Media gloom and doom about the Spanish property market mirrors the coverage seen at home about the UK property market and despite the threat of a self-fulfilling prophecy, we’ve yet to see the type of crash predicted in some quarters. Another popular myth is that Spain is over-priced and had its day as a place to invest and find a bargain.
It is certainly true that the heady days of picking up a villa on a Spanish costa for less than the cost of decent garden shed have long since departed, but that has been the case in most of the established markets since the 1970s. But it depends what buyers are looking for and Spain still tops most polls as the place Brits want to relocate or retire to as, for so many of us, Spain is home from home. Capital growth has been excellent and while buyers who want to make a quick killing will probably look elsewhere, anybody who wants a solid investment in a mature market and really prefers Spain, shouldn’t be deterred. We’ve been holidaying and buying property there for so long, it has a familiarity that just doesn’t exist in many other markets. And for the all their investment appeal, how many people plan to retire or move permanently to the so-called emerging markets?
Spain is a mature market but it is also evolving as demand increases for inland properties, even amongst Spaniards. Where the countryside was once populated mainly by relatively poor farmers and agricultural workers, more affluent Spaniards have discovered the rural idyll and are looking inland for a different lifestyle. The typical Spanish experience among home owners was once a flat or house in a town or city and an apartment or villa on the coast and while this is still the case, there is an increasing desire for country living, previously unheard of among the Spanish middle class. This is made easier by the Spanish road network, which is subject to constant improvements and less volume of traffic than the UK, hence it is possible to live as much as 50 miles inland and ‘pop’ to the beach, which would be unthinkable in the UK especially on a busy holiday weekend.
So don’t write off Spain. It has something to suit most tastes, budgets and lifestyles.
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