Investing in Spanish real estate still too risky?

[BaronOB]

1. When do you think it's time to purchase Spanish properties? Do you think it is near the bottom already?

Probably in three or five years, after EURO crisis is over.

2. Will you be willing to purchase a Spanish property in the next 12 months if you can afford it?

Too risky.

3. How much do you trust the Spanish government and the Spanish banks? While Spain continues to rank among the least corrupt in the Corruptions Perception Index - Transparency International, forums and other comments on the Internet are full of reports to the contrary.

LOL, I trust no one bank in South Europa.The same is about their 'governments'.

4. Are there regions in Spain that do not have the illegal properties problems at all?

I dunno, probably only Bask country ( but ETA ? )

5. Do you think Catalonia or other regions will secede from Spain?

No, just blah-blah. If it will be indeed happened than Catalonia will lost automatically both EU- and EURO Membership.

[dunno what to put here]

Spanish real-estate is a risky business and I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole.

On another note, many British expats are returning home - many are worried that they may be left stranded in Spain because banks will stop them from withdrawing money. Many can't even afford the property they purchased, many of which were bought by retirees using their personal savings. It's a total mess, leave it for a few years.

[Montpensier]

That's B.S. Quite a shame coming from a Spanish immigrant. The faith of the convert.
British Expats return home because the Pound is worth s.h..i.t and they can't pay overheads.
They should blame the Euro, or the British Central Bank for devaluing their currency.
When those British bought their large properties, they were "rich" because they had Pounds and Pounds could buy a lot of Pesetas.
Now thay have Pounds, not Euros, and Pounds are worth almost the same than Euros, so they can't maintain overheads or "keep up with the Joneses".
Spain now is very cheap for Russians, Chinese, Brazilians, rich or high middle class Germans and Scandinavians, rich Americans, etc.

[Montpensier]

The risk of independence of Catalonia is ZERO, and I'm Catalan and I live in Catalonia.
Anyways, nobody in his sound mind believes in that possibility, so prime Real Estate almost remains the same and is in a bullish trend.
The best moment to buy property is NOW and during the next year.
If foreign investors wait more, they will have to compete with a lot more of demand as financing in Spain improves...and the large stock of unsold Real Estate will be almost depleted.
In fact, right now there's a very intensive acquisition of prime Real Estate and large lots of properties by foreigners. Russians and Chinese are buying a lot of expensive property along the Catalan seacoast and along the Med.

[dunno what to put here]

Originally Posted by Montpensier

That's B.S. Quite a shame coming from a Spanish immigrant. The faith of the convert.
British Expats return home because the Pound is worth s.h..i.t and they can't pay overheads.

That is the point I was making - they can't afford it anymore.

You can buy Spanish property when prices are low in the hope that you will make a profit further down the line, or you can make losses. It's essentially the same everywhere - including the UK. Personally, I have no desire to buy property anywhere, I have rented all my life. I'm not a big risk taker. Heck, I wouldn't even buy property in somewhere like Vancouver if I had the money - that's a bubble waiting to pop.

[Lugnuts]

Originally Posted by Montpensier

If I had money, I would invest it in prime Spanish real estate, but I only have money to invest in good Spanish wine (the best investment ever in Spain during the last 20 years). Problem is that I drink it right away.

Yes! That explains it!!!!! It sounds like you drink a lot of wine!!!

[tijlover]

Originally Posted by Bideshi

The real estate bubble is busting all over the world, even in China. Patience will pay huge dividends. Wait for the smoke to clear.

Don't make the mistake many have made here in this real estate pit, Las Vegas. 5 years ago the pushy real estate agents were saying: We've reached bottom! Now's the time to buy! 4, 3, 2 years hence, they were saying it again: We've reached bottom! Every year down the spiral!

Lots of fools jumped in and bought as we slid down the spiral and now we have, not only, Tier I, but Tier II and Tier III foreclosures!

The only thing that has been pushing up prices, a wee bit lately, is 40% of the buyers are Chinese! They've come to our rescue? They'll eventually come to Spain's rescue?

Also coming into play, wordwide, is the aging population, and the lowering of the fertility rate. Also, more and more people crammed into one house, one apartment.

With Japan's super-low ferility rate, I'm guessing, even 10 years down the road, you'll buy able to buy 2 or 3 condo's there for the price of one! And with Spain's low fertility rate, and many of the South American immigrants having left to return home for lack of work, who knows when the bottom will be reached in Spain!

[Montpensier]

Spain never needed a large population to boost Real Estate, since it's the only livable country with lots of land in Western Europe. So there's a pool of hundreds of millions of potential buyers. The problem in Spain is political. Spain needs to get out of the Euro, get back to the Peseta and get out of the EEC, and reform the political system so we have a leaner government and become a Tax Haven, reppeal anti-tabacco laws, anti-cannabis laws, alcohol taxes, traffic fines, etc...and become an attractive country again.

The problem here is that the country was in too much a hurry to become a "democracy" and a EEC member, when in fact we only need to be part of NATO, Schengen and preferential trade agreements. Concluding, Spain is a continent by itself not compatible with Northern Europe. Franco used to repeat it frequently and people thought he was senile, but as almost always, he was right.