Swedish buyers snap up prime Spanish homes
22 Jan 2013
News : Revenue and sales volumes of Spanish homes on Sweden’s largest real estate company have doubled over the last year.
The upturn at The Real Estate Agency, the Spanish division of Fastighetsbyrån, Sweden's leading real estate firm, comes against falling market prices in many areas, as sellers look for bargains.
Over the last 12 months, The Real Estate Agency has received more than 5,200 inquiries for Spanish property and has arranged around 1,600 viewings. As a result, revenue has risen 104% and sales volumes are up 90% in 2012 compared with the previous year. “Those are not the sales figures of a dead market!” says Regional Manager Daniel Nilsson.
The Costa Blanca and Costa del Sol resale and new builds are particularly popular and prices are holding up much better, he says.
Mr Nilsson tells OPP Connect there are several factors that contribute to the secret of the company’s success: “A strong brand (in Sweden) combined with an important marketing effort and effective and transparent on-site services. We are building for the long term.”
He believes that the market will continue to decline during 2013 and the properties held by Spain’s Sareb ‘bad bank’ will not help.
“Overall, we will see a further price decrease. There are still a lot of properties/projects in less desired locations that have to come down, which will have an impact on the average price. For instance, I expect the newly-created ‘bad bank’ to only hold this kind of product, along with nearly worthless plots of land.”
However, prices are stabilising in prime areas. “Premium locations (first line beach close to amenities and airports) will not necessarily drop any further as the foreign demand is increasing heavily. So yes, prices will decrease, but not necessarily on the properties the northern Europeans desire.”
Almost all buyers at The Real Estate Agency come from Scandinavia, with Sweden accounting for 85% and Norway for 10%.
"Buyers are looking for second homes and investment properties in locations offering great weather, fantastic food and a friendly and welcoming culture, such as the Costa Blanca, which accounted for nearly two thirds of our sales in 2012."
Mr Nilsson says the large amount of property for sale is a real opportunity. "The glut of properties available in Spain presents not a problem but an opportunity for overseas buyers. There is something to suit everyone at every budget.
“Whether buyers are looking for newly built developments or more traditional Spanish resale properties (which 80% of buyers purchased in 2012), choice and bargains abound.
“In the last quarter of 2012 alone The Real Estate Agency saw a twenty-two per cent increase in viewings of properties on the coast of southern Spain, compared with the previous quarter.”
"The market continues to expand, as more and more investors are attracted by cost-effective purchases in idyllic locations. Buyers no longer feel constrained to purchase only in their own country, instead they have the confidence to invest in their dream home overseas through trusted real estate companies with proven track records,” he explains.
The Real Estate Agency has been in Spain for four years and Fastighetsbyrån has been operating in Sweden for 45 years. It has a network of offices along the Mediterranean coast, with new branches due to open in Palma de Mallorca and Barcelona.
From January 2013, The Real Estate Agency will also be marketing properties in Cannes on the French Riviera.
For details, go to: www.therealestateagency.com.
