subject: British Are Still The Bigger Buyers Of Spanish Properties [print this page] The Mediterranean Coast is perhaps the most attractive geographical side of Spain for foreign buyers. Due to the property boom phenomenon (2001-2007), there is now a good opportunity for British home buyers and expats to choose from a large portfolio of coastal offers.
The recent property boom and expansion of credit has attracted thousands of foreigners, including Brits, to the Spanish coast. Costa Blanca, Costa de la Luz and Costa del Sol, are among the most famous locations on the Spanish Mediterranean Coast. Support from estate agents in the United Kingdom was a key factor in promoting Spain as a retirement destination or the ideal country for a second residence.
Despite the small decline in the number of transactions over the past few years, the British were still the biggest buyers in 2010 among all foreign nationalities, acquiring a whopping 4,350 properties (23.4%). The French came a distant second, at 8.3% of the buyers. In 2009, Brits bought 5,190 properties in Spain, or 31.5% of the total.
The most popular UK property portals, including Right move and A Place In The Sun, predicted that Spain will still be the most popular market for British buyers in 2011. According to a survey of 1,500 Brits noted on the property website primelocation.com, Brits were looking for a property abroad at a 151% higher rate in June 2010 than in June 2009.
The crisis and the purchasing de-acceleration, highly contrasts with the number of properties on the coasts. According to the Minister of Public Works, 70% of the newly built properties that need to be sold on the market are on the coast. Such a surplus generated a 12% increase growth in 2009 alone, leaving the figure of 688,044 units for newly-built. To this general figure, slightly more than 306,000 properties that are already off-plan or being developed must be added.
There are 3 autonomic coastal regions that concentrate 50% of the Spanish property surplus: Comunidad Valenciana (17.4%), Andalucia (16.6%) and Catalunya (15.6%). Despite the decline in transactions over the last few years, the British are still the biggest buyers in 2010. Among foreigners, British buyers bought the largest amount of properties in Spain in 2010: 4,350 (23.4%), followed by the French (8.2%). Also in 2009, British buyers represented 31.49% of all buyers, purchasing 5,190 properties.
Despite the fact that the property stock problem can only be solved in Spain by Spanish buyers, with an essential of the economy and recovery of unemployment as the most important improvements, there are traditional markets that always deliver some positive results. For instance, according to the Comunidad Valenciana Government, in 2011 a total of 9,200 properties in Costa Blanca were sold to non-Spaniards - mainly English, Russians and Norwegians.
