Property bargains to be found in Spain but beware of ghost towns

Property prices in Spain have ‘plummeted 22 per cent since
the financial crisis of 2008’. 
That’s the figure quoted by the Daily
Telegraph in a recent report highlighting the significant number of empty
properties in the Mediterranean country.

With so many empty homes available, it’s no surprise that
you can pick up a stunning property bargain in the country.  But, you also have to be careful of
buying in a ‘ghost town’, as our guide explains.

Huge discounts
available on property in Spain

With Spain’s unemployment rate reaching 23 per cent – a
Eurozone high – thousands of properties in the country are sitting empty as few
locals can afford to buy a new home. 
This means that prices have fallen, offering great opportunities for
foreign investors to snap up a bargain.

As the Telegraph
reports: ‘Property in half finished developments across Spain is being offered
at discounts of up to 50 per cent of their original prices as banks struggle to
offload a glut of real estate.’

However, buyers are being warned to look out for so-called
‘ghost towns’ – locations with thousands of empty properties and few of the
amenities initially promised when construction began.

Buyers warned to look
out for ‘ghost towns’

The newspaper highlights the ’ghost towns’ of Sesena and
Yebes.  When construction began in
these locations in the mid 2000s, both promised huge infrastructure
improvements, thousands of new properties and a range of local amenities.  However, few of these planned benefits
have been forthcoming.

In Yebes, 9,000 apartments and small houses were planned in
an idyllic country setting.  There
was also to be a high-speed train station so workers could get to central
Madrid in less than 20 minutes.

However, only 1,500 properties were finished before
developers went bankrupt.  3,000
people live in Yebes instead of the projected 30,000 and government officials
never launched the train service.

So, if you are looking to snap up a property bargain, make sure
you check out exactly what amenities are available.  Many new developments promised shops, schools and transport
links which may have never ended up being built.