The vast majority of private vendors still haven’t come to terms with the drop in the value of their properties, argues José Luis Jimeno, MD of Noteges – a real estate and executive education portal.

According to Jimeno, pictured above, only vendors who drop their asking price 40pc to 50pc below the competition in their area have a hope of selling. As a result, 80pc of private vendors are asking prices that are out of the market.

Vendors on the coast, where there is a large glut of holiday homes, are even worse off. To make a sale, they will have to accept offers 60pc to 65pc below the prices they are asking today, he claims. “Private vendors are still trying to sell at boom prices,” says Jimeno, quoted in the Spanish press.

But Jimeno is not the only expert with something to say about asking prices. Juan Fernández-Aceytuno, MD of Sociedad de Tasación, one of Spain’s leading appraisal companies, recently said that sales close on average 15pc below asking prices, according to another recent article in the Spanish press. If he is right, then asking prices are not so far from reality as Jimeno suggests.

Going down

Looking ahead Jimeno expects house prices to continue falling thanks to the bleak economic outlook in Spain.

His advice to vendors is far from sugar-coated. “It’s not a good time to sell, but if you have no alternative then make the sale now, because with every passing day your home will be worth less.”

That advice is particularly relevant to British vendors, who have to take into consideration exchange rates. The Euro is still strong against the Pound, benefiting British vendors repatriating capital to the UK, but the way things are going in the Eurozone, that might all change.