Istan, near Marbella

Just 20 minutes from the highlife of Marbella is this beautiful Andalucian village. The brightness of the white painted houses contrasts perfectly with the green slopes of the Sierra Blanca. Istan means ’spring’ and throughout the village you will find many springs, flowing with fresh water.

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The property market in Southern Spain has changed dramatically in the last two years. These changes have coincided with the global economic downturn and are significant, the positives for anybody considering purchasing a property on the Costa del Sol are obvious.

Real estate experts concur that we are at a stage where the market has more or less bottomed out with property prices in some cases back to their 2004 levels and excellent value can be had across every sector of the market. There has never been a better time to purchase!

At Property Point Marbella we have negotiated the best conditions for our clients, sourced exclusive properties that fall into the distressed sale category. Some of the best value properties rarely make it into the open market through normal channels, we have established contacts and networks within banks, legal practices and accountancy firms and have a limited numbers of opportunities we can present to you that are substantially below market value.

These opportunities can only be sized by individuals who have cleared funds available to complete any prospective transaction within 21-28 days.

Our free list of discounted properties is your first step in finding that dream home on the Costa del Sol at a massive saving.

To download your free lists of discounted properties, please visit our website at http://www.discountedpropertymarbella.com/.

To see our latest property listings, please visit www.propertypointmarbella.com.

Discounted Property Marbella is part of the Property Point Group.

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This news is great for investors, obviously the time to buy is either now or within the next few months.

Spain’s glut of newly-built holiday-homes will take the market between 4 and 5 years to digest, according to José Manuel Galindo, President of the Association of Developers and Constructors of Spain (APCE). The over-supply of first homes, on the other hand, will have gone within 2 to 3 years.

There were 700,000 new homes on the market at the end of 2009, according to the APCE’s figures, many of them holiday homes in coastal provinces. Thanks to a recent rebound in spanish property sales, up 16% in February and 8% in March, and a process of price adjustments that Galindo claims is now almost over, the glut of new homes is already disappearing in some parts of Spain. For the first time since the Spanish property crisis began, there are signs of light at the end of the tunnel, in some areas at least.

For example, the excess inventory of new homes in Cantabria, an autonomous region in the north of Spain, will have gone in less than 2 years, whilst the same process will take 2 to 3 years in some provinces of Andalucia and Galicia. Provinces in the Valencian Region, on the other hand, will need 4 to 6 years.

Referring to the recent bounce in homes sales, Galindo described it as “the best news in almost a year”. He is confident sales will continue growing to a total of around 300,000 this year, though he did acknowledge that Government’s moves to slash the deficit, such as reducing pay for civil servants, could derail the recovery in home sales.

Looking to the future, Galindo expects the real estate sector to fall from 18% of GDP at the top of the boom to 12% today, with residential construction accounting for 6% to 7%. “We have adjusted more than our fair share” he said of his industry.

propertypointmarbella.com

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Five years of work finally came to an end on Monday as the third terminal at the Pablo Ruiz Picasso Airport in Malaga was officially opened.

King Juan Carlos, accompanied by Queen Sofia, addressed the 500 strong crowd of institutional representatives from political, touristic, economic, aeronautical and communication spheres, describing the new building as “light and transparent” and in keeping with its “advanced technology”, also stressing that the extension of the aerodrome would energise the economic and tourist activity of Andalucía.

He added “The Queen joins me to express our happiness at the inauguration of this new, modern and splendid terminal T3 of Malaga Airport. This will reinforce its prominent position in the dense network of airports in Spain”.

The Monarch also commented that this is the oldest aerodrome that has maintained its original location in Spain (the first flight landed in El Rompedizo on 9 March 1919).

However, he also made clear the fact that the airport’s influence would transcend regional boundaries, making it an important part of “the wide and extensive modernisation of airport infrastructure” that will ensure “greater internal mobility and cohesion as well as better international connections”.

Special thanks were offered to Aena (association of Spanish airports and air navigation), architect Bruce Fairbanks, the construction consortium made up of Ferrovial and Sando, and “all the directors, technicians and workers who have poured all their efforts into the execution of this project”.

The King also took the opportunity to offer his sympathy and support for those affected by storms in Andalucía.

Catherine Deshayes

Source: kyero.com

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April 5 (Bloomberg) — Home prices in Britain, Spain, France and Germany rose marginally in the fourth quarter of 2009 compared with the third, the Financial Times reported, citing its own Eurozone index.

In the year as a whole, however, home prices in Britain, France and Spain fell more than 7 percent and those in Germany were down 1.8 percent, the newspaper said.

The 16-nation eurozone as a whole saw a 4.6 percent decline, the FT said.

The biggest drops were in countries hit hardest by the financial crisis, such as Ireland, down 12.4 percent, Iceland, down 9.7 percent and Slovakia, down 11.1 percent, the newspaper added.

For further information on buying property see Property Point Marbella’s article:

Property Point Marbella

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One of the main issues many people have when relocating abroad is the language barrier, not so much for themselves, rather for their kids, whatever age.  Do you take the safe option and enter your kids into an International School where English will be the first language or do you plunge them into the unknown and enrol them into a national school where they will surely struggle.

