Young Adults Favor “Aticos” to Other Flats

Here is an interesting article from another real estate blog, Deshazte de tu Casa, about how young adults tend to favor aticos over other types of flats.

This makes sense given that this age group tends to enjoy outdoor spaces where they can relax and entertain while taking in impressive views. However, there are some things to be cautious of when looking for an atico to rent or buy – here are some recommendations:

• Make sure there are good drains to prevent any problems with humidity and leaks.
• An orientation towards the south is preferable to avoid excessive heat from sunlight, especially if you are in a climate with hot summers.
• Examine the terrace’s separation from those of the neighbors: Do you have privacy? Are there any ventilation ducts or other utilities preventing you from enjoying views or maximizing the space?
• Find out whether the terrace is private or community space for your building!

To read more, click here to read the Spanish article.

Staff Picks Mon. 29/6

Casamona flats are distinctive and hand picked by all of our staff members, so it is no surprise that we feel strongly about promoting our properties! While all our flats have characteristics that fit the “Casamona” ideals, there are some particular flats that truly define the standard of our agency. Check out our staff picks, and who knows, maybe you’ll find yourself enjoying your morning coffee on one of these terraces sometime soon…

Sylvain
Rental: XC4210 Stylish One Bedroom Apartment with a 40m2 Private Terrace in Eixample Esq. close to Universitat Metro Station

Sale: C612 Timeless and Classic 150m² Flat with a Quiet Covered Terrace in a Historic Building


John
Sale: C448 Impressive 83m² Apartment Newly Renovated with Modern Fittings near Tarragona Metro

Nicolas Vo Van
Rental: XC400 Central Flat in Eixample by Provenca Ferrocarril Station, Internet included

Amelia
Sale: C611 Beautifully Designed 104m2 Flat in a Historic Building with Details by Catalan Architect Puig i Cadafalc

Sale: A413 Amazing 125m2 Flat with Wooden Beams and 2 Small Balconies Close to the Metro Station Parallel


Sale: A343 Gorgeously Renovated 70m2 Flat with Elevator and Balcony in Eixample Dret

Spanish first time buyers have to part with 86pc of income

Thanks to high property prices and miserable salaries, buying a home has been prohibitively expensive for Spanish first time buyers for the best part of the last decade. Now that the Spanish property boom has turned to bust, and house prices are coming down, you would think that buying a home is becoming a lot more affordable for first time buyers.

Well, you’d be wrong. Housing affordability has improved a bit, but buyers in the 18 to 34 age group still have to spend on average 86% of their annual income to finance the purchase of a home, according to the Observatorio Joven de Vivienda, a body that monitors housing accessibility for young people. Lower interest rates and property prices have only improved affordability for young people by 2% since the last quarter of 2008.

So, even taking into account the small improvement in affordability, young people living in Spain still need to earn triple the average salary for their age group if they are to afford a home without taking on an unreasonable level of debt, says the Observatorio Joven de Vivienda.


Sourge: Spanish Property Insight Blog

Foreigners buying holiday homes in Spain

There was an article yesterday in the local papers discussing the latest figures from the Ministry of Housing for foreigners buying property in Spain. I wrote about these figures the day before, noting that just 484 holiday homes were sold to foreign buyers in the first quarter of the year. But this article says that 5,036 were sold. Why the difference?

I’ll explain, but first let’s have a look at the data from the Ministry of Housing. The following table compares sales to foreigners in the first quarter of 2008 with the first quarter of 2009. Under the heading ‘Resident in Spain’ are purchases by foreigners officially resident in Spain. Under the heading ‘Non-resident in Spain’ are purchases by foreigners living elsewhere.

To my mind, foreigners living elsewhere (484) are buying holiday homes, whilst foreigns living in Spain (5,036) are most likely buying main homes, not holiday homes. That explains the difference.

Furthermore, I assume that a big chunk of foreign residents buy homes are actually economic migrants, not Britons and other Europeans relocating or retiring to Spain for the better quality of life.

That said, I do accept that some or many of those 5,036 resident foreign buyers will be Britons and other Europeans buying property in Spain.

Whatever the case, the data shows that sales to both groups of foreigners are down much more than the overall market, which ‘only’ fell 33% in the first quarter.

Sourge: Spanish Property Insight Blog

Property market shrinks 34pc in first quarter, just 484 holiday homes sold

Measured by transactions, the Spanish property market shrank 34% in the first 3 months of this year, according to the Ministry of Housing. There were just 104,703 residential property sales between January and March this year, compared to 159,088 in the same period last year. A pitiful number of just 484 holiday homes were sold to non-residents.

Sales have been declining fairly steadily since the beginning of 2007, and the latest figures show there is no sign yet of the market bottoming out.

The Ministry of Housing broke the news by comparing last quarter’s sales to the previous quarter, which makes the news sound less grim. Compared to the last quarter of 2008, the latest sales are a drop of ‘only’ 16.5%.

The Ministry of Housing also points out that, over the 12 months to the end of March, there were 510,079 transactions, a drop of 33.3% compared to the previous 12 months.

As is clear from the table below, home sales in the latest quarter were the lowest since the Ministry of Housing started compiling this data. Compared to the 1st quarter of 2006, when 233,669 residential properties changed hands, sales in the latest quarter were down a thumping 55%.

Home sales by quarter and type, source: Ministry of Housing

Breaking down the figures into new build and resales, there were 58,993 newly built properties sold in the quarter, compared to 45,710 resales. Once again, new builds sold in greater numbers than resales, as they have done every quarter since the 2nd quarter of 2007. Prior to that, resales had always been in the majority.

Sales by type; new build, resale, and total, source: Ministry of Housing

Spain’s out of control building boom in the middle of the decade explains why new build sales started to outnumber resales. Now the boom is well and truly over we can expect sales of new builds to fall below resales, restoring the natural order. Quarter to quarter, new build sales fell 21.3% in the first quarter, compared to 9.4% for resales.

This trend will continue, and by the end of the year new build sales will be significantly below resales.

Regional results

38% of all sales took place in just 6 provinces: Madrid, Barcelona, Alicante, Valencia, Málaga and Murcia.

Over 12 months to the end of March sales fell by the following percentages in the autonomous regions:

Balearics, -43,6%; Catalonia, -42,2%; Canaries, -39,0%; Valencian Community, -37,5%; Castilla y León, -35,4%, Andalucía, -33,7%. Castilla-La Mancha, -32,3%; Asturias, -31,3%; Cantabria, -29,4%; Aragón, -29,2%; Madrid, -28,5%; Galicia -27,5%; Murcia, -27,4%; La Rioja, -26,1%; Basque Country, -21,8%; Extremadura, -13,9%, and Navarra, -8,0%.

Sales by region, 12 month periods compared, source: Ministry of Housing