Tag: holiday rentals

Beds for Tourists on Costa del Sol Grew by Almost 20% during YTD August

10 October 2018 – Diario Sur

At a time when international tourism demand is cooling, the supply of beds in regulated tourist accommodation, in other words, in hotels, apartments, campsites, country houses and tourists apartments, grew by almost 20%  in Málaga during the 8 months to August, according to a report about the Tourist Situation on the Costa del Sol. Behind this significant increase is the boost from holiday rental homes, which caused the volume of establishments to skyrocket by almost 50% during the first eight months of the year. In other words, during this period, 9,500 new businesses to house tourists have been put on the market, which have added 52,431 beds so far this year. With this rise, the Costa del Sol now has the capacity to accommodate 321,374 visitors each day, whilst in August 2017, that figure amounted to 291,000.

These figures warn of a greater dynamism in the registration of properties destined to travellers during the peak months of the summer. And a report compiled by Costa del Sol Tourism about the evolution of the supply of accommodation in that destination shows that during the six months to June, the number of beds grew by 10% and the number of businesses grew by 25%. The destination ended the first half of the year with a supply of 26,424 tourist establishments with the capacity to house 308,288 visitors. Sources at Costa del Sol Tourism highlight that, during that period, the highest growth in beds was seen in rental homes dedicated to tourists, which saw an increase of 26,154 beds to reach a total of 112,294, up by 30.4%. They were followed by rural houses, with 1,744 new beds taking the total supply to 12,952, up by 15.6%; and apartments, with 1,002 new beds out of a total of 58,670 on offer, up by 2%.

The boom in holiday rentals has resulted in a complete transformation of the supply of accommodation along the Costa del Sol, in such a way that, nowadays, tourist homes account for the highest volume of beds, followed by hotels and apartments, accounting for 36.4%, 29.5% and 19%, respectively. The Director-General of Costa del Sol Tourism, Arturo Bernal, highlighted that holiday rentals “are a reality of the tourist sector that we must strengthen ties with”, urging people to work towards full regulation of the whole accommodation supply and to offer high-quality accommodation.

Original story: Diario Sur (by Pilar Martínez)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Savills & HomeAway: Spain is the Most Attractive Market for Buying a Second Home

29 September 2018 – Finanzas.com

According to an international study compiled by the real estate consultancy Savills and HomeAwayTM, a global expert platform for holiday rentals, Spain is the most attractive destination for investing in a second home, according to 19.3% of those surveyed, followed by Portugal (13.2%) and France (13.1) in third place.

Spain is attractive for overseas investors

According to the survey, 44% of owners of second residences in Spain are foreigners. The main countries of origin of those owners are the United Kingdom (19%), Germany (12%), The Netherlands (4%), France (3%) and Belgium (2%). The remaining 56% of owners are Spanish.

The main areas where second homes are located in Spain include the Canary Islands (12%), the Costa del Sol (9%) and the Balearic Islands (9%).

Where are they buying homes?

People’s behaviour when it comes to acquiring a second home is different depending on where the buyers come from. The study reveals that British and Dutch owners are those who buy the most second homes outside of their own countries, nevertheless, Spaniards, Italians and Portuguese citizens tend to choose their own countries as the destination for acquiring second homes (around 95%).

Second homes: for personal use and to rent

According to the study, 28% of Spanish owners cover some of their expenses with revenues generated from the rental of their properties and 38% obtain a profit.

Summary of second homes in Spain

The average price of the second homes acquired last year by the Spanish owners surveyed amounted to €245,000, 22% lower than the average acquisition price ten years ago. Moreover, 28% of those surveyed confirmed that they personally financed the acquisition of their second home, 52% acquired it using a mortgage and 8% inherited or were gifted the property.

In the same vein, Spanish owners of second homes obtain an annual income of €12,000 (from their properties) and they rent them out for 19 weeks a year, on average. 43% of owners had the same number of reservations in recent months as they did during the same period a year ago, 41% had more reservations and 16% had fewer.

