Monday, December 22, 2008

A Million Homes For Sale

A new report by the bank BBVA puts the number of new homes in Spain waiting for a buyer at between 800,000 and 1,400,000. They say that it's difficult to estimate the real figure but that it could easily exceed 1 million. As if that wasn't enough over supply, this figure is going to keep increasing as building projects started before the economic crisis are completed.

The determination of the constructors not to reduce their prices too sharply is going to be severely tested in the next couple of years. The BBVA report estimates that Spanish house prices will drop 25% between 2009 and 20011. Those promotors who said they would rather hand over their properties to the banks than decrease the selling price may be forced to reconsider. Does all of this this mean that anyone in Spain who needs a home is going to have one? Of course not.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

There's a lot more 'second-hand' homes on the market as well - as the pound drops against the euro (hitting the retired) and, in general, jobs in the 'European' sector dry up. Certainly the estate agents on the coast haven't sold anything in months. I've read that, between new and second-hand homes, there is as much as 2 million for sale ('Ciudadanos Europeos') so there isn't much point in building any more until that lot are shifted.
As Spain's reputation plummets internationally (thanks to demolitions, land-grab, arbitrary rulings, fraud and playing-to-the-gallery), there's a protest in Almería City on January 9th - the anniversary of the callous demolition of the Prior's home in Vera by the Junta de Andalucía - to which readers of South of Watford are most cordially invited!!
Details at www.aulan.es