Spanish Real Estate Market: July 2021 News

While sоme enjоy the sun and beaches of the Iberian Peninsula and others go property-hunting in search of their dream home, we bring you a round-up of the top Spanish property news for July. Are you ready?

This summer 2021 Spanish property analysts have noted the gradual recovery of the market and approaching the "pre-covid" indicators, particularly the return of foreign buyers. Thus, according to Idealista, in the second quarter of 2021 the foreign investors took part in 11.3% of all property sales in Spain.

Most of the deals accounted for buyers from Germany, France and the UK. The Germans opt for Valencia and the two Spanish archipelagos: the Balearic and Canary Islands, the French prefer Catalonia and the British usually choose Andalusia and the Costa Blanca. Next up are investors from the US, Italy and Switzerland. The Costa Blanca, the coast of the province of Alicante, is also traditionally popular among Russian-speaking customers.

In July, the Spanish authorities announced the "Startups Bill" (Ley de Startups), which Pedro Sánchez's government has been developing for over three years. With it, the authorities seek to attract young companies and "digital talents" to Spain. By "startup" the Spanish government means young (up to 7 years old) innovative companies with a turnover of up to €5,000,000 that are not publicly traded. More than half of the company's staff must be Spanish nationals, as reported in major Spanish media.

Privileges for such companies include: reduction of income tax from 25% to 15% in the first 4 years of operation, deferral of income tax and others. It is also planned to issue a "freelancer's visa" for remote workers, in the future it could become one of the ways to get a Spanish residence permit. So far the most popular ways for obtaining a residence permit in Spain are the Golden Visa for investors (Golden Visa) and residence permits for financially independent persons (No lucrativa).

Idealista, the real estate portal, ranked the most expensive locations for home purchasing in Spain in the second quarter of 2021. According to their data, the most expensive municipality was Benahavis. In this resort town (located near Malaga) the average price of the purchase of real estate reaches € 1.5 million. Next comes the municipality of Calvia in the west of Mallorca (€ 1 081 932).

According to the table, the most "luxury locations" are in the Balearic Islands, Barcelona, Malaga and Alicante.

In Benidorm, after 17 years, the 187-meter skyscraper Intempo (which is now called one of the tallest residential buildings in the EU) has been completed. The builder claims to have the fastest elevator in Spain, capable of taking people from the ground floor to the 47th floor in 52 seconds (4.2 metres per second). A two-bedroom apartment on the fifth floor of Intempo costs €236,000, while options on the top floor are up to €1.8 million.

The construction of residential skyscrapers of various types is continuing apace in Benidorm, thanks to which apartments in high-rise buildings are no longer an unusual thing. Consequently, there has been a price adjustment for some properties, especially in the low-rise secondary apartments. The example of "cheap" housing in a skyscraper is the Kronos Benidorm apartment block, a 15-minute walk from the sea. Small apartments there start at a price of €87,000.

Spanish mortgage sector, which has suffered a lot with the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, has started recovering. This is reported by the National Institute of Statistics (INE). According to the report, in May 2021 the Spaniards requested 35,225 loans to buy a home, which is 37.4% more than in May 2020. As the analysts add, this figure is rising for the third month in a row.

Compared to last year, the average loan amount has also increased: €133 611 (+5,4%). Most mortgage applications are recorded in Madrid, Barcelona and Andalucía.

The city council of the village of Griegos in the province of Teruel invites families with children to work and is ready to provide free accommodation for up to three months to those wishing to relocate. There are currently 132 people living in the town, and its administration is concerned that the settlement will soon be abandoned. The main objective of the town council is to bring the number of students in the local school up to 12. At the moment there are only nine, which may result in the closure of the institution.

The administration offers the accommodation to new residents for three months free of charge. Then the rent will be €225, from which €50 will be covered for each child who attends school. As for job offers, the town council has prepared several vacancies for those wishing to relocate – in Paladar de Aragón restaurant and the Griegos hotel. The village of Griegos is 1,600 metres above sea level and is perfect for mountain lovers.