Where Is Your Pound going in Spanish Real Estate today

Keith Spitalnick Business Development Manager of Currencies Direct predicts an upward trend for the Value of sterling against the euro by the year end. This is good news for Spanish Real Estate and people looking to buy property in the Canary Islands and Spain, prices could not be better as many new properties today are being offered at discounts and of course you have very good prices on some resale properties from people that are having to sell their Spanish property.

Read Keith full story and prediction of how he sees sterling moving, Keith commented, I keep getting asked is where I see GBP/EUR headed by then. I personally feel that GBP/EUR is in an upward trend however the language from the Bank of England is holding it back, trying to hold the pound low. After Christmas sterling could start to rally. 1.1500 is my short term target.


It’s been another busy week for GBP/EUR as the fallout from the latest Quarterly Inflation report was digested in the papers; the Banks assessment for growth is now twice the latest consensus of their panel of independent forecasters and their predictions for inflation and interest rate levels over the next couple of years have been revised sharply higher. This helped to boost the pound ahead of the Bank of England minutes last Wednesday. The pound also rallied as we saw the UK inflation numbers come in higher than expected. This gave Sterling a strong boost all round, on expectations that, with inflation “surging”, rates might have to be raised sooner rather than later. I think that this is an unlikely scenario and that Base Rates will remain at these low levels until the 3rd quarter next year, possibly longer.


The Euro was not so fortunate with comments from ECB president Trichet rattling the euro. He commented that the fiscal situation in some European countries is so bad that there is a danger that markets will lose faith in them. At last a bit of plain talking from the ECB! In addition we saw the Euro current account showing a deficit of €5.4 billion - this was concerning as it identified a surge in imports and slumping exports; this could bring the strength of the euro back to the fore as a red flag for the ECB. If this issue is raised it could start to turn the tide on recent euro strength…

Unfortunately the pound could not hold onto its gains after peaking at 1.13. This was due to the split decision from the Bank of England who were split three ways on the November Quantitative Easing vote. 7 backed the £25 billion increase, David Miles wanted a £40 billion increase and Spencer Dale wanted no change. This undermined sterling which immediately dropped over half a cent against the USD and the Euro. The split has highlighted the indecision on future policy and this is hardly surprising given the implications on monetary policy decisions within the current economic climate.

So overall its the same old problems hurting the pound in the form of QE and concern over public debt. However it is widely expected that UK GDP will be revised higher next week for the third quarter and that fourth quarter data will show an exit from the recession...therefore the pound should start to perform better going forward. Last week we also witnessed one or two red flags from the Euro zone and the recent support of the euro against the US dollar could wane if more concerns arise...this would certainly play into GBP/EUR gains.



www.currenciesdirect.com

Spanish Property a Better Bet than Turkey

Turkish English-language newspaper Hurryet Daily News is reporting that the government has banned foreigners from purchasing property in a number of locations in Southeast Turkey.

According to the report, foreigners have been banned from purchasing real estate in Mardin, Kilis and Hatay as title deeds owned by overseas buyers has exceeded 10% of the total available in these destinations.

According to data from the Turkish Land Registry Directorate, four German foreigners have bought 25,153 square meters of property in Kilis, while 99 foreigners bought 521 properties for a total of 2,383,192 square meters in Mardin.

Speaking to the Planning and Budgets Commission of Parliament, Mustafa Demir, Minister of Public Works and Settlement said: “Since the acquisitions in Mardin, Kilis and Hatay have exceeded 10 percent of the improved land, the purchasing of property by foreigners is banned by the Cabinet.”

Turkey has become an increasintly popular overseas property destinations over the past 18 months as the strength of the Euro has resulted in many British buyers, who might previously have bought in places like Spain, turning their attention to the country.

At least in Spain buying Spanish property and Real Estate there are no such concerns regarding purchasing by overseas buyers.

Full story Hurryet Daily News. Foreigners banned from buying real estate
The government has banned foreigners from buying more real estate in Mardin and Kilis following similar restrictions in Hatay, citing the number of already-purchased land titles as exceeding the legal limit.

