So truth time how many of you have lived in Marbella and you still haven’t made the effort to learn Spanish and with the modern advances of the internet there really isn’t any excuse.

Fiona Gonzales of Teach Yourself Spanish

So for those of you who want to teach yourself Spanish and take the ball by the horns so to speak I came across this fantastic website click Teach Yourself Spanish to see for yourself. Now being a guy its hard not to be impressed with such a stunning lady as Fiona Gonzales and if I was going to get some advice on how to learn Spanish Id defo be getting it from her but that’s all as she is head over heal in love with her fella (lucky guy) so we will have to stick to Spanish.

For those of you who want to give Fiona a swerve but want easy Spanish lessons then get online find that Spanish course and starting mixing with the local Spanish who are wonderful people by the way.

Loathe her or love her but Angeles Muñoz is certainly doing her best to promote property Costa del Sol & Marbella and it looks like that all her hard work and obvious self promotion is now paying off  with the news that the new owner of Malaga Football Club, Abdullah ben Nasser Al-Thani, has announced that he will invest a large amount of money in a Marbella project.

Boost for Marbella

Al-Thani said after a meeting with Mayor Angeles Muñoz in Marbella that he is in advanced negotiations in a major project in Marbella, related to the tourism industry. He did not reveal exactly what kind of investment project it was.

Angeles Munoz claimed after the reunion with the Qatari sheik that this was wonderful news for the city of Marbella. She looked very excited about the plans, but could not either identify exactly what they were.

Until further information comes from the mayor or the sheik, one can only speculate what the spectacular plans consist of. All we know for know is that the Qatari will invest money into something related with tourism in Marbella. Sundream Blog is very hopeful it will create much needed employment for the citizens of Marbella.

This is great news for Marbella and this blog who has been championing the causes of our wonderful Mayor of Marbella who has been heavily criticized for self promotion and wasting public money. What we pointed out to the idiots who were criticizing her was you only needed one deal like this and you were miles ahead of the game so well done Angeles.

I have recently been looping at other blogs and two blogs stood out as really interesting with the first one being Costa del Sol Life with some very good up to date news but also some very challenging articles and I especially liked the article Sex in Spain.

The second blog is more in keeping with our main real estate business but the Spanish property news blog has some very detailed and up to date Spanish property news that we don’t really cover because as you know we are primarily a Marbella property website.

We hope you find the two new resourced blog useful.

I am Nick Stuart of Spanish Hot Properties and Sundream Estate has asked me to write an overview as I see the Spanish property market for the Sundream Blog which I am very happy to do.

Spanish Hot Properties

First things first  the Spanish property market is quite unique and has major factors that make it completely different to any other property market in Western Europe if not the world. The first  thing is that Spain has a huge International property market  split into two main  groups, people who own a holiday home in Spain with a view to retiring here and those who have bought to  liver here now. Another fundamental here is based on the last available figures some 60% of all International property purchases in Spain are by UK citizens which may drop down to 50% in 2009 as there was a relatively lot of property bought by Dutch and Belgium citizens in 2’009. With the Sterling to Euro exchange rate over the past 18 months it’s not difficult to see what an impact this has had on the Spanish property market.  You also have lots of regional differences in that places like Costa Brava hasn’t seen any price decreases in this recession  and places like Costa del Sol has seen the worst. I could write pages on this but will try and be concise and therefore relate my views to where we have experience on the ground so to speak which is basically Costa del Sol, Costa Blanca & Mallorca.

Firstly if we take a look at property in Costa del Sol where probably the best value is or I should say has been.  This particular market I have had first hand experience with having been out with clients.  The reality here which unfortunately most clients don’t believe or don’t want to believe is that the best deals were bought in 2009 and barring two bedroom apartments in secondary locations the reality is if you don’t buy in 2010 your have probably missed the boat entirely.  The beachside of the A7 in the Marbella best Illustrates where the best deals were snapped up in 2009 as this is now where it is very difficult to find the same value today because there just isn’t the same value today and in reality most of the properties that have been discounted need a reform. However go Mountain side of the A7 and you can still find great discounts and great value in the 2 Bed Apartments but the reality is you need a car.  However if you live in Costa del Sol full time you really need a car anyway to appreciate it to its fullest.. So the reality is here in Costa de Sol there is still some very good value but if you want to be beachside then you are going to have to compromise if you want to take advantage of the Spanish property recession which is now basically over.

