Now´s the time to buy!

Below, a little help for investors. The table shows the evolution of selling prices per square metre in Torrevieja, Alicante.
After a long gradual slide of the prices, we are seeing the first upturn again. This may well be the sign we have all been waiting for, that we are reaching the bottom of the market. The best time to get into any market.

servicio ofrecido por www.fotocasa.es lideres en venta y alquiler de pisos y casas

Spain still very much in demand

Despite what some people are saying, in some countries Spain is still very much in demand when it comes to buying a second home. A leading Dutch newspaper recently wrote an article about second homes for the Dutch. In it, they presented figures showing that spain, after Holland itself, is still the most sought-after country for a second home. 25% of all Dutch are considering a second home. Of these more than half are looking in Holland itself. 12% are looking in Spain.

For all of them I am introducing my new Dutch website. http://www.vivacostablanca.nl/.

As does my English website, it offers a wide selection of property on the Costa Blanca, but, at the same time, celebrates the kind of life we have on the Costa Blanca. We work hard, we work long hours, but manage to get more out of life than we did in our respective countries of origin.

Come celebrate with us!

Crisis - what crisis?

Everybody is complaining. Everybody is thinking of leaving the business, or has left it. One office after another is closing down.
On the other hand, our Re/Max office is doing better business than in the years before. We are the 2nd office in Spain, outselling even large cities such as Madrid, Barcelona and Malaga.
More than half of our agents have won awards for the amount of sales.
And today we found out that we even doubled our sales in January as compared to January last year.
So, what´s the problem?
You simply have to do your job, work hard, do not sell pipe dreams and keep your clients informed.

For all those I did not reach in any other way

Builders´ Folly

Last Sunday in "El País", one of Spain´s leading newspapers, builders decided to strike back at slow sales. They "warned" prospective buyers of their overpriced new-built properties that waiting could drive prices up.
The nerve of these people is really beyond belief. The argument is typical arrogance of builders who have had it their way for far too many years and cannot adapt to the new market conditions.

Do not be fooled by these people. It is a buyers´market and do not let anybody tell you different. Prices are coming down. Since summer of 2005, on our little part of the coast they have come down as much as 25%.
There is an enormous supply of properties for sale and some sellers are getting desparate.
So there are good deals, even great deals to be had. I have a few on my website.
But do not buy for the wrong reasons. And certainly not new builds at these as yet inflated prices.

How much longer do I have to wait?

How often have I heard this question from sellers lately. The honest answer is: I do not know.
As a real estate agent, I do have an insight based on experience and information. I can quote averages, I can tell what you can do to make your property more attractive. I can also tell what the optimum selling price is.
But I cannot predict the future.

Still here´s a little information about the time necessary to sell certain types of properties here in Spain, over the last year. It should not come as a surprise to anyone that the more expensive property takes longer to sell than more economical ones.
Up to 200,000 Euros the average selling time has been 138 days (between 4 and 5 months)
Up to 300,000 Euros 159 days (more than 5 months)
Up to 500,000 Euros 188 days (a shade over 6 months)
Up to 800,000 Euros 208 day (almost 7 months)
Up from 800,000 Euros 233 days (some 8 months) again all of this in average.

If you want to influence this, there is a lot to be done. There are ways to make your property more attractive to prospective buyers. I can tell you a lot about that. But, most of all you have to make sure buyers KNOW your property is for sale. This is somewhat more difficult than it sounds, especially in this buyers´ market.
I have a little trick for this.
Want to know how?
Give me a call.