Southern Europe housing market struggles

22 November 2013

spanishluxuryhome A 42% drop in the sale of property abroad to British buyers has been the result of the crisis years.

When the banking crisis struck in 2008, sales immediately began to taper off.

Newly released figures show the number of new holiday homes in Portugal bought by Brits fell by 31% compared to five years ago.

Purchases in Italy plummeted by 42% since 2008 and in Spain the decrease has been 26%. Sales in Spain have been hit not only by the crisis but by the scandal of illegal property deals, although the new visa scheme is helping to sell some properties.

Only French properties have remained popular, according to the insurance provider Schofields which released the figures.

Prices in France have been stable over the past five years, with a modest growth of 0.9%.

Portuguese property values are 11.4% below what they were in 2008, according to estate agent Knight Frank.

In Spain, prices are down nearly 28% those in 2008, while in Italy the drop has been 14.6%. Greece has suffered falls of 31%.

Part of the problem is fear of the economic situation, while another is the increasing difficulty of getting a mortgage for a property abroad. Lenders in the UK, Portugal and Spain have all become more reluctant to lend.

Added to this is the fact that incomes from British pensions have dropped. Payout rates have fallen from around £15,000 on each £100,000 in the early Nineties to around £6,000 today for a healthy 65-year-old.

According to Savills Private Finance, one reason why France and also Switzerland are gaining foreign buyers is because mortgage rates are low.

Others fear some markets are still overvalued. A study by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development in May concluded property in France, Spain and Italy was priced too high. Houses in Greece, Portugal and Ireland were undervalued.

Some believe that confidence is returning as the UK economy grows and property prices, especially in southern Europe, have fallen. The drop has enabled many a purchaser to squeeze desperate sellers.

Comments

+1 #2 mm 2013-11-23 20:44

how about reducing the agents commission

0 #1 Mark H 2013-11-22 21:42

Its a bit relative - while its true that the Portuguese prices have fallen, over the same period the Euro:Pound rate has largely offset the drop. In real terms, it is roughly the same cost to buy today in Portugal as before the crisis, while those in France are less affordable. As stated in the article, those countries such as Spain & Italy that have seen real drops are largely a result of properties being written off as illegal builds. Ireland by contrast, like the North of England, never had any real concrete economic reason for price increases in the first place.

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