Secondly we have Costa Blanca property which is really two markets in one. Costa Blanca South where you can buy a 2 Bedroom apartment for as little as €60,000 and the Costa Blanca North triangle of Javea, Benissa & Moraira where property prices are higher and hold there value more due to the fact that there is far less oversupply of property in this area compared to the rest of Costa Blanca.. Saying all of that there are still deals to be had and Costa Blanca South very much mirrors what is happening in Costa del Sol but at a lower price point.

Finally we take a look at Mallorca property where we have been doing most of our business in 2010.  The reality is Mallorca is very much the London of the Spanish real estate market and the people buying here tend to be much more savvy and now the value of property in Mallorca and unlike the Costas don’t have false expectations to what property is worth. Because there is no oversupply of property in Mallorca prices have held there value much more so when you buy here you wont necessarily get the same value you can currently get in Costa del Sol but unless you buy very badly you will be making a very good investment and this is probably why Investors have targeted the Island.  However saying that there entire are a lot of agents in trouble on the Island for the very good reason that they are not very good.  We have done very well because we have managed to find our clients the right property at the right price and in most cases they have come to us after almost giving up.

So overall the message is if you want to buy Spanish property make sure you do it in 2010 the best value maybe behind you but there is still great opportunities.

Sales of newly constructed home in the U.S. fell unexpectedly in December, according to statistic from the Department if Commerce. The decline was 7.6 percent at an annual rate of 342 000 sold homes.

At the same time revised the sales in November up to 370 000 homes. Analysts had expected that December figure would fall to 370 000 after the preliminary November sales at 355 000 dwellings.

For throughout 2009, was it a collapse in sales of newly constructed homes in the U.S. at 22.9 per cent to a record low of 374 000. Many buyer in U.S. has looking and buying foreclosures instead to really low prices who has infect of the sale of new constructed homes.

Related articles; This years best and worst housing markets in the world.

Dubai financial crisis affect Marbella properties market

A property Marbella is not for the Spanish banks

U.S. house sales figures are worse than expected

The house prices in 20 metropolitan areas around the United States.

The worlds largest real estate crash league

House prices in Dubai market has foundered in the past year and in the Baltics, it is also bad. In Central Europe and in Israel has the prices are rising.

It is the UK valuation firm Knight Frank, which has produced a summary of the global housing market. The company has looked into the prices of houses between the third quarter of 2009 and the same period last year.

Overall, the world’s housing markets have recovered over the past year and more than two thirds of the 42 countries that Knight Frank unit has experienced price increases over the last three months. Despite this, the average price levels are lower in 60 percent of the country than they were a year ago:

“House prices will now rise in a clear majority of the countries included in the study. This can be compared with the second quarter, when prices rose in 50 percent of the countries,” says Liam Bailey, head of house analysis at Knight Frank.

Most of all has the prices raised in Israel. Here has the prices going up an average of 14 percent. Although Malta and Alpine countries Switzerland and Austria have seen sharp increases in house prices over the past year. During the last quarter, have the housing market in Singapore increased strongest and climbed by over 15 percent.

Sweden is among the countries in the minus column. The Swedish house prices have dropped, with 0.4 percent during the past year. This puts Sweden in the middle of the table.

Dubai has the worst problem. Prices have almost halves in the Emirate over twelve months.   With this place Dubai itself at the bottom of the list, before the two Baltic states of Estonia and Lithuania and Bulgaria.

Knight Frank also notes that several countries in Europe have not yet seen rising house prices during a single quarter after the credit crisis. These include Spain Ireland and Denmark.

Footnote. Knight Frank house price index is compiled using official data from each county’s statistical agency.

Related articles;

http://www.sundream-estate.com/blog/2009/05/30/us-house-sales-figures-are-worse-than-expected/

http://www.sundream-estate.com/blog/2009/05/27/the-worlds-largest-real-estate-crash-league/

A couple of weeks ago come news that Dubai World, which is behind Dubai’s extravagant construction of artificial islands and giant skyscrapers, suspend payments in six months.

