12% rise in New Build Property Inscriptions (sales) in Spain

The Spanish Property Register has shown a 12% increase in the number of new build sales during April compared to last year, and a 22% increase over March.

The numbers are derived from the Spanish National Institute of Statistics (INE) which uses the number of property deeds inscribed in the register following notarisation. Overall the Spanish property market in April shrunk by 7% compared to a year ago mainly due to a 20% reduction in the resale sector which skewed the figures overall.

The figures support some of the new developments which offer higher build quality and design while offering attractive pre-construction prices with good mortgage lending facilities.

Fuerteventura Investors Market Analysis

1. Online Enquiries put Spain on Top Established markets in Europe are still highly popular with British property investors a new study has found. According to Global Edge, towns and cities in Spain have attracted more online searches from prospective investors than anywhere else in the world. In addition, many buyers were found to be very interested in buying a house on Spanish islands such as Lanzarote, Tenerife and other Canary Islands such as Fuerteventura and Gran Canaria.
Global Edge commented: "Five out of the top ten most popular search locations are Spanish and the top 103 locations are dotted with Spanish towns and coastal names." High on the list of searches was Fuerteventura, Corralejo, Calete de Fuste along with Lanzarote and Gran Canaria with places such as Puerto Rico.
Spain was rated as the most popular location overall, despite the strong competition from rival markets such as Turkey and Cyprus.

2. Property Investors Looking Abroad for Better Returns First time buyers (FTBs) from the UK are increasingly considering investing abroad, an expert has revealed.
Nick Fullerton, managing director of FC Exchange, stated that the housing market in Britain is currently in a state of "turmoil". This, he said, has led to people who are looking to get on the housing ladder for the first time looking elsewhere. FTBs do not wish to take a hit in the domestic market and believe that investing abroad offers better growth potential and value for money.He added that other buyers in the UK are concerned about the plummeting house prices in Britain and would prefer to invest in expanding markets overseas. As a result, FC Exchange has seen a surge in the amount of enquiries related to purchasing a house abroad. Mr Fullerton said: "These record figures are encouraging and demonstrate the continuing appetite to invest in overseas property."According to research by A Place in the Sun magazine, France and Spain are currently the two most popular markets with British property buyers.