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.
Resale asking prices were almost unchanged in January, according to the Spanish property portal Idealista.com.
The Idealista index, based on the asking prices of its resale listings, finished January at 1,597 €/sqm, up from 1,592 €/sqm a year ago – an increase of just 0.3%. On a monthly basis the index was up 2.1%.
In the context of the SPI House Price Index Tracker (see chart above), which includes seven of the most widely-watched indices in Spain, the latest Idealista figure provides more evidence to suggest that the value of the Spanish property market as a whole has stopped declining, but there is little sign of strong recovery in the making, at least for the resale market.
Note there are always big variations in price change by region, so the average figure for the country as a whole is only useful from a macro-perspective, but not a good guide to price dynamics in local markets.
David Dryburgh says:
Hi Mark, we are thinking of selling an investment property in London and purchasing same in Barcelona. Based on the properties that I have seen for sale (online), it’s clear that I will get a lot more property for my money. This will enable me to upscale from a small 2 bed semi to a (relatively) large 3 bed apartment in Barcelona.
We visited Barcelona again recently and it’s really clear that it’s thriving and has an enormous amount to offer, both residents and tourists. What I am interested in is what the property rental market is like and what the most sought-after rental locations are. I am also interested in the short-term vs. long-term rental market in Barcelona. Being a non-resident landlord, I would prefer to have long-term tenancies (for obvious reasons) even though the yields may not be as good as short-term. Is there a decent market demand for these? If so, would you recommend using a management Agency? What would I expect to pay these out of my rental returns?
I live in Manchester and do not use an Estate Agent, either to re-let my property in London or to manage it. I find that I’m able to do it from Manchester and, if the need arises I travel down to London to resolve (3 hr drive) – I could fly to Barcelona in the same time!
We recently purchased a property in Ibiza which we are renovating and will be renting out on a short lets basis, so we have some experience of the purchase process but we are still to decide how to manage the lets there.
I would be really interested in your professional thoughts and advice in respect of the Barcelona investment.
Kind Rgds
David Dryburgh
Mark Stücklin says:
Hi David,
All very interesting questions. Would you mind starting a discussion thread with the same question in the forum (just copy paste your question in full)? That way your questions can get the full attention they deserve, as they are slightly out of place as a comment to a somewhat unrelated article.
The place to ask your question is here Spanish property questions and answers
If you have not already registered you will need to do that first at this page: http://www.spanishpropertyinsight.com/register/