Compass Amazing Resorts and the Dominican Republic

Some of you may know that Compass Amazing Resorts has taken on a new development in the Dominican Republic. The resort is in the popular tourist town of Punta Cana. We have been amazed by the sheer volume of information requests that have come in for this resort and so have made a website just for the resort itself.

The website is in Spanish but there are options to be able to view pages in English if necessary. You can also go to the download area to request a brochure on the resort.

Normal operations continue in Compass Amazing Resorts for the Spanish and Portuguese property sales and we would encourage anyone to contact us as soon as possible with a view to some great bargains we have in Costa del Sol.

Enjoy the journey!

Compass Amazing Resorts Reaches agreement for Punta Cana Development

We are now finalising an agreement to offer a truly fabulous opportunity for our clients in the sun drenched island of The Dominican Republic. On the world renowned "Amazing" resort of Punta Cana we will be offering two bed, one bath apartments for as little as 49,000 dollars!

The apartments will be sold fully furnished and with air conditioning so all you'll need to do is take your toothbrush!

Punta Cana has long been the destination for wealthy Americans and Canadians. It's the first time in more than two years that Compass Amazing Resorts offer property in the Caribbean and we are delighted to be there again.

For further information please write to us on info@amazingpropertyinspain.xom and we will send you a brochure.

Whatever you do, enjoy the journey.

Portugal Voted the Top Place to Live in Europe!

In a recent survey by the NatWest Quality of Life Index, Portugal was voted the Best Place to Live in Europe and the 3rd Best Place in the World. It was beaten by Canada and New Zealand and closely followed by Italy, France and then Spain. The survey revealed that increasing numbers of UK workers are now spending time working abroad and that the number of people retiring abroad is also rising.

Escaping pressured jobs and stressful life styles and a desire for a better way of life has led to more British Citizens moving abroad than ever before. Thirty seven percent of expats surveyed put quality of life as the number one factor influencing their decision.

The survey was taken by British expats living permanently abroad and looked at key criteria including: healthcare, public transport, weather, housing, food, entertainment, education, security, natural environment, leisure and culture, public services, law enforcement, availability of consumer goods, sanitation, retirement facilities and banking services.

It was revealed, and probably of no surprise, that British expatriates are healthier, wealthier and happier wherever they move to, but why did Portugal come out on top?

Portugal has a total population of just under 11 million; less than the population of London! This contributes to a slower and more relaxed pace of life with fewer queues, less traffic jams and congestion and altogether a whole lot more space to move around in.

Let’s also not forgot that Britain and Portugal have long had good relations, dating back to 1373 when the two countries signed the Anglo-Portuguese Alliance, which is the oldest alliance still in force in the world.

The Algarve is the most popular destination in Portugal for expats. With its 200 km coastline home to over 50 sandy beaches, of which a third fly the prestigious blue flag for cleanliness of water, its little wonder this province of Portugal is so popular.

The weather is without doubt one of the most important factors. With over 300 days of sunshine per year and temperatures ranging from the high 30’s degrees C in summer and rarely dropping below 10C in winter.

Portugal’s quality housing also makes it a great place to invest in property whether for life style or holiday rentals. Newly constructed properties are spacious and generally built to a high standard. This, together with the implementation of strict building regulations, which controls growth and manages development, will ensure that Portugal retains it charm and desirability for generations to come.

For more information on Compass Amazing Resorts in Portugal please click.

Spanish East Coast Property Prices at 2005 levels

According to news out today, the price of property in the autonomous community of Valencia, which takes in a lot of the East Coast of Spain, including the capital, Valencia itself, is now at the same level as in 2005.

The price per square meter has been reported as 1,459 Euros whereas in 2005 it was at 1,428 Euros, practically the same.

Of course this does not affect all coastal Spanish property. A large part of these statistics are taken from urban property prices in the bigger cities which can seriously bias them. When we take into account the increasing unemployment in Spain and the recession itself, it stands to reason that the price of property in the cities will, at the very least, stagnate.

As we commented in our Blog yesterday, this does not necessarily spell doom and gloom for the overseas buyer. Property in the coastal reasons of Spain is not only linked to the Spanish economy. Most of Northern Europe wants to purchase something in the Spanish Costas so prices in some areas have held steady or even risen.

This is the case with property in places like Nueva Andalucia in the Costa del Sol, Punta Prima in Costa Blanca and parts of north Costa Blanca like Denia and Altea. Villas in Altea and apartments in Denia have remained quite strong.