According to data from the Turkish Land Registry Directorate, four German foreigners have bought 25,153 square meters of property in Kilis, while 99 foreigners bought 521 properties for a total of 2,383,192 square meters in Mardin.

Mustafa Demir, Minister of Public Works and Settlement spoke to the Planning and Budgets Commission of Parliament and released information on his ministry’s figures.

On the matter of land sales to foreigners, Demir said that as of today, 97,192 people own 87,069 properties.

“Since the acquisitions in Mardin, Kilis and Hatay have exceeded 10 percent of the improved land, the purchasing of property by foreigners is banned by the Cabinet.”

www.goldacre-estates.com

Villa For sale Corralejo, Fuerteventura, Canary Islands Property.

A large villa in Fuerteventura and a great opportunity to purchase property in the Canary Islands

Close to the centre of Corralejo

This property has the advantage of being a corner plot and enjoying a larger garden which cones with a large private swimming pool. The property is furnished to a high standard and has a roof terrace with views over the town to the sea.

Spain Has Announced Airport Taxes Will Be Frozen From 2010

Airport taxes will be frozen from 2010 the Spanish Government has announced. Spain's minister for public works José Blanco has said the move was devised to help stimulate the economy.

In a further initiative, the minister said discounts, which currently apply to travellers to the Canary Islands, the Balearic Islands and Melilla, will be increased to 30 per cent. Francisco Alaya opposition member of the People's Party insisted that the government's initiative was too late and should have been introduced this year. Mr Alaya also noted it is discriminatory to apply the taxes just to selected islands.

The Canary Islands are a favorite destination for expatriates and holidaymakers alike and this will greatly help the tourist industry. The news comes after several airlines annouced increased flights to the Canaries.

Monarch Flights And Holidays Report Bookings Increase By 32%

Monarch Flights and Holidays report bookings since the start of the school holidays have increased by 32% year on year.

The Costa Blanca in Spain is the travel group’s most popular destination this summer, with sales up 216% over the same time last year.

Monarch attributed the boom in demand to dismal UK weather which has seen fed up families fleeing to warmer climates.

The group’s top selling destinations are:

Costa Blanca +216% year on year
Crete (Greece) +188%
Sharm el Sheikh (Egypt) +143%
Kenya +133%
Fuerteventura +112%
Larnaca (Cyprus) +95%
Dalaman (Turkey) +87%
Rhodes (Greece) +85%
Luxor (Egypt) +64%

Monarch also claimed strong demand for scheduled flights, with 260,000 passengers jetting off at the start of the school holidays and load factors for July increasing by 1.39% compared to the same period last year.

Malaga on the Costa del Sol, Faro in the Algarve and Alicante on the Costa Blanca are the most popular getaways for flight-only breaks. Monarch Flights and Holidays managing director Liz Savage said: “We are seeing strong demand for both flights and holidays this summer, which has been assisted by the dismal weather in the UK and the bleak August forecast sending fed up Brits looking for warmer climes. “This year we are seeing that all inclusive holidays are proving hugely popular, with bookings up 60% YOY, especially with families, as they provide fantastic value for money and allow costs to be 'locked in' prior to travel.

“It is very encouraging to see that despite the current economic climate people are not looking to forego their overseas summer holiday this year.”

Source Travel Mole by Phil Davies

Is the overseas Real Estate market beginning to show signs of improvememnt …….

