Alex Trelinski
‘IRREPARABLE’ damage will be done to the real estate sector and tourism on the Costa Blanca if the government abolishes the so-called Golden Visa.
That’s the view of the Alicante Real Estate Agents Association (COAPI) and its president Marife Esteso, amidst warnings that foreign investors would ‘disappear’ from the area.
Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, announced his intention this week to scrap the residency visa given to non-EU people who spend more than €500,000 in buying property.
It’s believed that Alicante province gets an average of around a hundred Golden Visa applicants each year.
The government view is that housing is a ‘right and not a mere speculative business’.
It said that 94% of investor visas are linked to real estate investments and that this would stop speculation in the sector.
COAPI President, Marife Esteso, said: “What for Sanchez is a mere speculative business, for Alicante is its survival, since the money moved by foreign investors is key for the province.”
“In Alicante there will not be any extra foreign investment because it is one of the provinces that citizens of other countries choose the most, some with Golden Visas and others who buy a home without that option,“ she added.
“But is there really any need to expel investors who only help create wealth in the province?” asks Estefo, who criticised the announcement that took no account of the economic damage it would cause the area.
“The fact that there are foreign buyers who invest more than €500,000 in buying a house in Spain does not affect the right to housing of families in our country at all as having those properties would not solve the housing problem,” she added.
COAPI Alicante has called on local councils and the regional Valencian government to ‘mediate’ with the national government so that real estate investment by foreigners is not cut back.
It described the new initiative as ‘witticism and demagoguery’ and hoped that it will not actually happen for sake of the real estate sector in Alicante province.
READ MORE:
- EXCLUSIVE: Ending the golden visa in Spain is a ‘big blow’ to British and US buyers, say property experts…
- BREAKING: Spain to end golden visas that grant residency to foreigners who buy a €500,000 home
- Golden Visa under threat
