The new Expats move in
Many countries in Europe fell in love with the Spanish Costas as a favorite holiday destination. Germany, Britain and France headed the league table of visitors. The gentle Mediterranean lifestyle greeted the thousands of tourists as they flooded in to the Spanish coastal resorts. The easy and comfortable lifestyle encouraged so many of them to buy a new Spanish Villa or Apartment.
The Property rush
As a result of the huge inflow of buyers from the 1980s, the demand for low cost property grew and attracted the attention of some of the biggest developers around at the time. The building started gently at first but as the demand increased so the local Councils saw quick prosperity for their towns and villages and began to encourage development. The building rate increased and by the early 2000s had become almost a frenzy. Countless thousands of apartments and huge numbers of small and large villas sprang up along the coast. With the easy credit available at the time so the Expat population rose exponentially.
The pleasant Expat lifestyle
It was as they had hoped and dreamed and the new influx of Expats settled down in their quiet sunny homes. And they felt wanted by the gentle local Spaniards. Now there was plenty of work for the builders and all service industries. As the service industry now bloomed, so did the number of new opportunities which, in turn, attracted a second wave of Expats to cover it.
At that time, with the British pound standing well against the then new Euro, life in Spain was extremely comfortable and so attracted more retired couples. So up went the average age of Expats.
Then things changed drastically
These dreams came crashing down as the financial bubble burst. The Pound fell against the Euro and cheap mortgages dried up. Sales of new and resale properties slumped, shortly followed by the rentals market as countless thousands of properties were left empty and often abandoned. Many of these new Expat owners found they could no longer survive on their Sterling pension and the Banks moved in.
The Exodus begins
So many of those happy dreams now faded. There was really only one direction left with reduced income and the ever threat of Bank repossession. And that is just what they did. Many doing their best to sell what they had to try to cover their debts and unpaid mortgages. The steady flow increased and still increases today leaving in its wake yet another new lucrative business. Spanish Distressed Sales, Cheap Spanish Property and the rising Property investment markets are now flourishing in the otherwise dead industry. The investors are moving in to wait for the end of the Credit Crunch. So, if you can, you should.
Tags: cheap property, credit crunch, distressed sales, spanish property sales