The Real Estate Market In Spain: Making Profits Out Of Sand

The Real estate market in Spain keeps gaining momentum and is of a vital interest among overseas investors. Property prices in the country continue growing at rapid pace due to a sustainable development in many areas of the mainland and the islands.

Spain's pleasant climate, low cost of living and specific slow pace of life attract more and more real estate investors from many countries of the world and northern European countries in particular. Spain boasts of plenty of magnificent places that encourage tourism, from international playgrounds on the Coast to inland areas such as Granada and Seville. Investing in Spain real estate promises favorable rental income flows with the healthy capital return on top.

The popular areas among real estate investors are Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Andalucia, Seville, Granada, Malaga and many others. But, the most popular real estate investments are naturally the Coasts. Be they golf courses in Coastas or rural hideaways and whitewashed village houses in inland areas, property market in Spain has shown a sustained growth in prices and such tendency is likely to continue in the future.

Buying real estate in Spain makes sense for a number of reasons. Spanish constitution guarantees that your home is your private property only, irrespective of citizenship. Then, real estate property prices are growing and are expected to continue growing in the future. Moreover, buying property gives you the right of living in the country for 90 days per half of a year. In addition, the visa may be renewed every year for an unlimited number of times. There are beneficial loan terms in Spain and you can receive property immediately after having paid the first payment.

However, as attractive as any investment in property may appear, making a profit out of it is a skill (and not a right) which requires experience, and usually, a lot of hard work. Some of the best investments fail for reasons which never could have been anticipated and others fail for reasons which should have been anticipated. In all investment, regardless of how good it may appear initially, there is always a risk. However, good judgment, experience and careful research are usually up to canceling out the majority of this.

Copyright 2005 Ofer Shoshani

Ofer Shoshani has been working for the last 5 years as a travel-journalist. Currently he works at the editor of BeSpanish.com/Many more of his articles could be found at http://www.bespanish.com

More than 40 states signed onto a proposed $25-billion deal with major mortgage servicers over faulty foreclosure practices. New York, Nevada and Delaware joined California in holding out for better terms.

More than 40 states signed onto a proposed $25-billion settlement with major mortgage servicers over faulty foreclosure procedures, but California, New York and other key states were still not among them.

California has until Monday to share in a multi-state deal with banks to obtain mortgage relief and reforms. Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris, who walked away from talks last year, says the door remains open.

With a Monday deadline at hand, California officials have resumed direct talks with the Obama administration about joining a multibillion-dollar, multi-state mortgage settlement with the nation's largest banks, a source said Sunday.

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In one of the more talked-about transactions in town, actors Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have sold their Malibu beach house to daytime host and comedian Ellen De Generes for $12 million.

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A decorative cast stone entrance opens to this restored Spanish Colonial Revival-style house in Pasadena's South Orange Grove area. Built in 1920 for industrialist James Wigmore, the house retains such original details as coffered wood ceilings and arched doorways.

They don't believe they can sell their property for what it's worth, so they're spending money on making their homes more comfortable.

Do you fit any of these descriptions?

A biennial research report by the National Assn. of Realtors indicates that a handful of real estate agents and brokers and their clients either don't know the law or don't care to follow it.

When it comes to lawsuits, real estate agents and brokers tangle mostly among themselves.

The president aims to help about 3.5 million people with good credit who are unable to refinance at historically low rates because their homes are worth less than their mortgages.

 

The White House hopes to help millions of homeowners lower their monthly mortgage bill with a $5 billion to $10 billion plan to set up a streamlined refinancing program for people who are current on their payments.

The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller index of 20 large U.S. cities fell 1.3% in November from October as foreclosures continue to drag down the housing market.

Three straight months of home-price declines in the biggest U.S. cities showed that foreclosures remain a significant drag on a housing market that is entering its fifth year of deterioration.

L.A. Clipper Chris Paul may be quick down the court, but he moves pretty fast when it comes to buying multimillion-dollar real estate too.