Forgive me for giving out some good news now and again, however, with all the doom and terrible gloom seemingly purveying itself in every corner of Europe and USA at the minute, it’s nice to report, as is being published on various sites and forums at present that…

Spain had a 22% increase in property sales quarter on quarter, and things look a whole lot better than they did last year. Which, in these tough times, is what people tend to forget and/or miss.

Government stats also show more foreign purchasers are buying, with figures up by a reported 23%.

I am incredibly cautious about good news myself, or trumpeting a rallying call to the market. There was too much wrong with the ‘old days’ and I don’t want a ‘bubble’ to pop up only to burst, so I’m not one for jumping on a bandwagon or creating one by accidental comment.

But the truth is that we in VIVA just keep plugging away. There are always people who want to buy, there is always something good to buy, and we work with vendors who are keen to sell, be they private, developers or banks. There is of course always a market and if you have sound practices and some common sense, then things can and will work.

What I want to say is, don’t be surprised that the market is returning. It may have a slip or two on the way, especially with more talk of a double dip recession throughout Europe, but, it is unstoppable in its own way.

In fact, for sure, we will have a bubble here or there also at some point. Today’s buyers, however, might well turn out to be the smartest of all… especially if they’re out on their terraces enjoying their investment already.

There’s an interesting piece on the BBC website telling us that there will be a united decision by the Spanish parliament to put a cap on government borrowing, designed to increase the stability of the economy which those in the markets and with something to gain, keep trying to pull down into some Greek-style economic tragedy.

Spanish PM, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

The article also talks about how the cost of borrowing is coming down, and the further action on the part of Germany and France to lead the way out of the additional turmoil, furor and mad crisis management that has half panicked the world since the whole issue of American debt led to more talks about bailouts and downgrading AAA ratings.

I don’t know about anybody else but just trying to keep up with it all leaves me exhausted. But we do sense an end in sight. Call it a feeling, call it increased clients and people from all over Europe buying property here in Spain. Or possibly next month it begins all over again, although I don’t really think so. Germany is booming, and they’re not the only ones in Europe. It isn’t all bad news out there – good times and better figures are all around the corner.

Not that that should be so hard, one would imagine, what with things having been as bad as they have? But remember, there comes a moment when the only way is up! And well, we’ve been feeling good about being up for awhile now.  Glass half full or glass half empty time, I suppose.

As my family and I are on holiday, I skipped my usual half hour checking out the 24-hour news channel yesterday morning, and then spent the afternoon on the golf course. The weather was so hot, the golf so much fun and the after round drink a real pleasure. So when I got home, I ended up having a few glasses of ice cold water with the family on the terrace before falling into bed.

Today I awoke to a worldwide stock market collapse. Armageddon all over again it seems, absolute panic on the 24-hour news channel – boy, I bet the news guys got up with glee this morning – and it could well be that a whole load of bankers may not be getting their bonuses this year. Except for those who somehow make money out of pushing down the market.

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This was a pretty big headline for the cover of a magazine not known for doing much of any headlines over the past 13 years or so.

Has the mag lost the plot maybe?

Let’s tell them if they have, they may need to know!

It’s a pretty big statement to make, but can it be backed up perhaps? Instead of putting out a 6-page article that might just have been seen as self-promotion, the magazine just let all its content of listings argue the case with new instructions and reductions aplenty. However, I’m interested in blogging this headline to see if it kick starts a debate or not?

VIVA, having reported record numbers of clients in the first quarter of the year, against the past several years, has noticed there’s been a bit of a dip in…

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Another nice article for those of us involved in Spanish real estate, and well, if they’re going to write it, I’m obviously going to blog about it.

The Daily Telegraph picked up on the stat that 8 out of 10 Britons looking for a holiday home abroad are interested in those countries worst hit by the recession. And in their analysis by a long way Spain is the most popular.

Plenty of other comments and quotes to back up their position, but all of this has its own downside, we ourselves wouldn’t be happy seeing all manner of hype and urgency reports in the British press spreading to our market once more.

We saw too many fly by night, here today gone tomorrow types, looking for a quick market kill in yesteryear, and we don’t want to see them here again. It is a fact that the British media should take its fair share of blame and shame for a considerable amount of ‘fanning the flames’ in building up our market over years, only to then shoot it down.

The article is good news. If it has you excited to come and take a look, then fine, our advice would be, just don’t leave your brain on the plane. It is potentially a great time to buy indeed, but you have to buy right, which should be from somebody with a lot of experience and who has a long history of support and involvement with previous clients.

There… you have to make a pitch now and again, especially if people need to be steered in the right direction, otherwise articles like this one from the Telegraph can actually do more harm than good.

Well, I’m hardly going to ignore a headline in the British press like this one really.

It is part of a process that’s building and after many years of highly negative press, it seems inescapable to most now, that well, what goes around comes around and our day is perhaps here once more.

Along with other articles I’m blogging about though, it does sometimes pose the question: Is this a good or a bad thing?

Well it’s not me asking the question. This time it’s Citywire and Linton Chiswick reporting on what they say is rare good news for Spanish property owners.

So I’m not going to stop them. Lots of stats here, and comments about good value, plus firm buy investment, and views on how the market can only fall so far. Continue Reading

Well there are enough naysayers about the place these days, so in line with one or two other posts, I’m happy to report that from all sides of the British press we seem to be picking up some ‘stand up’ arguments for Spain and its economy.

I love the Guardian for this article

It’s really good to see a bit of balance to the arguments out there.

Well, jeeze, it’s nice to see the British press reporting some good news, but it isn’t really just for British homeowners, where it applies then it’s very good news for everyone.

The Telegraph reported recently that there was to be an amnesty for ‘illegally’ built homes under a new regional government initiative in Andalucía, in this reported instance relating to 11,000 homes in the Axarquía region. Continue Reading