I disagree with both of you! Sorry had to!
A recent survey on channel four revealed over 70% think of their homes as an investment, I too think of property not solely as a home but my pocket as well.
There are thousands and thousands of bargains on the resale market at the moment and what it is doing is making the serious buyers come out of their shell they have been in the past couple of years and they are the ones that are going to benefit from this. They have been sitting tight for the past couple of years watching the market, now they know exactly what they are looking for - know what is a bargain and what isn't and taking full advantage of this. The proof is that agents ARE still selling properties - but a hell of a lot cheaper!
I think people are being extremely cautious at the moment with money and I don't think there will be a crash, hopefully fingers crossed!
Desperate sellers are dropping prices like crazy, the amount of distressed property sales that are happening in Spain at the moment because of the swamped resale market coupled with the credit crisis (as they like to call it) is hammering down prices.
Banks are not offering as many good mortgages however, if you are a cash buyer or only need a small mortgage - Spain is your oyster at the moment. I have seen some unbelievable bargains over the past couple of months, and I believe we will continue to see more and more - but I can't see it going much lower? Can you?
If you are a serious buyer are you going to sit still and keep thinking "well, prices are still going to drop?" and then miss the boat and regret it? No, they are all keeping an eye out for the right property at the right price, for them...
Okay the pound isn't great but this is also one knock on effect that is helping drive down prices. If you came to Spain 4 or 5 years ago with 100,000 pounds sterling and bought a property, you would have paid 147,000 - 150,000 euros. Now to recoup that 100,000 pounds sterling you only need to retrieve 126,000 euros, so you can afford to take a knock on your property price? Yes, legal costs etc will have you a little out of pocket - but at least sellers are not losing as much as it looks.
I think prices in some places in Spain are realistic now, where else in Europe (except the eastern block) can you buy a 2 bedroom apartment five minutes walk to the beach, near all amenities for less than 80,000 euros? You couldn't buy half an apartment for that in the UK!
Property prices in the UK can't maintain the rate of growth that they have and the same goes for here - but I know where I would rather be!
Another good thing is that it has weeded out so many estate agents and the ones still remaining are still doing business.