It is a fact of life that children are able to learn faster and can cope with a new language much more comfortably than most adults.  Indeed, in the experience of many of our clients at Property Point Marbella, we have noticed over the years that those with younger children tend to immerse their children into the local way of life more readily.
A few items which may help you and your child integrate into the local culture and language are: 

1) watch national TV, although it may be difficult at first, humorous childrens programme are also about learning by letter and word association, excellent for the beginner

2) enrol them in the local national school where they will meet friends and start to interact with the local community, unless they are at a vital age (ie 13 and approaching exams where they would then suffer due to having to learn the language as well as cope with upcoming exams)

3) clubs and associations, sports and recreational pursuits are a great way to meet new neighbours and like minded friends, this will also help your children

4) take language classes as a group, you and your family together having more fun and practising at home with each other;  and finally…

5) find local people who can help you in your normal life, ie babysitters, house-cleaner, gardener, delivery man, etc.

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Located at Calle Camilo Jose Cela 6, Fuengirola Zoo is one of the Costa del Sol´s most popular attractions.  Designed to replicate the natural habitat of each of the Zoo´s inhabitants one will see many exotic creatures from areas such as Madagascar and Africa whilst walking through the grounds.  The Zoo has an almost theme park feel as you walk past waterfalls, temples, hanging bridges and even abandoned mines.
The Zoo even has a late opening period during the summer allowing visitors the opportunity to view nocturnal species such as owls, foxes and the normally elusive leopards.

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Jennie Thompson of the British Chamber of Commerce in Spain and Oscar Fernandez the Director of the Marbella Business Support Centre have sent an open invite to businesses in the area to attend a Business and Tax Open Day on May 20th, 2010.
In attendance will be Miguel Angel Blanca and Michael Egan from Spence Clarke and Co who will offer a personal 20 minute consultation regarding the main topics of discussion which are Taxation for resident and non-resident individuals; Business taxation and accounting and Mercantile business taxation.
There are only 70 places available therefore anyone wishing to avail of this opportunity should contact Yolantha North at 952822943 (email yolantha@spenceclarke.com) to make an appointment.  The venue will be the CADE Marbella, Avenida Ricardo Soriano 66, Marbella, Malaga.
Taxation and the effect on personal incomes through property ownership is a major area of consideration for clients of Property Point Marbella and as part of our services we can help prospective purchasers seek independent legal and financial advice whilst sourcing their ideal property on the Costa del Sol.

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Even in the current financial climate it is difficult to imagine that demand for properties in Southern Spain by Northern Europeans will falter.  The location alone creates interest and desire – who wouldn’t want a beach side property?
Certainly, few things are more more desirable than owning a low maintenance, low cost (and safe) holiday home. Indeed, to have somewhere convenient and familar for breaks away in the sun is, surely, one of life’s ultimate luxuries?
The problem, as everyone knows, is that the Spanish property market is in crisis, which has been largely due to massive overbuilding. This is true of every sector – not least that of new apartments in Spain.
So, what makes one apartment in Spain better than another? How should you assess what you are buying – and how can you purchase something that will retain its value or (over time) become a sound investment?
Certainly, the importance of proximity to amenities should never be underestimated, if you want your apartment in Spain to be a sound investment (and to be able to really maximise its use). The Spanish coastline is long and there are countless coastal apartment blocks stretching for miles away from any coastal town or village. However, many are often far from any real amenities and (normally) cannot be compared in value or desirability to those reasonably close to a pretty, lively and permanently lived-in area.
A ‘permanently lived-in’ area is especially important, not least because many coastal apartment blocks are virtually ‘closed down’ out of season. Worse still, this is also true of the one or two surrounding bars or shops that are often open only during the Easter or summer period.
Without doubt, the glory of Spain is the all-year round, excellent climate and few things are more depressing than taking a winter sun holiday in an area that is almost completely ‘dead’ out of season. A canny buyer will always recognise this point and ensure that any apartment in Spain he buys – is not dangerously compromised for most of the year.  This affects not only personal enjoyment of the spanish property but also, obviously, its re-saleability and potential investment value.

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Property Point Marbella recommended reading:

Residential property prices in Spain fell nationally by 5.5% over the 12 months to the end of February, according to the latest real estate price index to be published.
There is a degree of stabilisation, with the index remaining the same as the previous month, said appraisal company Tinsa. But the headline figures hid the fact that in some markets prices are still falling considerably.

A closer examination of the Tinsa figures, which are based on valuations not sales, shows a different story for real estate on the Mediterranean coast and the Balearic Islands. Having improved for four consecutive months since September last year, prices on the coast decreased by 8.2% over the 12 months to the end of February, and by 8.9% in the Canaries and the Balearics.

So since the peak of the market in December 2007 prices are down 15.7% nationally, 22% on the Mediterranean coast, and 16.8% in the Canaries and the Balearics, based on Tinsa figures.

But the latest figures from the National Institute of Statistics, which are based on actual sales figures supplied by lawyers, show that property prices fell by an average of 4.3% last year and by just 10% since the peak, seemingly backing up the trends identified by Tinsa.

They also show that resale property prices fell 3.5% last year and actually rose by 0.1% on a quarterly basis in the last three months of the year.

The Spanish government claims there are signs of recovery. The latest figures from the Ministry of Housing shows there was a small rise in property sales in the fourth quarter of 2009.

‘The transactions in the fourth quarter represent a rise of 4.1% with respect to the same period last year, this being the first year-on-year rise since the fourth quarter of 2006,’ it said in a statement.

But like the Tinsa figures, when the data is put into a wider context the picture is not quite as rosy. The government figures show that there were 413,112 transactions last year, a fall of 19% compared to the previous year, and 46% down on 2007. Even the fourth quarter sales were down 33% compared to the same period two years ago.

And some areas are performing better than others with Madrid and Barcelona seeing sales rise faster than more rural areas. In the fourth quarter of 2009 Madrid saw transactions go up by 41% and Barcelona by 35%.

Source PropertyWire

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