Spanish Property Market Continues to Improve, How to Let a Holiday Home, Plus More

Welcome to the May edition of the Marena Murray Newsletter.

In this edition, we share news on the continuing improvement of the Spanish property market and we reveal the average time it takes a home hunter to make up their mind.

Also this month, we tell you how to let a holiday home and we share five top tips for organising your home.

Spanish Property Market Continues to Improve

 A recent residential property market report has shown that Spanish property prices continued to climb ever higher in March.

The latest Spanish Property Insight House Index Tracker plots the progress of the house prices in Spain.

Mark Stucklin, who compiles the index on behalf of Spanish Property Insight said: “The Tinsa index, breaks down house price changes by area. It showed the national average price rising by 2.7% in March, by 5.5% in cities, 1.9% on the coast, and a hefty 7% in the Balearic and Canary islands.”

Demand from international buyers has been a necessity for helping the Spanish property market continue its recovery.

Despite Brexit, demand from potential British buyers continues to hold strong, with figures shown that overseas searches for Spanish Property reaching an all-time high after the referendum vote in June, up over 50% on 2015. There have also been reports of record turn outs at UK investor shows.

It’s the British over 50’s without a mortgage who look set to make up the highest percentage of UK buyers. They have plenty of equity, which hasn’t be affected by Brexit and a passion for Spain. They will likely be looking to make a move before the UK officially exits the European Union.

The Spanish property market is currently a two way street. British buyers are vital to the market’s recovery, whilst British buyers will still be able to find plenty of bargains.

If you are interested in buying a home in Spain, get in touch with Marena Murray. Our multi-lingual team are able to advise you further on the Spanish property market.

The Average Home Hunter Only Needs 30 Minutes to Decide on a Home

 The process of buying a home can be a lengthy one. The countless hours you spend educating yourself on industry jargon, researching areas, agonising over images of properties, alongside actually moving in, probably number in double digits.

Which is why it’s so surprising that the average Brit will decide whether they want to buy a home or not within 30 minutes of viewing it in person.

However, when it comes to buying a new car or sofa, it can take up to three times longer!

The findings of a recent survey found that the average home hunter will make up their mind within 30 minutes of a viewing, with 24% of those asked claiming they knew whether or not they liked a property within 10 minutes or less.

The modern prospective buyer has a wealth of tools at their hand to prepare themselves for a viewing. With the help of a few google searches, they can compare values of properties in the area. They arrive at the viewing fully prepared to make a decision, with only a visual confirmation of the property needed to push them over the edge.

Like us, the idea of only spending 30 minutes on a viewing probably makes you feel a little panicky. Here’s a few tips on what you should try to accomplish in that half hour.

• Don’t Rush – We appreciate that this is your 20th viewing in the space of a week, but make sure you take the time. Talk to the agent to get an expert view of the home.

• Check how much space you have – Considering you could very well be moving from another country, it’s important you ensure you have space for all your worldly possessions. If you need to downsize your possessions, at least you’ll be saving on shipping!

• Take a stroll around the area – Take the time to get to know the neighbourhood. Visit the amenities, chat to your potential neighbours if you’re feeling sociable.

• Maybe consider another half hour? – One viewing is rarely enough. You should consider several viewings to try and get the property ingrained in your memory.

How to Let a Holiday Home

 A holiday home is a little slice of heaven. A second home, in a location you would be quite happy to visit for the rest of your life. But what can you do with the property whilst you’re not there?

Research shows that the majority of property hunters looking in Spain, plan to rent out their property as some point. That means you will have a lot of competition, in the market – especially when you consider the fact that Spain sees nearly 75 million tourists each year.

 

Where to start? Find the right property
It’s your holiday home, not just a rental opportunity. You need to ensure that you are buying a good property in an area you would be happy to visit – or even settle down in – for the rest of your life. However if you are thinking of renting your holiday home, it’s worth bearing in mind that there are several hazards.

It is also worth looking at areas where there will be high demand. La Manga has properties that are booked out year round, so there’s a high probability that you will have a steady stream of holiday tenants.

Another factor to consider when it comes to location is accessibility. If you buy a villa that’s a hundred miles away from anywhere, you will probably struggle to find tenants. It might also be difficult to find a dedicated lettings team that is able to travel such long distances.

Who are you targeting?

Knowing your audience is vital. It will have an effect on how you furnish the property, where you advertise it, and most importantly, it stops you from throwing away time and money on targeting the wrong people.

Securing a tenant is the best way to advertise a property. Word of mouth will bring repeat business and new tenants who you can trust to be respectful of your home.

It pays to have a full time rental agency on hand to manage your property. Marena Murray has a proven track record when it comes to property management, with decades of experience managing rentals at La Manga Club. We perform inspections, can provide references to reputable businesses like housekeeping and maintenance, and provides a speedy, reputable service through our multilingual team.

Make Sure it’s a Comfortable Home!
Ensure your home has all the essentials. Kitchen with all the utilities, a good sized TV with a satellite service, WIFI are all things people will expect as a standard. But make sure you don’t cross the line into clutter! If you’re aiming to market to families, it’s worth having a high chair or stair gate.

 

To find out more about how we can help you let or find the perfect holiday home, why visit our website by clicking here.

Five Top Tips for Organising Your Home

 Do you sometimes feel as though you’re drowning in a sea of clutter? Or that your house has become more and more disorganised? It’s time to hit those common, messy areas.

Start by sorting through everything you own
Getting started is always the hardest part. Performing an audit of everything you own is a great first step. Gather common build up items like books, items of food, jewellery, paperwork, loose batteries or anything you’re saving “just in case”. Find out how many duplicates or useless items you have, throw them away. Whatever there is leftover, sort and store them properly.

Next… tackle the wardrobe
Let’s face it, a wardrobe is a totally different beast to the random things you tend to collect.

A good system to operate in the future, is a one in one out system. Every time you buy a new item of clothing, throw away an old item.

Whilst you’re at it, you should tackle your sock drawers. Throw away any old and worn out items, and add an organiser to the draw to keep everything separate and neat.

Sort out your utensils draw
You know you’ve collected too much cutlery when the draw starts to stick. Take everything out of the drawer and throw away those useless tools (like your melon baller or your citrus juicer) and add a divider to better divide your essential utensils.

Organise your garage, shed and/or loft space
Transparent boxes are your best friend when it comes to organising your storage spaces. You can stack them all on top of each other and you can see all the contents you’ve stored inside them, meaning you don’t need to go through a hundred boxes to find something.

Get the kids involved
Encouraging your kids to keep their bedrooms neat and organised it a brilliant way to keep one of the messiest areas of your house neat and tidy.

Introduce them to the idea of donating unwanted toys to charity shops and how doing so can have a positive impact on the lives of others. It’s also a vital life skill your children will need to learn.