Whatever you do, enjoy the journey!

Does "Buyers' Market" mean let's not buy?

BUYERS' MARKET
"A market which has more sellers than buyers. Low prices result from this excess of supply over demand. also called soft market. opposite of seller's market."


We are asked by many customers if Spain is experiencing a so called buyers' market now. We would say that this is the case, but not in all of Spain and also only for people who actually want to be buyers.

Why do we say this? It seems that people are confusing the idea of a buyers market, as defined above, where the presence of more sellers than buyers puts the buyer in a strong position, with "having the seller over a barrel"!

Think of your own property. If you were in a hurry to sell and had seen that prices had not risen in the past year or so you would certainly be more hesitant to increase your price and perhaps more open to negotiate. But you would still have a bottom line below which you would not go. And this is the same with Spanish vendors. More so in the last few months as sales have been made.

In areas such as The Costa del Sol, property supply has been limited in the last few years as a result of the unfortunate corruption problems the town hall in Marbella and Estepona had suffered. This actually translated into lower supply. However, prices were still artificially high due to the boom that took place from about 2001 to 2004. These prices had to come down.

And finally they did. If we take an area like the well known road to Benahavis, there are developments there like Gazules del Sol or Lomas de Marques, where a bargain hunter in the world of Spanish property could find an apartment for around 200,000 Sterling. This summer you would be lucky to find anything up that road for that price, the average pricing for a two bed two bath apartment there being closer to 250,000 sterling. Yet we have seen more people miss out on the deals in the last year or so because they had been "reliably informed" by the UK press that we are in a "buyers market" which they understood to mean a don't-buy-now-because-prices-will-drop-market.

Our advice is to look seriously for the property you want, be sensible with your budget and when you find the property you do like, bargain like mad for it. But don't let it go just because you think it might drop in price and don't make silly offers either, remember that a vendor has as much a right as you to be treated fairly. In the market we are seeing in the Costa del Sol at the market, we are seeing the good properties are selling and the true Buyers are having their day in the market.

Good News for Portugal!

Portugal made the headlines recently in the UK press, reported as the best family value destination in Europe!    British researches found the Algarve region of Portugal to be the most economic to visit with Lisbon coming out as the second best city for short breaks. The stunning Algarve beaches were voted amongst the highest in the world.

According to the survey, in comparison to 2009, the average price of a meal has fallen by 47%, costing £15.89 for a 3 course meal with wine in a local Portuguese restaurant. Not only did Portugal come out top with restaurant prices, but also at the beach where it was reported that the average charge for one hours rental of a pedalo was almost half of the cost in France or Majorca.

Portugal is now being described as “this season’s bargain hotspot” by the Mirror, while The Sun has proclaimed that “Portugal pounds the competition to give you the best value for money this summer”.

It's no wonder Portugal remains one of the top destinations for Brits buying abroad! For more information on Compass Amazing Resorts in Portugal please click.

Spain's Financial Sector: Some Facts and Figures

Much has been spoken about Spain being in trouble. The UK press loves bad news and so announces stories with the same morbid glee that it would, I am sure, announce the end of the end the world. When one of the small regional banks in Spain was bailed out two weeks ago by The Bank of Spain, the British press ran the typical "Yet another Spanish bank..." story. Yet the bank in question accounts for less than 0.6% of the Spanish banking system. Spain is all about regions and small local banks as well as high street banks. This appears to be a concept that leaves us Brits confused. We try and measure everthing by our own yardstick.   Yet the UK press neglects to ask how it is that Banco Santander purchased Abbey National, Bradford and Bingley and has made huge inroads in our own financial sector.   So what if we were to compare the Spanish banks with their European counterparts. According to a report published today by Expansion, capital and reserves held by Spanish banks, including provisions made, amount to 7.9% of its debt which is 1.7% above the European average of 6.2%. Resources held by the Spanish banks far outweighs what the other European banks can count on. The report goes on to compare Spain to other countries, including France and Germany, and illustrates what some people already knew - yes the Spanish banks are more exposed than others when it comes to real estate investments, but in nearly ALL other areas they are actually stronger than most other banks. In terms of profit margins they are also streets ahead of their peers.   For the full report please see here http://www.expansion.com/2010/06/04/empresas/banca/1275684814.html

 

Have an Amazing Weekend.

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