Press Releases and Media Information for Kyero.com

As property buyers and sellers in Spain eagerly watch for an opportune time to make their move, what do the latest statistics say about the true state of the Spanish property market? Is the price of housing increasing, decreasing or holding steady?

In short, buyers are bewildered. There is such a disparity between rival sources of information that buyers don’t know who to trust or what to believe. Kyero.com, the Spanish property portal, regularly publishes updated statistics on the average asking prices of 90,000 properties across the whole of Spain. The Ministry of Housing In Spain (MVIV) produces quarterly reports on actual property transactions.

According to Kyero.com, prices nationally fell by 1.2% in the 3 month period ending September 2007, but increased over the previous 12 months by 2.5%. However, according to the Spanish Ministry of Housing, prices increased by 0.3% quarterly and 5.3% annually. In other words, the Kyero.com figures, although not entirely discouraging, are 3 to 4 times more conservative than those produced by the government.

The statistical methods used by MVIV differ significantly from those employed by Kyero.com. The government body records sales price per square metre and Kyero.com documents asking prices. As such, the figures from Kyero.com tend to be forward-looking and more accurately address the question "What will happen to Spanish property prices?" and the MVIV statistics record what actually happened. So, some discrepancy between the two sets of figures is to be expected, but this alone does not account for the vast differences apparent between them.

Questions have to be raised on the ‘black money’ issue which is still rife in Spain. This is where a significant portion of money is not declared in the sales price and is instead transferred in cash to the seller in an effort to avoid paying full tax on the transaction. An interesting by-product of the government continuing to crack-down on black-money deals is that official statistics will reflect an artificial rise in property prices - simply because more of the transaction value is declared. This factor alone is believed to skew the prices recorded in the Spanish system by as much as 30%.

There are further problems when calculating price per square metre because agents and sellers record surface areas differently, some including balconies and outside space whilst others omit these keys areas. Such a discrepancy is believed to skew the recorded price per square metre by as much as a further 30%.

The knock-on effect of these two problems means that the official government prices could be either 50% lower or 70% higher than their "true value". Factor-in the discrepancy between today's asking prices and actual sales prices in 9-12 months time, it's easy to understand why buyers in Spain are confused.

"Unlike in the UK, accurate official statistics on actual property sales prices are simply not available in Spain" comments Martin Dell of Kyero.com. He continues, “In the UK, detailed sales prices are available down to an individual property but in Spain, the most detailed information available is an average price per square metre in a major city. It's essential that buyers from outside Spain have access to understandable, reliable and useful statistics on house prices: It's why we started producing an independent Spanish House Price Index in 2005. The ideal situation would be for the Spanish government to open up their data to the public and then we could accurately correlate asking and selling prices. I strongly believe that, given access to more reliable and transparent information, foreign buyers would more confidently invest in Spanish property. In the meantime, we'll do everything we can to help buyers make sense of the statistical information which is available."

The latest independent data from Kyero.com, the award winning Spanish property portal, reveals that there is hot competition for Spain's most sought-after properties.

In Q3 (June – Sept 07) the most searched-for property on Kyero.com was a 3 bedroom villa under €150,000, however only 244 results out of 90,000 matched this criteria meaning that 0.3% of available properties were being sought by over a third of potential Spanish property buyers visiting the portal.

Martin Dell, MD of Kyero.com, comments, “There is clear a disparity between properties currently available and what British buyers are seeking. It seems that buyers have not increased their budget in line with inflation, let alone the 15-25% annual growth experienced in Spain's boom years. Some buyers clearly understand the need to adapt their buying criteria as there has been a rise in interest in larger resale properties, especially those in up and coming, and often cheaper, inland provinces.”

In terms of location, results from Q3 revealed that the old favourites of the Costa Blanca and Costa del Sol (the provinces of Alicante, Malaga, Granada and Almeria) remained the most popular, accounting for 76% of all visitor interest. Interestingly in Malaga, 23% of visitors searched for property up to €350,000 suggesting that the province is attracting a higher proportion of affluent buyers compared to the 12% nationally who were seeking property in this price range.

Looking at higher price brackets, Girona - Spain’s wealthiest province saw a huge 41% of visitors searching for property between €500,000 and €1 million. The Balearic Island of Mallorca, where Hollywood A-listers Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jones own a home, attracted 7% of buyers searching between €1 and €2 million.

In contrast, Tarragona province on the Costa Daurada in north eastern Spain, emerged as the hotspot for bargain hunters with 36% searching for property under €50,000.

Lastly, the Q3 data from Kyero.com revealed that British buyers are not only searching for residential property in Spain. On the popular Canary Island of Lanzarote, the most searched for property type were commercial units accounting for 65% of visitor interest.

Thanks to a brand new coastal search facility available exclusively at Kyero.com, the award-winning Spanish property portal, it is now possible to specifically search for property along your favourite Spanish costa.

This facility, which allows visitors to search for properties within 5km of the coastline, has proved highly popular since its launch simply because the majority of investors, retirees, expatriates and second home hunters focused on Spain still desire properties as close as possible to the coast. However it’s not just proximity to the beach that matters to potential purchasers. Property price, climate and accessibility dictate a location’s popularity as well, according to the findings of Kyero.com.

