- This topic has 9 replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 6 years, 8 months ago by
.
-
Posts
-
-
Hello,
We are a family currently looking for a ppty in south GC. While Looking on the likes of idealista.com, we see a lot of ppty for sale in general. In the specific compound we are looking we see at least 8 properties of different sizes on sale, bearing in mind it’s a relatively small urbanization it makes us wonder why. Same goes for the rest of the Island. Are people trying to offload property at the moment? Are we being over paranoid? Is there anything we should be aware of ?
We would really appreciate if somebody could share their insight on what’s happening or advise us before we dive in ….
A Million Tx in advance
NCZ
-
Interesting to read this. I have property in South Gran Canaria and was last there in May and don’t return until end Ovtober. Property became expensive in this area down to 2008 and then slowly retreated more so in 2013-15. Many Spanish owners with mortgages are in negative equity still and will only sell at a price that clears their debt otherwise the banks will chase them for it. In Arguinigin the prices inflated much with Scandinavian buyers and they do not want to sell less than they paid whilst Norwegian owners have been affected by the oil slump and want to sell but are reluctant to sell less than they paid. Playa Ingles has may gay people and the scene is not as vibrant as it used to be. Puerto Rico has many English some who are worried about Brexit want to sell. Inland areas like Mogan has flats that Spanish owners wish to sell that they overpaid for before 2008 – these are cheaper now. Unemployment has eased in Gran Canaria in last 2 years due to strong sterling bringing a surge of tourists and this year more than a few buyers. But I expect this will have dried up following the UK referendum that has resulted in uncertainty for expats and much lower sterling down from 1.39 to 1.13 if you are lucky and there may be some Brits who bought at the higher rate who with the Brexit vote now change their mind and think to try and sell and get back more sterling for their Euro. It is probably going to be a good time to look for a price that compensates for the weak sterling exchange rate if you want to buy. Should you buy? Well remember if you want to sell later you will more often be selling to non Brits so the value of sterling then the lower it is the better. However with all purchases now anywhere in Spain is the possible risk of them leaving the Euro and potential buyers think sometimes of what happens if a New Peseta at 40 per cent devaluation reduces the value of the property. But if that did happen property usually revalues upwards quickly not least because of the buying opportunity it creates. South Gran Canaria has the best climate in particular the winter climate is better than anywhere inEurope -this is Africa. Sometimes in the south you can be affected by Calima a dust haze that drifts in from North Africa when there is very calm anticyclonic weather but does not last normally more than 3 days at a time. The south east gets the NE bracing Costeros wind from the NE trades down tha North African coast. The province of Mogan is relatively sheltered from this and has the warmest climate.
-
Thanks you so much ptt for taking the time to share your opinion on this.
I can understand the worry as I am myself wondering if it’s wise to buy but I keep thinking if not now then when… I need a decent place for the family to live in permanently and I don’t really want to pay 1500 Euro a month or so towards someone else’s mortgage.
The place we are interested in is in the San Agustin area near the Arena Sur School if you see where it is. I personally am not 100% sure about the location but my wife likes the fact that it’s near the school, I personally find it too touristic but the estate agent swears that there are locals living in the area .
Are you familiar with the area ? what’s your opinion on the location?
your input is really appreciate
-
Thanks you so much ptt for taking the time to share your opinion on this.
I can understand the worry as I am myself wondering if it’s wise to buy but I keep thinking if not now then when… I need a decent place for the family to live in permanently and I don’t really want to pay 1500 Euro a month or so towards someone else’s mortgage.
The place we are interested in is in the San Agustin area near the Arena Sur School if you see where it is. I personally am not 100% sure about the location but my wife likes the fact that it’s near the school, I personally find it too touristic but the estate agent swears that there are locals living in the area .