Second homes, with some specific characteristics

Two-bedroom apartments are the most popular types of second home for the Spanish owners surveyed.

Features that owners are looking for when it comes to buying a second home include: proximity to restaurants and bars (88%), a balcony or terrace (88%) and proximity to the supermarket and shops.

According to Juan Carlos Fernández, Director General for Southern Europe at HomeAway: “The fact that Spain is the most attractive destination for foreigners looking to buy a second home indicates that Spain is a robust market that is very attractive to investors and that is something that we must take care of and promote”.

Owner profile

  • Average age when they acquired the property, in 2017: 51 years old
  • Average number of weeks leased during the year: 19 weeks
  • Typical property type: 2-bedroom apartment
  • Average acquisition price in 2017: €245,000.

Original story: Finanzas.com

Translation: Carmel Drake

Idealista: Rental Prices Rose by 13.2% in Málaga in 2017

11 June 2018 – Diario Sur

Do you live in Málaga for less than €700/month? Then, hold on tight to your home as if it were a treasure. These days, people who are coming to the end of their rental contracts or who are experiencing life changes that are forcing them to find homes in the city – whether it be a move for work, a separation or an emancipation from the family home – are coming up against a harsh reality: the high cost of rent, which has gotten worse to the extent that, today, homes coming onto the market have an average monthly rent of more than €1,000 in half of the neighbourhoods in the provincial capital. That is according to statistics based on the active adverts on the real estate portfolio Idealista, which calculates that rental prices increased by 13.2% over the last year, one of the highest rises recorded in all of Spain’s large cities. Over the last five years, the cumulative increase amounts to 38% and the price per square metre now amounts to €9.80, the highest of all of the Andalucían capitals.

The sharp rise in prices is the consequence of a significant imbalance between supply – which has decreased by 36% in three years, judging by the adverts on Idealista – and demand for rentals, which has increased by more than 120% over the same period. “What is happening in Málaga is what happened previously in Madrid and Barcelona: a genuine shortage of rental housing, especially in the Centre and Teatinos districts, which are the most sought-after areas”, says Carlos Rueda, spokesman for Idealista in the south of Spain, who knows real estate agents in those neighbourhoods who have waiting lists with more than 100 people on them.

Since Málaga has come late to this trend, its prices are now rising rapidly, whilst prices in the country’s two largest capitals are starting to enter a stabilisation phase, according to the Head of Research at Pisos.com, Ferrán Font. “In Barcelona and Madrid, there are areas where prices have stopped rising because price increases cannot be infinite in the rental market”, he added.

But in Málaga, that ceiling has not yet been reached. Inmaculada Vegas, Partner of the real estate agency specialising in rentals Rentacasa, summarises the situation as follows: “The supply has decreased significantly; almost no homes come onto the market. And those that do come on are very expensive. Many owners can’t help themselves: they see that their neighbour has let his home for €800 and so they raise their asking price to €900…the problem is that they find people to pay those prices”, she explains.

The perception of rising prices is even greater in the case of rentals governed by the old Urban Leasing Law, which are being updated now after five years. They are contracts that were signed at the height of the crisis (2013) and now they are being renewed in a radically different scenario. “In those cases, prices may rise by €300 or €400 overnight”, explains Carlos Rueda (…).

For Vegas, much of the blame for what is happening lies with tourist rentals: “Over the last two years, we have seen continuously how long-term rentals are being taken off the long-term rental market to be let by the day or by the week, above all in the Centre, but increasingly in the east of the city as well”, she says.

Rueda does not agree that the influence of holiday rentals has been that great. In his opinion, “since the crisis, Málaga has seen a huge explosion in demand for rental properties, not only from those who cannot afford to buy but also from those who want to live in rental homes” (…).

Original story: Diario Sur (by Nuria Triguero)

Translation: Carmel Drake