Spain real estate on the rebound?

There probably still are some great values at the golf course before Santo Domingo del Calzada! I think it became a symbol of ill-advised building.

Select real estate is probably rising but Spain like a number of European countries has entered a deflationary period not unlike what Japan experienced for the past few decades whereby prices and wages have fallen significantly.

jirit said:

Select real estate is probably rising but Spain like a number of European countries has entered a deflationary period not unlike what Japan experienced for the past few decades whereby prices and wages have fallen significantly.

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Name your source! Spain is on an incredible rebound and where I live it it far from the truth, the only issue is youth unemployment. Cash is still king here and unlike north america most people here are not saddled with mortgages and credit card debts. If I am correct one can buy a property in Spain for 250m Euros and get a resident's visa.

Does the head of the ECB work as a reference?

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/05/30/eurozone-economy-inflation-idUSL6N0OG18D20140530

Or the head of the largest bond fund

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-...ion-risk-as-rajoy-hails-spain-price-drop.html

I am just a simple guy .... But there is plenty more...

http://www.economonitor.com/edwardh...deflation-becomes-good-news-for-headline-gdp/

biarritzdon said:

Name your source! Spain is on an incredible rebound and where I live it it far from the truth, the only issue is youth unemployment. Cash is still king here and unlike north america most people here are not saddled with mortgages and credit card debts. If I am correct one can buy a property in Spain for 250m Euros and get a resident's visa.

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It is called a Golden Visa ...targeted to the one percent that can afford to drop the monies into real estate to buy a residence visa...

Spain is about to kick off its program, setting the minimum property investment at €500.000 in exchange for a one-year visa, renewable every two years after that. The Bank of Spain reports that foreign investment in the Spanish property market has increased during the economic crisis, mainly due to the sharp fall in prices.

What these types of visas do along with generate plenty of cash for the government is push the value of high end real estate up significantly while the mid and low range real estate either falls or stagnates. It is becoming a world wide issue - we are seeing here in North America, in those European countries that offer this type of visa, in parts of SE Asia, etc.

This is my personal view from everyday life on the street.
Draghi is doing everything he can do to lower the value of the Euro because it helps with exports and encourages tourism. He will continue to do so even as the right wing parties are trying to derail the EU. The recent vote was a joke in that only 57% of the people voted, the other 43% are satisfied with the status quo, it was much like a US mid term election even though the stakes were a bit higher.
The naysayers from North America are spinning a story about economic weakness here that simply is not true. My cost to living here for 8 months is actually more manageable than it is in the US. Granted I pay about 4x for gas, but I drive less and take a bus when parking in town is an issue and a bus is there when I need it. My other living expense are comparably less and the escalation in grocery prices I experienced last winter in Florida have proved to be non-existent in France.
I ask you, why are so many people coming here for vacations or walking the Camino? Perhaps because it is less expensive than the alternative offered in the US and other parts of the world?
Is there is a hidden agenda with the talking heads at Bloomberg and CNBC to diss the economy in Europe? Sure there is, they are afraid the American economic model is under attack. Just look at all the proposed merger activities of late.
By the way, the 1% comment makes no sense. The buyers are coming from all over the world and Spain seems to be willing to deal with the xenophobia that the rest of Europe is fighting.
That's all I have to say and I really don't want to turn this forum into a political or economic battle field.

Out here on the ground, in depopulated Palencia, real estate prices are still quite low. Problem is, property available along the CF is priced at a 20 percent premium above the surrounding areas, and a foreign or "outsider" buyer is often perceived as an idiot millionaire. Thus, asking prices are outlandish. You have to come in with all your research done, money in the bank, and ready to drive a really hard bargain.

biarritzdon said:

This is my personal view from everyday life on the street.
Draghi is doing everything he can do to lower the value of the Euro because it helps with exports and encourages tourism.

Is there is a hidden agenda with the talking heads at Bloomberg and CNBC to diss the economy in Europe? Sure there is, they are afraid the American economic model is under attack. Just look at all the proposed merger activities of late.

By the way, the 1% comment makes no sense. The buyers are coming from all over the world and Spain seems to be willing to deal with the xenophobia that the rest of Europe is fighting.
.

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The value of the Euro isn't the issue. The problem is the Spanish € versus the German € etc. If it's not clear most Eurozone trade is within the zone. A weaker € isn't a huge gain. It might stop the odd European tourist flying into NYC but in general it won't be a big saviour.

What Europe is engaged in is an internal devaluation. For anybody who doesn't understand that they should look it up.

Your second point is strange. Most of Europe is engaged in Tea Party economics. Screwing the working class in the process. The Americans critical of the European "solution" are almost totally on the left or far left of the political spectrum.


Spains 25+% unemployment is masked by all the people leaving the country or dropping out of the work force. If you ignore the official unemployment rate and look at broader measures less then 20% of Spanish youth have a job.

You really think ordinary people are dropping €500k cash plus all the other expenses? Really?

Ordinary people are not dropping the big bucks and getting a visa in exchange, but Russian and Chinese and Middle Eastern oligarchs are making good use of their mysterious cash reserves in the Spanish property market, and getting a fresh passport in the bargain.

Rebekah Scott said:

Ordinary people are not dropping the big bucks and getting a visa in exchange, but Russian and Chinese and Middle Eastern oligarchs are making good use of their mysterious cash reserves in the Spanish property market, and getting a fresh passport in the bargain.

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Ireland, under a corrupt government in the eighties, offered the same deal to our arab neighbours, for a million in "investment" they got an Irish passport. Some things never change.