Spanish property is ‘a bargain hunter’s dream’

2013 could be a great year to buy
Spanish property. That’s the view of many leading experts after a recent
article in the Wall Street Journal
highlighted the discounts available to overseas buyers looking to buy property
from Spain’s ‘bad bank’.

The government took control of
many property assets in 2012 and, according to the newspaper, is ‘expected to
sell them at bargain prices as part of efforts to put an end to a banking
crisis triggered by the land bust.’

Bad bank will have to accept offers for Spanish property

The Wall Street Journal reports that ‘Spanish home prices have fallen
30 per cent from their peak five years ago, and prices have halved in some
areas along the Mediterranean coast.’

A new ‘bad bank’ known as Sareb
was formed by the government to sell Spanish property assets in 2012. Experts
expect that the agency will meet the market in terms of pricing, as other
Spanish sellers increasingly have been doing lately to dispose of distressed
property.

British expert John Green told
the newspaper that he is sometimes embarrassed to have to present his clients
with extremely low offers. One listing, for example, he eventually dropped to
€95,000 (£82,240) from €210,000 (£181,270), only to receive his first offer at
€30,000 (£25,970).

“It doesn’t matter how low I
put the listing,” he says. “People are definitely being ferocious in
the types of bargains they are trying to get.”

If Spain’s ‘bad bank’ expects to dispose
of its property assets then it is going to have to accept decent offers. Prices
are falling and so anyone looking for a Spanish property is in an excellent
position to make a low offer. Sareb are going to have to cut prices significantly
in order to sell Spanish homes.

Author:


Nick
Marr