Spain’s real estate market has been the beneficiary of currency trends which are maximize buying power in the Euro zone, spurring interest in places like Minorca and Marbella. In contrast, Rightmove reports the US market is suffering from exchange rate changes and declining interest in Florida and other coastal areas in the path of the Gulf oil spill. See the following article from Property Wire for more on this.
Interest in buying property in Spain is increasing with more people searching for Spanish real estate in May, according to the latest index from Rightmove.
Overall 58% of locations saw an increase in property searches, 42% saw a decrease and 0.2% experienced no change.
Half of the top time climbers in May were in Spain with Minorca seeing a 9.06 rise in searches, Marbella a 6.68% increase, Galicia up 5.96%, Northern Spain with an increase of 5.22% and the Balearic Islands up 3.65%.
Malta saw an increase for the 5th consecutive month and is on course to break into the top 10 countries this year.
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There was also interest in South Africa but this is put down to curiosity generated by the World Cup football tournament rather than an increase in serious buyers. June is expected to see even more interest as football fever continues.
The US also saw some interesting trends in the Rightmove Search Report. On top of a fall in the Sterling/US dollar exchange rate from $1.53 to $1.45 in May, which would have made US property more expensive to British buyers, the effects of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico seem to be impacting on property searches in the region too with a 15.5% fall in Florida, 9.11% fall in the Gulf Coast and 6.05% fall in the Orlando/Central Coast region.
‘May was a great result for Spain, fed by returning confidence among buyers as the bad memories and headlines of last year fade. It’s always hard to let go of what your property was worth at the peak of the market and accept times have changed, but vendors also seem more open and have much improved realism about prices necessary to make transactions happen,’ said Robin Wilson, Head of Overseas at Rightmove.
‘The improving Euro exchange rate is definitely playing a part, up 10% on January this year and 20% on January last year, meaning buyer’s budgets can go further,’ he added.
Moneycorp, one of the UK’s leading foreign exchange specialists, has also seen a rise in inquiries for Spanish properties, which amounted to an increase of 11.8% between March and May.
‘Throughout May, sterling gained good ground against a weak Euro. Having started the month at €1.14, the rate eventually reached €1.18 towards the end of the month. The pound has benefited from economic data which continues to support the view that the UK recovery is gaining traction,’ said David Kerns, Head of Private Clients at Moneycorp.
‘In contrast, the Euro has continued to weaken, following news that Spain’s AAA credit rating had been downgraded. It was sent even lower when the European Central Bank warned that Euro zone banks faced writing off another €195 billion of bad loans. The increase in the Sterling/Euro exchange rate would have made properties within the Euro zone an increasingly more attractive prospect for Euro buyers, and explains the surge in interest in Spain,’ he added.
This article has been republished from Property Wire. You can also view this article at Property Wire, an international real estate news site.
