Country Focus - Spain

07/07/2010

When it comes to investing in property in Europe, Spain has been on the top of the list for nearly thirty years. A significant number of foreign nationals have spent a great deal of money on property in Spain during this time period.
 
As time moves forward into the 21st century, the Spanish real estate market has not been as hot as it was some five years ago. Nonetheless, the returns that most investors have realized through real estate holdings and property investments in Spain have remained high. In addition, the market itself has remained fairly stable overall.

Population: 43.4m
Currency: Euro
Capital: Madrid

As mentioned, a significant number of buyers from different countries around the world have invested heavily Spanish real estate. Since the restoration of the monarchy in Spain, the gates have been opened to heavy foreign investment in property ownership by overseas buyers.

While the residential property market in major cities in Spain have found brisk sales for years, the rural areas in the country have also been experiencing an upswing in the property market in recent times. Many people, including foreign nationals, are finding the ownership of homes in rural environments to be pleasing, appealing and cost effective. Generally, these people are buying in smaller communities in order to escape the hustle and bustle of the Spanish urban scene.

In large cities, such as the Spanish capital of Madrid and the coastal resort towns, the apartment market has been booming for the past fifteen to twenty years. A significant number of people have turned to apartment ownership when it comes to the buying of property in Spain.

Overseas buyers have expanded into the apartment ownership market with a vengeance over the past decade. Some industry experts in Spain estimate that as many as twenty percent of all apartment purchases in Spain during this time period have involved foreign nationals.

Foreign nationals tend to be making the purchase of apartments in Spain for two primary reasons. First, these foreign citizens are buying apartments for retirement. Many people have been flocking to Spain from different European countries (and from some other nations around the world) for retirement because of its milder climate.

Secondly, people are snatching up apartments in Spain in record numbers to provide them with a second home to be used for holiday or vacation purposes. Apartment ownership is proving to be a convenient, practical and economic means through which a person or a family can own a second residence that can be used for a holiday retreat and for similar situations not only today but well into the future.

In many instances, foreign nationals are buying real estate in Spain that they can use for their own travel and holiday purposes during part of the year and also rent to others seeking a vacation spot throughout the year. Thus, these men and women are buying property in Spain for a dual purpose: holiday travel and income generation.

The tax and related laws in Spain make this kind of dual property ownership a profitable enterprise for most overseas buyers. Indeed, it is expected that more and more foreign nationals will invest in vacation real estate for this dual purpose well into the coming decade. They suggest that the growth of the European Union will spur on this type of real estate investment in Spain and in some other countries that comprise the EU.

Source - http://www.property-abroad.com/spain/buyers-guide/
 

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