95,000 job losses last month, 100,000 the month before.
The collapse in housing and construction has combined with the global financial crisis to create one of Spain’s worst periods in decades…
2 page report
Sarah, not just Spain, the UK is also facing serious problems according to the Sunday Times today.
60,000 homeowners a month going into negative equity caused by collapsing house prices. 2 million in negative equity by 2010. Banks repossessing quickly even when only several hundred pounds behind in payments. Also 2 million unemployed by Christmas (the figure is nearer 3 million already because of massaged figures). Economists believe house prices will fall by up to 35% by 2010.
The UK is on course for a worse crisis than the crash of the early 1990’s because all the data is already worse than then.
Who in their right mind would buy now in either Spain or the UK, at least wait a year, once it bottoms out economists say it will be in the doldrums for 5 years or more.
Just had an email from a reputable agent I know in Cyprus. Apparently the same downturn is happening there with many distressed sellers who have borrowed beyond their means, bargains galore on many similar looking bog-standard (spanish look-a-like) properties, so not restricted to Spain and the UK.
Not sure why so many developers build mass concrete rendered estates in the sun, other than cheapness, because they can’t be sold in a falling market. Looks almost worse in Cyprus because they all have solar panels and a tank on the roof.
The Economic Outlook for Spain: Bleak….?
Am not surprised with this type of nonsense going on.
First I read this:
54,000 empty new properties in Málaga province
The latest study from the Ministry for Housing shows that there are 54,000 newly built homes in Málaga province which remain unsold on the market.
The regional government, the Junta de Andalucía, has plans which will convert some of the empty homes into VPO assisted housing.
Then I saw this:
300 new assisted homes in Benalmádena
Mayor of Benalmádena, Javier Carnero, has announced an agreement with the real estate promoter, Arcosa 97, to build 300 new VPO or assisted housing in Benalmádena Pueblo.
The new homes will be constructed next to the Los Nadales feria site.
Maybe the mayor of Benalmádena could save himself some money if he had a chat with those chappies in the Junta. Surely some sort of a deal could be struck in the name of COMMONSENSE.
actually its down to laws.
There are developers that want to convert their stock to vpos but currently cannot due to the rules in place.
I don’t see a problem then – the Spanish are great at introducing new laws (and applying them retrospectively…).
Am sure they can come up with some new rules at the blink of an eye – they always do when it suits them. Am sure the penny will drop when they realise it is in their interest to use up some of the empty stock on VPO’s and change the ‘rules required’ accordingly.
“Amazingly, Spanish banks alone have lent $316bn to Latin America, almost twice the lending by all US banks combined ($172bn) to what was once the US backyard. Hence the growing doubts about the health of Spain’s financial system – already under stress from its own property crash – as Argentina spirals towards another default, and Brazil’s currency, bonds and stocks all go into freefall. “