Wendy WilliamsHOUSE prices at the bottom of the market are now dropping faster in Britain than in Spain.
According to a survey by Estate agents Chesterton Humberts, in Britain the cheapest 20 per cent of properties saw prices fall by 5.1 per cent over last year, compared to just 1.9 per cent in Spain.
However, overall, house prices in Spain have fallen by 17 per cent since 2007. And, according to the Bank of Spain, the country is now in its fourth year of drops.
The concept that the value of an object is decided by the price someone is prepared to pay for it hasn’t really sunk in here and the prevailing idea that a house is valued at the price someone can’t sell it for is still a joke.
Yes, Brits have always been more realistic than the Spanish about house values. All this means is that house prices aren’t falling fast enough yet in Spain. They will.
In the more affluent suburbs prices do not go into freefall. Where there is wealth people may feel the pinch but juggle their finances and do not panic sell. This was seen in 1992 my old patch Sandbanks in Poole Dorset
In this wealthy conurbation of Sotogrande Spain as prices have dropped people have lost the desire to sell and simply withdraw from the market opting to wait. This leaves a shortage and very few bargains to be had. Over the last 2 years i have averaged approximately 1 bargain deal per quarter if that
You can now buy multi-million euro villas for half what they used to go for in 2008