Repossession bargains may await in Spain

Repossession is never good news in a housing market, which depends to a large extent on the confidence of consumers that they will be able to make their spanish mortgage payments and hang on to their bricks and mortar. But is there is a silver lining for those investors who can pick up the properties which emerge?

The answer is an emphatic yes, according to spain real estate sellers propertyinspain.net . Spokesperson Terry Walker said the situation in Spain was that the number of repossessions was rising due to the comparatively high (four per cent) euro rate set by the European Central Bank (ECB). As in any market, an increase in rates and its consequent effect on repayments had raised the number of repossessions.

Fortunately for potential investors looking to snap up freshly vacated property, these tended to be in areas which, while inland away from the traditional coastal areas of property investment, had good economic prospects and were ripe for buy-to-let, Mr Walker stated.

He said: "People are coming in with the new IT and logistics industries and they're moving around for their new jobs, they're moving to a new area and they're looking for somewhere to rent."

Moreover, he noted, these were available at good prices: "There are properties for about 30,000 euros but spend the same again and you've got a lovely family house in the middle of a village. They will rent very well."

Mr Walker stated that properties which have been repossessed usually get sold at auction, although some were being sold through websites such as his. "There's a nice steady supply, there's not a flood yet and that's good," he commented, noting that this increase in repossessions by no means represents a property market collapse. He predicted this situation would last around 18 to 24 months.

While the Bank of England cut rates today and the US Federal Reserve may do so next week, the ECB chose today to keep the eurozone base rate at four per cent, signaling a determination to fight an inflation rate currently running at three per cent despite signs of a slowdown in the zone's economy. ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet signaled that this high rate may have to stay in place for some time, saying: "The period of comparatively high rates of inflation will be somewhat more protracted than previously expected."

If this is the case, the market in repossessed property in Spain may continue to offer opportunities for buy-to-let investors. At the same time, Spanish Property Insight recently quoted Rafael Pacheco, head of the Spanish government's architecture and housing policy unit predicting that Spanish property values would finish this year four per cent higher than last. Thus Spain's property market is not seeing a crash, but there will be casualties. The key for investors is to see an opportunity where they may not have looked before.

In today's world Property investment is an excellent investment option especially investment in UK

Jim Barnaby is a real estate investment broker and successful property investment adviser delivering research and selected UK and overseas property investment solutions with experience in spanish properties, french property investment, German property, Cyprus holiday homes, Property in Cape Verde, German property investment, cape verde property buy to let property