Because of the massive State interference in the company has data led to speculation that the Dubai state should halt payments, or at least that the state is unable to guarantee Dubai World’s commitment.  The conglomerate Dubai World has asked for debt restructuring and extension of credit from lenders to May 2010.

More problems, Nakheel, a property development company owned by Dubai World, reported during its first six months of its fiscal year broken a loss of 13.4 billion dirhams. This corresponds to a loss of 3.7 billion U.S. dollars.

Last week had Dubai World talks with a number of banks to restructure 26 billion dollars in debt, which includes a bond for 3.5 billion U.S. dollars issued by Nakheel. The bond will expire on 14 December. The government of Dubai announced that it will pay 4.1 billion U.S. dollars to cover the liabilities of property developer Nakheel.

Every week come new information about the finance crisis in Dubai, and in this new finance crisis are all the banks in the world involved in.  Every bank around the world has borrowed out money to Dubai spectacular building companies and the other building project in Dubai like The World islands, Waterfront, the subway, the ski slope, Palm Deira, Maritime City and many more fantasy project. Now have the banks understand there that they maybe don’t going to get the money back. The rich oil states around Dubai are not willing to pay the bill; they are going too asked for debt restructuring and extension of credit.

The affect are, that our mortgage in Spain and Europe is going to be higher and no new mortgage to clients. So here in Marbella and the rest of Spain, it’s going to be more apartments and villas for sale on the market to lower prices, the banks have to take over more properties which they must sell to any prices, so the prices is going down more.

Related articles;

http://www.sundream-estate.com/blog/2009/12/02/a-property-in-marbella-is-not-for-the-spanish-banks/

http://www.sundream-estate.com/blog/2009/05/27/the-worlds-largest-real-estate-crash-league/

The Spanish banks have starting to set up real estate companies and try to sell there huge stock of properties they have to take over in this economic crisis. But the bank is bank, not a real estate company, they are so wrong in what they do, they are sitting in Madrid or Barcelona and they don’t know understanding way it is so high prices of villas and apartments in Marbella.  I read this good article in OPP about the problem. (OPP – overseas properties professional)

Spanish Banks should be better Estate agents

Demonized by agents for keeping prices artificially high to avoid losses, or making it harder for agents to access distressed deals, many now feel that Spanish banks must become better estate agents if the market is to recover.

Ian Waudby, chairman of investment consultancy Crest Group International, observes that the companies set up by banks are slowly making it easier for foreign buyers and agents to access stock; but he stressed that buyers need a quicker response from these companies and a faster sales process.

“The properties need to be packaged with mortgages,” he told OPP. “The websites aren’t bad but if you try to make an offer you won’t hear anything back. CAM is the most organized at the moment but by the middle of next year they’ll all be offering the same thing.”

The price is wrong

Discounting is central to the current bank-owned property stalemate, with agents saying they’re either not big enough or only available for too short a period of time – Banesto, for example, is offering 40% discounts but only for November.

“There isn’t enough desirable Spanish property at the distressed prices that people want,” said Inez Rix, owner of Direct Auctions. “The demand is there but even if people see their ideal property they aren’t prepared to pay for it if it isn’t cheap.

“We don’t bother with the banks because their prices are higher than those of the private sellers and they also charge high legal fees. If they’d knock €20,000 off their prices we’d sell their property right away – they are keeping prices artificially high and are being extremely unrealistic.”

Mortgage obstacle

Mortgages are still a major barrier, with banks either reserving the best products for their own stock or not making them available at all. “It’s hard to get mortgages still and bank-owned properties need cash buyers,” said Bob Callan of prime Marbella agent Callan Developments. “A lot of people expect a bargain from the bank but can often get a better deal from an individual distressed seller.”

Pro-active banks that price realistically will see more profit than those who wait out the market, according to Rix. “I think the market will force them to lower prices eventually,” she said. “Everything’s about two years behind what it should be and I expect they’re sitting on an awful lot of stock. The big banks such as Santander could probably sit on it for 20 or 30 years but the smaller ones can’t. There aren’t enough buyers at the moment and they may have to bite the bullet and get rid of their properties.”