Analysis of Kyero.com visitor activity reveals that together, the Costa del Sol and Costa Blanca account for 42% of buyer interest and that these remain the most popular Spanish costas for potential property purchasers despite recent media reports taking a less than favourable view of the property markets in these areas.

Kyero.com’s findings actually suggest that the markets in these locations bottomed out towards the end of 2006 and that canny buyers are now targeting developers who are discounting properties in order to bolster their cash-flow. As a result, both the Costa del Sol and the Costa Blanca have proved their evergreen appeal in terms of location, price, climate and accessibility - and tied as the most popular costas in Spain.

In contrast, one of the least-discovered costas on Kyero.com was the Costa Verde. Located in the north of Spain, this 'Green Coast' between Cantabria and Galicia offers stunning views and majestic landscapes. Property prices are attractive, averaging at €162,000, 35% below the national average of €248,000 (Oct 07) and there a several direct flights a week from the UK.

Data from the new search facility has also revealed that the Rias Altas in Coruna (north west Spain) accounted for 5% of site searcher activity - ranking above the well known Costa Brava in the north east and the Costa de la Luz in the south west.

Rias Altas literally means “upper river” and epitomises the ‘Ryanair effect’ as the budget airline serves the nearby town of Santiago de Compestela offering direct, affordable access from the UK.

The latest independent data from Kyero.com, the largest English language Spanish property portal, reveals that average property prices in Spain increased by 1.4% in the last month; rising to €248,000 in October 2007.

The current national average property price in Spain, according to the Kyero.com Spanish House Price Index, shows a 0.7% increase compared to two years ago (October 2005). Martin Dell, MD of Kyero.com, comments, “The Spanish property market has had a tough 12 months but we are now seeing prices stabilising and approaching last years levels. Although buyers are still concerned about the possibility of a price crashs, our data indicates that the market bottomed-out out during late 2006 / early 2007 and we expect prices to remain stable or rise in line with inflation.”

The province of Girona, located in the NE of Spain, saw the greatest increase in average property prices this month - rising by 7.2% from €425,000 in Sept 07 to €455,750 and the province of Huelva in Andalucia recorded the greatest increase in property prices over the past 12 months, an overall increase of 41.9%.

Mainland Spain appears to have enjoyed property price increases although maybe at the expense of the Balearic and Canary Islands. The latest data revealed that Gran Canaria saw prices fall by 2.6% in the last month (Sept 07 – Oct 07), prices were down by 16.7% in Mallorca compared to the same time last year and Lanzarote has seen prices decline by 33.1% since October 2005.

Overall each size of property (based on the number of bedrooms) saw price increases in the last month, however larger properties (3 bedrooms +) saw the largest rise at 5.9% - possibly indicating an increased demand from affluent buyers.

For some, Spain is all about its climate and culture. Others see it as a place of adventure and opportunity. Depending on what you want from Spain, you're likely to be examining some very different locations with equally divergent property markets.

If you're seeking climate and culture, how about the Andalucian city of Huelva and the province of the same name? The city of Huelva is an attractive port in this southern coastal province which borders Portugal - in fact, the city is equidistant from Faro in Portugal and Seville in Spain.

In the late 15th Century, Christopher Columbus put Huelva on the map. Setting off from, and returning to Huelva on his voyages of discovery to America, it was here where he also recruited much of the crew. Today, Huelva province enjoys a robust property market, largely due to its fabulous Mediterranean climate, and easy access from three international airports.

According to the latest Spanish House Price Index from Kyero.com, the average property price in Huelva province is now EUR 261,000, 5% above the national average (EUR 247,000, Sept 2007). The Spanish Ministry of Housing concurs with these figures and recently priced the average cost per square metre of property in Huelva at EUR 1,762.

If you're looking for something other than sun, sea, sand and relaxation in Spain, how about Huesca in the northern region of Aragon?

The province of Huesca borders France, the local language is Aragonese, the entire region has a cooler climate, and the city of Huesca is industrialised. At first glance it would seem to have relatively little to offer to the property investor.

However, according to Kyero.com, the average property price in Huesca is EUR 288,000 and, according to the Spanish Ministry of Housing, EUR 2,083 per square metre – both far above the national average, and more expensive than Huelva.

The region of Aragon is one of Spain's most affluent and, in particular, the province of Huesca offers comprehensive employment opportunities. This leads to a strong professional demand for rented accommodation which, in turn, leads to a healthy market for buy to let property investment. The rugged province of Huesca is a favourite for thrill-seeking adventure tourists who buoy up the property market with year-round demand for rental accommodation.

Where Huelva attracts holiday-makers, retirees and second-home hunters because of it's climate and culture, Huesca is a thriving commercial centre, offering both opportunity and adventure. In almost every respect, Huelva and Huesca provinces are poles apart and they each appeal to property investors for different reasons.

Make sense of Spain's 75 property markets with Kyero.com - Your essential guide to Spanish property, winner of 2007 Best Spanish Property Portal at the CNBC International Property Awards.