Insight into the Spanish property market, guides to help you make informed decisions, and a directory of real estate professionals and home service providers from a source you can trust.
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.
When you buy or sell property in Spain the sums of money are large, perhaps one of the biggest financial decisions of your life. The high transaction costs you will face like taxes and commissions only make the decision more important to get right. And when you own property in Spain you face a host of extra challenges to manage, and costs to control. Unfortunately, the Spanish property market is opaque and full of pitfalls, and notoriously unprofessional. Buying and selling property in Spain is not a decision to be taken lightly, and you may find it much easier to buy than sell if you don’t take care. In this market it is crucial to do your own research, and don’t rely exclusively on people who are trying to sell you something – let’s just say they might not have your best interests at heart. Spanish Property Insight is the only independent source of information and analysis of the Spanish property market. Don’t even think about buying or selling property in Spain without subscribing to Spanish Property Insight.
A U-turn looks imminent as the Treasury Minister Cristóbal Montoro (pictured) all but confirms that mortgage tax relief will be eliminated, barely six months after it was re-introduced.
Spain’s Treasury Minister yesterday hinted that the PP Government in Madrid is close to eliminating mortgage tax relief, as recommended by many international bodies, barely six months after his own party reintroduced the tax relief shortly after winning the last election. Montoro said it is just a question of “finding the right time” to eliminate it.
Which begs the question, why did the PP reintroduce the tax in the first place, in the face of abundant international criticism? As I wrote here back in November last year, it was easy to see the folly of bringing back a tax-break that distorts the housing market and helped blow up Spain’s property boom.
For example, re-introducing mortgage tax relief is the PP’s flagship policy, but abolishing it was about the only sensible thing the Socialists ever did. What Spain needs is more affordable housing (lower prices) and more families renting, not public subsidies for buyers at the expense of everyone else.
This is what happens when you encourage home-ownership through the tax code (owner-occupiers in blue, rental in red). You destroy the rental market. Back in 1970 about a third of Spaniards lived in rented accomodation; now its less than 10pc.
I guess it was a populist measure designed to win support from hard-pressed homeowners in the runup to the election. Soon it will be just another broken electoral promise, and might put further downward pressure on house-prices.
But mortgage tax relief never applied to holiday homes, so the effect on holiday-home prices will be limited.
The Government is also reported to be looking at giving residency permits to non-EU nationals who buy homes worth more than 250,000 Euros.
Everything you need to know about property in Spain
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Mark says:
Today the PM Mariano Rajoy has announced that this tax break will indeed be eliminated, effective from the start of next year.