales and property prices for 2018.
At that time, Spanish real estate consultancy Anticipa predicted an increase in residential house prices of 6.1% by the end of 2018, while the specialist real estate website Property Wire suggested that 2018 would mark the first time in a decade that the country experienced property sales exceeding half a million transactions.
But official figures released in March covering the month of January, showed an increase of 13.8% in the number of property sales over the same period last year, with Costa Blanca property sales registrations already outpacing Madrid and Barcelona.
And just two weeks ago Spain´s leading property valuation firm Tinsa, revealed that after a relatively flat June, the latest data for July revealed a 4.6% rise in nationwide Spanish property prices.
With residential property price rises on target to meet Anticipa´s predictions by the end of the year, the Statistical Information Centre of Notaries in Spain published their concise summary of the 2017 financial year this month, noting that with 513,814 recorded property transactions last year, Property Wire´s forecast might have fallen woefully short of the mark.
Citing increasing sales completions on residential property throughout the Spanish property market, the publisher reported that the latest monthly data available for June showed a nominal 1.8% monthly year-on-year increase, but patently noted that the accumulated rise in property transactions throughout the first half of 2018 was 11.3% more than the same Q1/Q2 period last year.
“With 513,814 recorded property transactions last year, Property Wire´s forecast might have fallen woefully short of the mark”.
Also earlier this month, The Olive Press reported that mortgage approvals in Spain soared by an incredible 34% in April – the latest financial industry data available.
Banks lent Spanish property buyers €3.54 billion in just 30 days, a 46.5% increase over the same month last year.
Spanish property market: record lending for property buyers nationwide
Combined with a continuing decrease in national unemployment statistics, a steadily growing economy, and a historically low Euribor interest rate of just -0.378% for the month of July, indicators point to a continued increase in demand for Costa Blanca property, and added upward pressure on Spanish property prices.
In addition to Spain´s first class free health service, and the country´s obvious Mediterranean lifestyle benefits, Spain still offers attractive property prices – up to 30% below the peak of 2007, with bargains to be had in some areas.
Property prices are still exceptionally affordable compared to France, Italy, and other popular Mediterranean destinations, but Spain´s ease of accessibility with cheap flights from national and regional airports throughout northern Europe is hard to match.
That´s one of the many reasons that Spain remains at the top of the list of best places to buy a home abroad in 2018, according to the UK´s leading overseas property experts.
A Place in the Sun highlighted the lower cost locations on the south Costa Blanca, designating areas surrounding Torrevieja, Villamartin, and Camposol as their top three recommended property hotspots for potential Spanish home buyers.
With continued increases across the Spanish property market and with holiday rental prices increasing nationally by 6.0% over the same period last year, buying a holiday home on the Costa Blanca can prove a lucrative investment.
Start your search for your perfect investment property or holiday home now, click here to browse through our portfolio of high-quality property for sale in Spain, or click here to download our latest property magazine.
Photo credit: Alexander Pichlmayr / Inmo Investments
