[Anonymous]

My self and wife are going to move hopefully to the southern areas of Spain, when we have sufficient funds to support us. One of the factors will be how much it would cost to live in spain compared to UK. What we are considering is with £200, 000, would this be enough to buy a place (something about 2 bed size with a small plot of land and serviced in a small town location) and then live off the rest with a supplimentary income of £5000 per year. Or are better off saving up more over the next few years and then moving. The increase of prices is a factor also

peoples experiences would be of help for us to make a decision when to go

thanks

Paul

[Anonymous]

Paul, If you have no ties here i.e children in education, move yesterday!!!
Our family also plan to move to Spain, but won’t be ready to go until our youngest daughter as done her GCSE’s, we could take them and put in international school but our eldest daughter is doing GCSE this summer and wants to do her A levels here. If they weren’t so dam clever we would take them asap. If you have cash, then you get more for your money. Do your homework, don’t be drawn in by all these wanna be sales people. You could do with getting to know some spanish people, they would look after your interests. Our neighbours went lock stock and barrel on the 4th of Jan this year, taken the three daughters(primary school age) they all love it. I said to them 12 months ago what are you doing in this country!?? off they went living our dream. No time like the present…. good luck with your move

[Anonymous]

You would have to move inland which is very hot in summer and very cold inside during winter. Many find they miss friends and family, get bored or run out of money which is why half return back to the UK

I would suggest you save enough to rent for 6 months minimum without selling in the UK to see if it really is what you want before taking the plunge.

Even better, rent out your home for a year in the UK and rent in Spain for 12 months. Property prices are at east as likely to rise in the UK as they are in Spain with many predicting falling prices in Spain

[Anonymous]

PJA,

I noticed that you live in Spain. Where do you think the bubble will burst with these property prices???

We have an off plan at Santa Margarita, 10 mins from Gib, do you think it will happen there. We thought that more gibraltarians may wish to move to spain and walk over the border to Spain. The prices in Gib are horrendous ( in laws live there). What do you think

[Anonymous]

Well I’m not an estate agent so I can only go by what I’ve seen in the media and what others have said.

Santa Margarita looks like a good location though

This article comes from the main newpaper on the coast this week…..

“Fall in property sales in the province of Malaga leads to rise in rentals

Around 1,400 new estate agencies had opened in the last two years but some of them have already closed

It takes three times as long to sell as a few months ago

After months of being out in all weathers and camouflaged by layers of dust, the sign saying “for sale” is removed and one saying “to let” takes its place. The drop in property sales in the province of Malaga means that many owners who bought homes as an investment, with a view to a quick sale, are now putting them up for rent.

Many of these investors are having difficulty selling their property and obtaining the cash that had been stashed away in their brick and mortar money boxes. The reasons? On one hand the profit is no longer so great and on the other it is harder to find purchasers. Estate agencies admit that it is now taking three times as long to sell property as a few months ago. Those consulted say that flats and villas on the coast can now take as long as 30 months to sell. Meanwhile the owners have to keep paying the mortgage – something they had often not bargained for.

Faced with this situation investors have had no choice but to let their property, as this helps pay the mortgage at least. It also means that they can hang on until the market is more buoyant again.

“We have gone from a boom to a more normal situation and that is beginning to show”, admits the chairman of the College of Real Estate Agents, Cayetano Rengel.

Estate agencies

Nobody has used the word “crisis” yet but estate agencies in the province of Malaga are noticing the effect. In the last two years alone 1,400 new estate agencies had been opened all over the province, but with the present situation some of them have already had to close. This is especially true in rural areas, says Rengel. The recent situation was quite unusual in these areas, he says. “There were even more real estate agencies than bars, just everybody was in the business”, he points out.

Florencio Morales of the agency Hermocasa in Archidona confirms: “There is not enough property for sale to go round”, and explains that many estate agencies are combining this activity with another business to make up for losses.

Pedro Repetto, the owner of Servicios Inmobiliarias Alhaurín, comments: “So far, to my knowledge, three estate agencies have had to close down in this area”, adding that the way property is sold will have to change.

Lucía Riaza of Unicasa in Benalmádena stresses: “It’s very hard to sell now. There are not so many foreigners around with cash in their hands”.

The keys

Speculation

Before: Five years ago, with the Stock Market crisis, thousands of people in the province of Malaga invested in bricks and mortar. This real estate boom meant that prices shot up. Speculators doubled their money in a few years.

Now: With a plentiful supply and high prices the pace of sales has dropped. Escalating prices have eased off, which means that short term profits for property sellers are lower.

Price and pace of sales

Prices: Experts say that price rises have hit a ceiling and they do not foresee any further big increases this year.

Time: On the Costa del Sol property takes up to 30 months to sell.”

[Anonymous]

Hi

Has anybody any info o the cost of living for a couple living in spain – southern areas, as per my post above, this would be of great help in our calculations

Paul 🙄

[katy]

Cost of living examples are as long as a piece of string. I don’t think 5000 pounds a year is enough as mentioned above. Spain isn’t cheap anymore even inland. When I am in the UK I find that some things are less expensive than here and that was in Kingston upon Thames. Some fruit and veg are also cheaper in Holland and Paris.

If you are doing up a place materials are expensive too.

[Anonymous]

PJA, thanks for your info. I have been studying and researching the prices etc. We would like the developers to be honest with us on the price increase on the property, we can all pick higher numbers out of the air!!! to impress the buyer. Finding an honest builder/developer/estate agent would be a bit like winning the lottery!!

[Author]

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