Although the overall level of property transactions are more than 30 % below their peak in the boom year of 2007, sales of existing houses, as opposed to new-builds, are fast approaching the levels seen in the boom. In 2018 422,500 used properties were sold compared to the height of 448.900 in 2007. More second-hand properties were sold in 2018 than in any year since 2007 and the trend is upwards.

Although this will definitely have an effect on prices, which are already on the increase as the graphs below show, in our particular niche of country properties, every one of them different, whether prices are rising, remaining stable or even falling depends more than anything else on the situation of the seller. My experience of prices over the past thirteen years is that we are still at a level very significantly lower than in the boom years and even now sellers will sometimes accept offers significantly lower than the price at which they are listed.

The following graphs and a table from two different sources provide a snapshot of how prices are moving in general and in Andalusia in particular.

TINSA - The largest firm of valuers in Spain

Movement of prices in Spain

When clients of ours buy or sell a property in Andalucia, we do all we can to make the process as simple, enjoyable, transparent and cost-free as we can. Unfortunately, sometimes we are let down by other players in the chain, as happened recently.

A vendor client of ours had returned to Germany to live and no longer had a Spanish bank account. When the sale went through the buyer's lawyer agreed to cancel the bank guaranteed cheque which had been issued that morning and he made a transfer in the same amount to the vendor's euro account in Germany. A straightforward favour, which should have cost little money.

Imagine our surprise when the vendor sent an email to say that Banco Popular had charged €1.227.51 to make a transfer of  €182.625.00. No exchange, just one click of a mouse to effect the transfer. Absolutely outrageous. And when it was challenged by the lawyer, the claim fell on deaf ears. His request for a refund was continually passed around from office to office. Delaying tactics, hoping that it would be forgotten.

Banco Popular will never again see an account opened by any of our clients. Whatever damage we can do to their business, we will.

The cheapest and most efficient bank is ING Direct. If you are happy to do your banking online they are by far the best and the cheapest. But if you are the sort of person that likes to go into a bank regularly they are not idea as they have few branches: one in each of Granada, Málaga, Sevilla and Cádiz.

According to the June statistics from the Instituto Nacional de Estadisticas (INE) there were 36.856 property transactions in the month, which is the highest figure since January 2013. Even more important from our point of view is that the overall figure masks a fall in new builds. Excluding these, which make up less than 18% of total transactions, paints a much different, even more rosy picture. 

Sales of existing properties, which is our market, reached a level not seen since late 2007, almost nine years ago. June was the 28th successive month of increases in the number of sales of existing properties.

Total sales for the first six months of 2016, at 207.593 have reached a level not seen since 2010.

Author: Allan Hilder