Are you familiar with the area ? what’s your opinion on the location?
your input is really appreciated
-
-
San Agustin is fairly select. I would describe is a good location because it’s out of the noisy area of Playa de Ingles yet it’s close to everything. All the important buses stop there it’s easy to the Commercial Centre at Vecindario with Carrefour etc also the airport and Las Palmas. The beach is in a nice bay and on the south east coast you get a good breeze. Property is generally fairly new and admittedly with tourists in mind. There ought to be some British expats if not many – don’t know but there will certainly be some too with holiday homes and a lot of of other Europeans. As for locals well you will not have a village community and there is not a lot of history in the south because before 1975 there was not much there apart from the lighthouse at Maspalomas but there will for sure be some Spanish speaking people living there. If you really want locals you need to go inland to villages.The south is touristy. Going inland to a village you might feel it the other way round difficult if your Spanish limited but you would probably find good schools. Some people rent for a short while and look around to get the feel .first and not rush to buy until you are sure. 1500 euros a month quite a lot of rent to pay – could pay less I think.The most traditional area in the island is Of course Las Palmas and that has history and it’s where you find the cultural life of a large city – it has its quarters and it has its iffy parts too !
-
Hello and thanks again ptt for your input.
I have been travelling lately and have been quite busy hence the delay. I am currently in GC, I went to have a look again at the San Agustin neighborhood and the area where the house is , really not sure … The area is quite but it just feels like a huge holiday camp with lines and lines of holiday homes … I walked down to the beach area ( I believe Playa el Burra) it’s nice but I am really put off by the ‘very old’ looking hotels . Same for the shopping area , very run down , lots of deserted shops and close down businesses. it just feels like a place out of 1981, in fact even the music they play over there is from the 80’s. I don’t know 🙁 I then drove all the way to Puerto Rico, Mogan , Arguineguin and could not see an area that would feel like home.
I am also quite nervous about business here as I was thinking may be to open a caf /restaurant but when how the businesses in the area are doing , I am not sure …
I’ll see how the rest of the week goes … I’ll keep you posted
-
-
Rent, invest the money you have in something that will cover the rent and keep/spend the excess.
Or buy a property and rent a commerical to open restaurant, an easier option would be just pile your money up and set fire to it – far less grief and the same end result.
You don’t say, but are you an EU citizen or British – your right to live and work in the EU may well be curtailed if you aren’t a EU citizen, plus you will be taxed differently (more).
There are loads of empty properties becuase there is no demand and no money to buy them, fundermentally they are overvalued.
There are loads of empty commercial properties becuase there is no demand for services and therefore no money to pay the rent.
-
My feeling about Spain is that you will be paying in euro that is in effect proxy DMark. I think there will have to be some political decision in Spain as how to become more competitive and get rise of the unemployment and economic inactivity. Spain was OK in the peseta and they could devalue whenever they needed but when they adopted the Euro everything became overpriced and this problem still exists. I do think renting is a safe way to start because you get to understand the local situation. Also you are likely to hear of any property that the sellers need to unload and will accept an offer that makes sense. In the last year I think Gran Canaria benefitted much from the blip in the value of sterling against the Euro but now this premium has dissipated I think it will affect the number of visitors this coming winter. Very important when buying to think – how much could I sell it for tomorrow if I needed to and if buying a business will there be enough customers to survive!
-
I have however read that Spain is having a tourist boom because of the safety concerns in other destinations and whilst sterling is lower its not as low as it got to after 2008. Also there are other tourists and property buyers than from UK. I think there areUK buyers who bought speculatively when sterling was recently 1.40 that could be interested in taking profit by selling. Also any British property owner that bought before 2006 could now sell and get back sterling at a good rate so looking in areas where there are British people who need to sell because they need to return or an owner has died say and relatives want to sell ought to create opportunities to buy at reasonable price.
-
Yes, it’s a good moment for British vendors to sell as the market is rising and they can repatriate funds in pounds at a good rate if they find a buyer. And for those keen to sell it gives them more room to reduce the asking price in search of a buyer. However, I don’t see much room for profit taking for those who bought as recently as last year, as Spain’s high transaction costs would eat up much of the profit in such a short period of time. I know that transaction costs in the Canaries are substantially lower than the mainland and the Balearics, so maybe more opportunity for profit in the short term there, but I don’t know if prices have risen enough in the Canaries to make it worthwhile.
-
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
