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Better De Luxe Property Sales Prove Upturn is Upon Spain

5/09/2014 – El Mundo

According to the latest update of Barcelona-based real estate agency Lucas Fox, prices on the luxury market in Spain have remained stable for the first half of 2014. Number of deals rose in all its benchmark areas, narrowing the gap between the asking and the sale prices.

International clients account for 90% of all purchases mediated by Lucas Fox with greater and greater interest from the part of the Far East and the Middle East investors. Northern Spain buyers have returned to the market due to low prices and investment opportunities.

Barcelona

In Barcelona, during the second quarter of the ongoing year high-end home values averaged at 4.237 euros per square meter, a little bit more than in 2013.

‘Barcelona market has been continuously growing over the first half of the year as the purchasers show much more confidence, above all the foreign ones. Prices have gone stable and the number of transactions gradually increases. The vendors take a more realistic approach and reduce the asking values in line with the buyers‘ expectations‘, says Alexander Vaughan, co-founder of Lucas Fox.

Ibiza

Ibiza‘s residential market keeps on shooting up in deals over the 2013 figures. Luxury property values in some important areas start to rise, picked up by demand exceeding the housing supply. U.S. purchasers doubled their contribution to the sales statistics.

The firm‘s executive based on the island, Amanda Marti, tells ‘the true appeal of Ibiza is its unique lifestyle‘. She also points out that the demand flowing from the Asian market boosted, mainly driven up by the Korean and the Chinese interest.

Costa Brava

‘In comparison to the same period 2013, sales improved significantly along the Costa Brava coast. Foreign private investors from the north and east of Europe almost completely dominated the market, attracted by competitive prices‘, says local director of Lucas Fox, Tom Maidment.

Marbella

The British represent the biggest group of clients in the area, together with purchasers from the Northern Europe and Russia. Many projects that were in hands of banks have been acquired by investment funds at bargain prices.

‘Sparked in the second half of 2012, the positive tendency continued its way upwards also in H1 2014. Most popular spots surround Marbella, Puerto Banus and the beach line‘, reports Stephen Lahiri, Lucas Fox chief in Marbella.

Majorca

‘We are experiencing a real upsurge in demand for small rustic homes. Many purchasers and investors buy-to-let to tourists. Holiday villas in the developed areas of southeast Majorca are also selling well: majority of them for between €1.5 and €2.5 million‘, says respective executive of Lucas Fox on the island, Rafael Calparsoro.

 

Original article: El Mundo

Translation: AURA REE