This is a website for buyers, owners, and sellers of property in Spain, offering reliable information and resources to help you get things done with confidence. It is run by Mark Stücklin, author of the Spanish Property Doctor Column in The Sunday Times (2005-2008), and the book ‘Need to Know: Buying Property in Spain’ published by Collins.
If you think that falling property prices are a bad thing, then January was the worst month for resale properties since the crisis began.
Asking prices for resale properties fell 9.4pc in January compared to the same time last year, according to the house price index published by idealista.com, a leading property portal.
On a monthly basis, asking prices of homes in the idealista.com database fell 1.9pc to an average price of 2,045 €/m2.
It represents the biggest fall in asking prices since idealista.com started publishing the index before the crisis began in 2008.
On a monthly basis, prices fell the most in Castilla-La Mancha (-2.3pc), followed by The Balearics, Asturias and Andalucia (-2.1pc). Prices fell the least in Aragon (-0.1pc).
The Basque Country has the most expensive asking prices in Spain (3,312 €/m2), whilst Extremadura has the cheapest (1,305 €/m2), followed by Murcia (1,306 €/m2).
For more information on asking prices changes by region, province and city see the idealista.com asking price index (in Spanish).
S Ainsworth says:
This is interesting because in Spain average asking prices are generally 50% higher than average sale prices (or put the other way round, sale prices are 33% less than advertised prices) . In other words properties whose advertised sale price is E150k sell on average for E100K. This has been so for as far back as records go. The discrepancy is down to the fact that estate agents’ fee or mark up is included in advertised price, (say(10%) negotiated price reduction ((10%) and ‘black money’ (10%).
Chris Nation says:
I’d be grateful if the Ainsworth comment could be expanded/explained a bit.
If the estate agent’s fee is part of the asking price and a property listed at E150k actually sells for E100k, how come the agent’s fee then ‘disappears’ from the sale price? If E100k is what the buyer actually pays for the property [exc taxes], the agent takes his cut from that, no?
Or is it that a ‘sale price’ of E100k must have E10k agent’s fees added back to establish what the buyer actually shelled out?
There is also an assumption of ‘mandatory’ black money in the formula. If no black money is involved – it must happen sometimes! I aim to avoid it myself when buying – is that 10% to be added back to get the actual sale price? If the asking is E150k and the vendor actually gets E100k, where does ‘black money’ come into it?
In other words, is the ‘real’ sale price of our E150k property not E100k but E120k? [assuming black money @ 10% is involved in this sale]
yours, fairly foxed
Paul Wentworth says:
Quite right Chris, this business of trying to establish the ‘correct selling price’ is clouded in mystery(and not a little dishonesty).
It has always puzzled me that in what is ostensibly a Catholic country like Spain where they celebrate their Christianity so proudly there is so much dishonesty at all levels, and particularly where property dealings are involved.
Yours +1(RC)