2-bed apartment, Golden Mile, Marbella
Then: £396k Now: £317k
Why buy? – easy distance to Marbella and Puerto Banús, top- quality fi nishings, lovely gardens (
www.panorama.es)
quality, well-established residential areas are experiencing no substantial price drops,” he says. “I expect this tendency to continue over the next few months.” The message for this market sector
2-bed top-fl oor fl at near City of Arts and Sciences, Valencia
Then: £222k Now: £175k
Why buy? – city-centre location, loads of room, great terrace, top-quality furnishings (
www.valencia-property.com)
is clearly to buy now. “The best properties go very quickly, because people snap them up,” says Hunt. Clover sees the same in Marbella. “Homes in key areas are being sold at bargain prices and not being replaced by a similarly priced property,” he says. Buying now also means you can
take advantage of two half-price tax breaks – 4 per cent VAT on new-builds (down from 8 per cent) and 10.5 per cent capital gains tax (usually 21 per cent). The tax discounts are available until the end of this year.
Be sceptical of promised golf courses, high-speed train links, theme parks… remind yourself that, with Spain in a recession, these are unlikely to happen for several years
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aplaceinthesun.com
Sourcing these bargains is best done
through a reputable agent who knows the area and its prices. A good agent will have factored price drops into the asking price and know the personal circumstances behind a sale, often key when it comes to making offers. “An experienced agent should also know about local planning issues,” says Hunt, “so you avoid illegal properties.” Snapping up a true bargain also
means being able to move fast – have your deposit ready and your fi nance in place before you start to look. As always in a buyer’s market, cash is king, and sellers of the best-priced prime properties are rarely prepared to wait for mortgage approval. But what about the bulk of unsold
stock on the market that doesn’t fi t into the special-home category? Prices for these properties are still falling and Stucklin believes they will continue to do so until more stock is cleared. With banks and developers
desperate to offl oad properties, this market sector offers plenty to choose from, and the good news for the holiday-home buyer is that there’s a lot worth looking at. Stucklin recommends a “lock-up-
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