Tag: Germans

Swedes Are On A Mission To Buy Homes In Spain

17 July 2017 – Economía Digital

Foreigners are buying more homes than ever in Spain. Last year saw a new historical high, with more than 53,000 purchases by overseas buyers, despite a decline in acquisitions by the Brits and the French and a stagnation in purchases by the Germans. Instead, the Swedes have arrived and with them, Swedish real estate companies.

Swedes have risen to fourth position in the ranking of house purchases by foreigners. In its latest statistical annual, the College of Property Registrars in Spain highlights that overseas buyers are showing the “greatest strength”. According to the annual, Britons continue to occupy first place in the ranking, accounting for 19% of total sales to foreigners, although that figure has decreased with respect to 2015 (21.3%). They are paying for the effects of Brexit. The French have also lost strength, to account for 8.05% of the total, compared to 8.72% a year earlier. The Germans remained at 7.69%, just a few tenths more than in the previous year. By contrast, the Swedes increased their share to 6.72% from 5.89% a year earlier, which means that they purchased almost 4,000 homes in 2016.

When analysing this data, it is worth taking into account the demographic weight of the respective countries. Sweden had a population of 10 million in January, whilst Germany has a population of 82 million, France 67 million and Great Britain 58 million. And so, although the population is much smaller, Swedes are buying almost as many homes in Spain as the Germans and French.

The strength of the krona compared to the euro

Sources at the Swedish agencies attribute this interest in Spain to several reasons: the exorbitant prices of properties in their own country; the strength of the krona with respect to the euro; the desire of their compatriots to own a second home near a sunny beach; and, also, the publicity campaigns being carried out.

The most well-known of the Swedish real estate companies is Fastighetsbyrán, which forms part of the Swedbank group, the country’s main bank. It has a dozen franchises in Spain. Its CEO, Daniel Nilsson, said that it sold 1,050 homes in Spain to Swedish compatriots last year for a total amount of €250 million. Its market share in the housing segment for Swedes in Spain is almost 25%.

In terms of location, Swedes concentrate their purchases along the coasts in the south of the peninsula – preferably between the province of Alicante to the Portuguese Algarve – as well as in the Canary and Balearic Islands. (…). Investment funds have also arrived, such as Catella, which is headquartered in Stockholm and which last year closed four operations amounting to €84 million: two residential buildings in Madrid, another one in Barcelona and a retail park in Vinaroz (Castellón)

The Swedish real estate companies are unique in that the vast majority of the personnel and clients of the franchised offices come from the same country. (…).

The second largest Swedish real estate company in terms of sales is Bjurfors, with half a dozen franchises in Spain. From their offices in Marbella, they explain that they are open to clients from everywhere, but they acknowledge that, for the time being, all of their clients are Scandinavian, and most of them are Swedish.

Homes with sunny terraces

All of the employees consulted agreed that there is increasingly more demand. Scandinavian clients want homes with outdoor space: they have to have large sunny terraces or patios. Otherwise, they are not interested.

According to a study conducted by the Svenskar i Väriden organisation in 2015, more than 90,000 Swedes live for most of the year in Spain. According to data provided by the Swedish embassy in Madrid, in June 2016, there were 27,000 Swedes registered (empadronados) in Spain and two million travelled here for tourism last year. It is expected that 2.2 million will come this year.

Original story: Economía Digital (by Josep María Casas)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Why Did Foreigners Buy 72,000 Homes In Spain In 2014?

8 May 2015 – Expansión

When it comes to buying homes in Spain, foreigners are primarily motivated by the quality of life, the sun and good flight connections to their home countries.

The volume of house sales increased by 21.6% in 2014. In total, 365,594 transactions were closed, according to the Ministry of Development. It is clear that the real estate market has begun its recovery and, to a large extent, that is due to the interest that the real estate market is sparking amongst investors from overseas. Purchases by foreign residents in Spain have grown in recent months, partly due to the incentives that the Government has introduced – mainly the residence visa – but above all due to the opportunities offered by the real estate market here. Foreigners purchased more than 72,000 homes in Spain last year and the average transaction value was €152,000.

But, who are these foreigners that are purchasing homes in Spain and what is it that draws them to our country? “Many of these overseas investors are tourists who come to Spain on holiday and after spending time here, decide to invest in a second home”, says a study performed by TM Grupo Inmobiliario, which has a stand at the SIMA (Salón Inmobiliario de Madrid or Madrid Real Estate Fair) being held until 10 May. “They are primarily motivated by the quality of life, the sun and good flight connections to their home countries”, says the report, which concludes that the profile of the average purchaser is a man, aged 53 years-old, with children. On average, these purchasers have an annual income of €66,000. There is also a significant percentage of resident buyers in our country who are making Spain their new home given the improvement in the economic environment.

Britons are the nationality most interested in purchasing homes in our country; they accounted for 18.62% of all transactions closed by foreigners (in 2014). They are followed by the French (9.39%), Germans (7.25%), Belgians (6.90%), Italians (6.13%), Russians (5.83%), Swiss (5.83%), Chinese (4.14%) and Norwegians (3.74%). In recent years, interest from Russian nationals in Spain had increased significantly, but the decline in the Ruble and in the price of petrol (last year) reduced their desire to purchase. There is also a great deal of interest from Mexicans and Colombians in buying a home in our country, but in absolute terms the numbers are not yet significant. The vast majority of them have a high purchasing power and are buying second homes here.

The decrease in house prices has not affected all areas equally, but overseas investors are primarily interested in three main areas: the Mediterranean Coast (Barcelona, Alicante, Girona and Málaga), the Islands (above all Mallorca, Ibiza and Tenerife) and Madrid.

Original story: Expansión (by E.V.)

Translation: Carmel Drake