Most agents OPP spoke to agree that the sooner the banks bite the bullet, the sooner the Spanish homes market will recover.

Michael Walsh, a freelance journalist and expert in Legal and Property matters from Southern Comfit, Write a fantastic article for the Spanish news about the huge problem with all the properties who have been build over the last teen years and who have let the builder to build so many apartments with no buyer. Is it the greedy banks, investors for quick cash or Town Halls for more money? We who live here in Marbella have seen all these Marbella apartments and villas been build, we have wonder many time, who is going to live in all those properties, where from is the people coming from and what are the people going to work, here is no industries or fabrics. My opinion is; the bank is sitting in the skit up to there ear. Read this article and get your own opinion about it.

Are high street estate agencies history?

Few of us would think of walking into a bank rather than an estate agent when looking for a new home. Not doing so could be a mistake. Spain’s banks, including savings banks known as cajas, have more properties on their books than do the estate agents and are looking for buyers.

Who’s counting? The banks themselves are not sure as their portfolios of saleable properties are being added to by the day. This year is likely to see 74,000 repossessions as hard-pressed borrowers hand in their keys.

One expert told El Mundo; “The banks’ stock of repossessions is growing fast and is expected to keep on doing so.” It seems harsh to label the banks as foolish in their past lending criteria for it takes two to tango. Builders and buyers alike overstretched themselves and did their bidding with crossed fingers.

BANKS LEFT HOLDING THE BABY

The glut in unsold homes is the collateral damage caused by economic implosion. The banks are simply left holding the baby; their dilemma now is what to do with the unsold stock?

This has been divided into two categories: A and B. Into the first category falls the swathes of recently or almost completed good quality urbanisations, many of which are standing empty with no buyer in sight, perhaps for years ahead.

Reckoned to make up 70 per cent of banks’ unwanted stock these properties are going for a song. Many are sold on as investments rather than homes. Recently formed in-house property divisions have been created by banks to clear stock through a series of discounted and preferential terms.

THE FORMIDABLE CHALLENGE

The category B portfolio is not insignificant either for this is made up of the bulk of the 74,000 repossessions likely to take place in 2009 alone. Add to these unwanted hostages the €9 billion of bad debts owed by former mortgage holders and the banks are left with a massive headache. This is made more problematic by this category’s variable values and locations. It is hopelessly fragmented.

Spanish banking giant Banco Santander is selling many of its properties to employees, not to mention other consortiums and groups such as Telefonica. These offer considerable discounts and incentives to staff; often with 100 per cent mortgages taken out over 40 years. Others are setting up what can best be described as their own estate agencies.

STAFF INCENTIVES

Michael McLaughlin of Southern Comfit International, says, “It is probably the banks’ most formidable administrative challenge in their history. The rule books are being created and re-written by the day. This fallout from the recession is presenting challenges but opportunities too; for buyers.”

He says: “Despite ten years reputation in sales we are now generating more income from property rentals than from sales. We are urgently looking for registered home owners seeking to attract tenants.”

Some ‘distressed’ properties are being sold at discounts of up to 50 per cent. The difficulty is: 50 per cent of what, when property values are still plummeting? The priority has to be market stabilization, customer confidence, and a return to measured more sensible lending than in the past.

Boom and bust in the housing market will no longer be an acceptable option for the emerging generations. Banks’ with lending criteria best described as slipshod, will be viewed with suspicion; not the least by their shareholders. Hopefully the current malaise will be looked back upon as unique and most unwelcome phenomena.

The Sales of new one-family houses in the U.S. rose by 0.3 percent in April compared with the month before, to an adjusted annual rate of 352,000 units, shows statistics from the Department of Commerce.

Analysts had expected an annual rate of 360,000 units in April, which would mean an increase of 1.1 percent compared with March month provisional figure. March figure was revised to an annual rate 351,000 units (356,000).

The availability of new home for sales fell to 297,000 in April compared with the revised 310,000 the previous month (311,000). “House layer” is enough to cover sales in the 10.1 months, compared with the revised 10.6 months the previous month (10.7).