According to Primelocation.com they have reported seeing an increase in the number of websearches for spanish real estate increasing over French real estate and amercican real estate from the British marketplace as over 1 million search for overseas property in February, the number of enquires being mirrored by GoldAcre Estates for Canary Islands real estate and golf property runs very much in line with the increase in sales for the same period…………


In spite of difficult economic conditions and significant falls in the value of Sterling, searches for international property on Primelocation.com increased in January 2009 by 72% month-on-month and broke through the one million barrier in February, according to data released yesterday. Spain was the most popular country searched for on the portal, attracting just under 300,000 searches, some 60,000 ahead of last month’s most popular country, France (238,729). The USA held on to its third position with 153,912.The portal believes that the countries that have performed the best y-o-y are those located outside the Eurozone, with the USA for example rising by 130% in popularity during that time. Searches for Turkish and Australian property also performed well with a rises in searches of 25% and 18% y-o-y.“After a slow down in searches for international property in the second half of 2008, we have had a very strong start to 2009,” said the portal’s international business development manager Ann Wright. “Searches for international properties on Primelocation.com were up 72% on December and February searches and leads to agents look to be up over 100% on January. Some of the growth is in areas outside the Eurozone where sterling has suffered less than it has against the Euro. It may also be that people who held off investing in 2008 are now hoping to take advantage of the falling prices in some areas.”

Top 10 searches in February 2009 through Primelocation.com
1 Spain 299,762
2 France 238,729
3 USA 153,912
4 Italy 65,126
5 Portugal 56,882
6 UAE 18,596
7 Turkey 15,105
8 Australia 14,545
9 Cyprus 12,611
10 Bulgaria 12,220

Total searches during February: 1,002,810Monthly search destinations – Top 10 January 2009 1 France 29%
2 Spain 23%
3 USA 15%
4 Italy 6%
5 Portugal 5%
6 Australia 2%
7 UAE 2%
8 Turkey 2%
9 Cyprus 1%
10 Bulgaria 1%

Canary islands fair better than mainland Spain accordiing to the Tinsa report on Spanish property valuesprices in the Spanish Islands only fell by…..

Figures released by Tinsa, one of Spain's leading valuation companies, have shown that prices across Spain have fallen over the last 12 months, with prices on the Costas falling a almost double the national average.
The current economic crisis, plus the glut of unsold flats in Spain's cities, has led to a massive downturn in property prices in the country.
The Costas were the worst affected, according to the latest index of Spanish property prices. Prices on the Spanish Mediterranean coast fell by 8.3 per cent over the last 12 months, compared to a drop of 4.6 per cent for the whole of Spain.
Property prices in the suburbs of Spain's biggest cities, where the bulk of the country's mass of unsold flats is located, fell by 7.1 per cent.
Developers are also reporting cash shortages because of a dip in off-plan sales -that is, properties sold before they have been built.
Mainland Spain is far worse affected that the Spanish islands - according to Tinsa's report, prices on the Balearic and the Canary Islands only fell by only 3.8 per cent.
Despite these price drops, industry experts feel that Spain still offers a safe investment potential due to its stable economy, unlike many emerging markets which have attracted much interest from property investors over the last few years.
Twenty seven per cent of Brits buying abroad still buy their second home or investment property in Spain. Which has been supported recently by a survay of the top property searches of which mainland Spain and the Islands came out on top for people looking for property abroad

Spanish Lifestyle – a safe and affordable investment

British people are increasingly buying homes in Spain in order to take advantage of its lifestyle, an expert has said. According to Paul Bradley of the Spanish Property Owners Guild, the country is a safe and affordable place in which to live or own a holiday home. Spain was described as an easily accessible destination where people can enjoy an outdoors lifestyle and a rich culture.
Mr Bradley added that the country appeals to older people in particular, as it is similar to how Britain used to be, only with better weather. He commented: "It reminds many baby boomers of how the UK was in their childhood: few rules, no cameras, little street violence and no binge drinkers."
According to the Association of International Property Professionals, Spain is still the most popular foreign market among British property buyers. The country was said to account for more than a quarter of the overseas property market in 2007.

Caleta Alta Residential, New development in Caleta de Fuste, Fuerteventura, Canary Islands, Spain

Located at the hillside of the mountain, with spectacular panoramic views to the sea and Caleta de Fuste in the Canary Island of Fuerteventura. Our development is emplaced in a tourist area on the East Side of the Island, surrounded by low depth beaches of beautiful crystalline turquoise waters, ideal for families due to their tranquil waters, beauty and relaxing environment.

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