Category: Renting Or Buying A Villa in Alicante

If you are thinking about renting out your home in Gran Alacant, Alicante for holiday rentals, make sure you are legal!
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According to a new report, Spain is the 2^nd best country to buy property in at the moment.
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Are you thinking about renting a holiday villa or holiday apartment in Gran Alacant next year? If so, whether you have got your eye on a 6 bedroom villa with a private pool for £2095.00 per week in August, or a 2 bedroom apartment with communal pool for £335.00 per week in August, you will be looking for the best exchange rate.
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For many years owners of holiday properties around the world were happy to advertise their properties on websites such as Owners Direct, HomeAway and Holiday Lettings and guests were happy to deal directly with the owner, or agent, to book their holiday direct with the owner or agent and also pay directly. The price that was advertised was the price that was paid. However recently all that has changed.
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After 8 years of crisis in the Spanish property sector finally solid data is showing that recovery is underway. Non-Spanish are sensing the real opportunities in the current market, and are subsequently buying in record numbers with an 11.9% increase in purchases by foreigners in Q2 2014.

Top 5 Reasons To Buy Property In Spain

Due to the continuing recovery in the Spanish housing market, there are now numerous compelling reasons to buy a Spanish property, with the top 5 being:

Positive Data
According to the Ministry of Public Works, sales of property in Spain have stabilised and rose 12.1% during the second quarter of 2014. This is an excellent positive sign that consumer confidence in Spanish property is increasing and that now is a good time to buy. The Spanish mortgage market is also starting to show signs of recovery as, in June 2014, mortgage concessions rose by 19% and 28% in July 2014. The statistics are showing that the Spanish property market has bottomed out and now the only way is up.

Buyer’s Market
Currently, there are excellent opportunities for bargaining on Spanish property as oversupply, limited numbers of serious purchasers and general economic conditions are leaving most sellers in a weak negotiating position.

Stock
There is still a huge amount of unsold properties in Spain meaning a great range of all types of property in Spain to choose from for a potential buyer. Houses and apartments of all types, all price ranges and in all locations are available with many modern new-build developments also now coming onto the market in the most popular coastal areas such as Alicante. A good example of this is Malaga in the Costa del Sol where 90% of the buyers are now foreign, with most paying in cash and it is predicted that the 10,000-15,000 unsold homes will be sold within a year and a half.

Lower Fees
Due to the drop in house prices the fees associated with buying property in Spain have also fallen. Notary and registrar fees, as well as fees for agencies and solicitors have all dropped as they are in most cases linked to the purchase price of a property.

Booming Tourism
Spanish Tourism figures are rising annually as more and more tourists fly to Spain to enjoy the fantastic Alicante weather and take advantage of cut price holidays. From January to August 2014 45.4 million tourists visited Spain, setting a new record for Spain’s tourism industry. And Alicante-Elche airport recorded over 10 million passengers for the first time in 2014.

Whilst for years, the Brits have been flocking to Spain to buy property either as holiday homes or for retirement, it now seems the French are catching up as data has revealed that the French are now the 2nd largest group of foreign buyers of Spanish property with around a 18.2% share.

More French Buying Property In Spain

The report shows that some 800,000 French citizens are Spanish speakers and over the past 12 months, 18.2% of foreign buyers of Spanish property were French. Whilst the Brits were 54.5% of purchasers, French buyers have already more than doubled those of their nearest rival, the Germans, who accounted for 7.5% of buyers.

More French Buying Property In Spain

So the question is why are the French suddenly purchasing Spanish property? There are several factors to take into account. The glorious Spanish weather is an obvious factor as the weather in the North of France is very similar to that of the UK, but it’s more a case of economics as well. With the French economy currently being one of the strongest in Europe, this provides French citizens with much greater buying power. With property in Spain currently being incredibly cheap, as the French are also part of the Eurozone, this means that currency exchange is not necessary and Spain’s Northern provinces, with just a short drive to the French border, have proved particularly attractive to French looking to buy property in Spain. For instance Girona which is just 55 minutes’ drive from the border, reaped 51% of enquiries during the period. Closely following were Castellon (46%), Tarragona (29%) and Cantabria (25%).

More French Buying Property In Spain

In addition, Spanish is the 2nd most widely taught foreign language in French schools, and with around 800,000 French nationals speaking Spanish, it leaves plenty with the desire to travel to Spain and buy property there.

According to data released by the Spanish Ministry of Infrastructure, Planning and Environment, foreign buyers in the Valencia area purchased some 16,619 properties in 2013.

Alicante Property Market Booming

This figure represents an increase of 17% from 2012, with a value of around 1.7 billion Euros and, with around 14,000 properties sold in the Alicante area, confirms that Alicante province is the most popular area of interest to foreign buyers. Resale properties faired particularly well and the Alicante area accounts for 87% of the total value of house purchases.

Who Is Buying Property In Alicante?

So where are the biggest purchasers coming from? Russians are leading the way, buying three times the amount of property in Alicante since 2009, with buyers from the UK now in second place. Until 2008 the majority of property purchases by foreigners in Alicante, were from the UK with around 40% of all sales, but by 2013, this had fallen to 13%. The rising nationalities buying property in Alicante are Russians (up by 13%) and the Nordic countries (up 19%).

There are so many different destinations to travel these days, but Alicante is understandably still top of many people’s list!
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According to a new report, Spain looks like becoming Number One on the list of top destinations for British people looking to invest in overseas property.

Spain Now Number One Destination For Buying Property

According to a new report by Rightmove Overseas, Spain looks set to occupy the number one slot for British people looking to invest and purchase property, outperforming France and Italy for the first time. The report states that the number of searches for properties in Spain far exceeds the other two countries, and the demand for second homes in Spain has seen a massive surge.

Property Sales In Spain On The Increase Amongst British

With those looking to invest in property in Spain, just over 50% said they looking to buy a holiday villa or apartment in Spain, whilst another third said they the reason for looking to purchase property in Spain was they were planning to emigrate to Spain’s warmer climate. An additional 13% were looking to buy property in Spain as purely for an investment.

Buying Property In Spain

For the past 5 years, low demand for Spanish property has meant that house prices have dropped by as much as 40%, and with the increased confidence currently being shown in the Spanish property market, now is one of the best time to think about buying property in Spain. And, of course, if you need an apartment or villa to stay in while looking for property in Alicante, then check out Alicante Holiday Villas full portfolio of rental properties in Alicante.

Whilst European citizens can automatically apply for Spanish Residency, until now this has not been the case for non-European citizens. However this law has now been changed to encourage investment in Spain by foreign nationals.

Spanish Golden Visa

From now, any non-European property investors spending a minimum 500,000 Euros (non-mortgage funded) on either one residential property or on a portfolio of properties of a minimum of this value will be eligible for a residence visa known as the “Spanish Golden Visa”. This visa is one of the most reasonable and flexible in Europe as there is no minimum stay conditions in Spain, plus the visa can be renewed up to 5 years, after which time those who have invested in property in Spain, and their immediate family, are able to apply for permanent Spanish residency. However this will require a minimum residency period in Spain of 183 days per annum. After a period of permanent residence in Spain, investors will be able to apply for both Spanish Citizenship and a Spanish passport which then grants them the right to live and work anywhere in Europe as a European citizen.

Spanish Residency Visa

Applicants for the visa must have no criminal record, be able to prove source of their funds and must never have been refused entry to a European country. They will also need to prove private medical insurance along with sufficient funds to support their future life in Spain. Furthermore, the property investor will be able to own and run a business in Spain but would are not free to work until permanent residency is granted. The main interest for this scheme has come from Russian, India, China and the Middle East.