Staff Reporter
PRESSURE to live in the city is taking its toll on the country’s rural property market.
Spain is currently experiencing a two-speed market where prices continue to rise in cities and fall in the countryside.
New research by the Spanish property portal Idealista reveals that both rural and urban markets began a post-crisis recovery in 2013.
However, since the second half of 2015, they have gone in different directions, with city prices rising 1.7% year-on-year in November while the national average for rural areas has plummeted by 4.3%.
Fernando Encinar, head of research at Idealista explains: “The study makes clear that markets that are attracting the most interest and can count on solvent demand are already rising in price, whilst other areas, mostly rural, can’t manage to raise interest from buyers, and are being forced to continue dropping prices to close sales.”
I wonder how much was wasted on researching the bloody obvious? #commonsense
Strange, because whole swathes of the coast are illegal too. Just look at Marbella, where the local plan was retracted, leaving thousands of properties illegal overnight. At the end of the day the price of a property is what someone is willing to pay for it. Some people want to live in the countryside amongst the flora and fauna with peace and quiet, and some want to live in an urbanisation on the coast where the neighbour is 10cm away and the view is endless high-rises and car fumes pollute the air. Each to their own, I know where I’d want to be.
Fred, both have their advantages. I suppose a pensioner would rather live close to all things and still have wonderful views of the sea and the coastline. I also know of people that have purchased lovely villas inland but are now stuck and can’t sell as they have grown older and wish to move closer to all easy reach of things, but to make matters worse most tend to lose their driving licence and need to rely on the kindness of friends and taxi’s for most things. It’s a choice one needs to think deeply if one wishes to move to Spain or in-fact anywhere, but afraid people tend not to think that far ahead even to the point of making funeral arrangements. (a subject I hate mentioning to older friends living there who tend not to consider the eventuality).
Strange really because most people that retire and wish to live in Spain have many years behind them and who knows perhaps if your thoughts are of a countryside type of life and you reach the twilight years of eighty or beyond perhaps your mind may change as to where. “I know where I’d want to be”. Just a thought.