Spanish Property Developers Offer Discounts – Prices Slashed

Spanish property has always been the most popular choice for Europeans to own a holiday home. The wonderful climate, relatively low costs of living and ease of access has meant that the property market in Spain has seen huge increases in the value of property over the last ten years. The downside of this property boom is that greedy developers and poor planning by local and national government has created an over-supply of property, leading to many properties un-sold and many developers going bust.

The Global Credit Crunch is currently affecting homeowners in most European countries, many of which have traditionally provided buyers for holiday homes in Spain. With property prices in domestic markets tumbling the demand for overseas property has dwindled. So Spain is currently suffering from an over-supply of properties and reduced demand.

Inevitably prices have had to be adjusted to reflect this – many developers are now offering discounts on key-ready properties of up to 35% off the list prices. One of the leading Spanish property developers – Polaris World – are offering 28% discounts on two of their developments in Murcia, Costa Calida. Hacienda Riquelme and El Valle Golf Resorts feature 18 hole ‘Nicklaus’ designed golf courses, 24 hour security and many other facilities, yet prices on these resorts have been slashed as Polaris World try to sell the remaining key-ready properties.

“Polaris World probably didn’t expect to have completed their resorts and still have properties to sell. As with most Spanish developers, the properties are financed and therefore the developer will be paying a mortgage on every unsold property. It is in their interests to sell them off as quickly as possible.” stated Tim Savage, Director of the leading Murcia golf property agency – Murcia Golf Properties Ltd (http://www.murciagolfproperties.com).

The golf resorts of Murcia are still very attractive to overseas and domestic buyers. They have superb facilities, good rental potential and excellent security. Prices have always been much more reasonable in Murcia than other areas of Spain such as the Costa del Sol, however agencies such as Murcia Golf Properties Ltd are currently offering properties in prime positions at less than original release prices of five or six years ago as re-sales flood the market.

During recent years property buyers in Spain focused mainly on off-plan property, but now buyers have a much wider choice. Many property owners are struggling to finance their investments since mortgage rates increased and exchange rates plummeted. This is leading to an influx of completed property at bargain prices. These re-sales are often cheaper than off-plan equivalents and are being sold with extras such as swimming pools, air-conditioning and furniture. This is putting further pressure on the developers.

“There’s no doubt that the market is very tough, however Spain is not alone in that. What it does mean is that anybody looking to buy in Murcia now has some superb properties to choose from at bargain prices. We have apartments on La Torre Golf Resort from €115,000 and villas from €159,000. These properties would have sold for at least 40% more than that a year ago. Now really is a good time to snap up a bargain.” added Mr Savage of Murcia Golf Properties Ltd

Property in Spain can now be bought for prices similar to that of less attractive countries such as Bulgaria and many experts believe that Spanish property will bounce back quicker than other markets when the credit crunch loosens. Perhaps one of the few benefits of the credit crunch is that very good quality Spanish holiday homes have now become available at very attractive prices. It is clearly a buyer’s market and could be a good time to buy your dream holiday home at a knock-down price.

Murcia Golf Properties Ltd have two offices in Murcia and can be contacted at http://www.murciagolfproperties.com or http://resalepolaris.com