Both major national real estate and Spanish banks are desperately seeking to reduce the housing inventories, especially the one accumulated on the coast of Spain. So far, in these areas, builders have applied significantly larger discounts of up to 60 percent and, in extreme cases, even designed personal financing plans for each costumer. However, the second-home market is completely paralyzed.
The traditional British investor is not buying Spanish real state because of United Kingdom´s economic crisis and the legal uncertainty perceived by these investors about the Spanish law of coasts.
That´s why efforts should be made to attract other foreigners to buy real state. The secretary of infrastructures, Jose Blanco, toured the world trying to convince potential investors about the opportunities that can be found on Spanish beaches. However, this initiative has been unsuccessful.
Germans, Scandinavians and Russians showed some interest, but experts point out that they look for reasonable prices.
There is still uncertainty about the housing prices and is unclear if they have bottomed yet. In addition, many of the real state areas are remote from urban centers, in places with little infrastructure, that Is not a good sign, since municipalities do not have the funds to invest right now.
Although we are two hours away from millions of people and possible investors, thanks to low-cost flights, it will take a lot of time to revive the "Europe´s Florida".
We tried to take advantage of the real state bubble through higher taxes, high prices and low quality, and now we must learn that coastal real state can be a sustainable industry if you treat it well.
Translated and Edited in English by Jose L. De Haro
