Print

August Top of the Props

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Spain was last at the top in June and it returned victorious in August, claiming first place in our Top of the Props chart - which provides a monthly pop chart snapshot of the most popular countries on the site - and nudging July's winner, the USA, into silver medal position...

Despite being the subject of more bad publicity than virtually any other country during the credit crunch, buyers are starting to look to Spain once again.

Favouring traditionally popular destinations, international buyers are looking once more to markets such as Spain and France and Brits are proving that the love affair with Spain is far from over.

International mortgage firm Conti revealed that interest in Spanish properties accounted for 22 per cent of the total information requests so far this year, second only to France and up from 14 per cent in 2008.

Assessing the prospects for British buyers in Spain, the company said, "Buyers are in a strong position due to the number of homes available, low interest rates and the opportunity to negotiate price reductions from motivated vendors.

"Sensible investments carried out on a long-term basis have a good chance of bringing in healthy returns."

Prospective buyers are now chasing long term gains and as it had been hit so hard by the global recession, prices could remain low and offer good bargain potential for years to come.

Cash buyers have been tipped as the ones most likely to be able to pick up a real bargain in the country as they don't have to worry about mortgage financing, can bargain hard with struggling developers and can move the transaction quickly along.

The TINSA survey, which prides itself on being ‘Spain's most reliable guide to property values,' has found that the decline in prices has stabilized.

Spanish cities are tipped for a brighter future over the next few years, with the Assures Financieros Internacionales (AFI), suggesting that property prices in cities may rise to previous levels during 2010.

Once the glut of unsold properties in Spain is shifted, this will help to aid the recovery and push the market back up in 2010.

Other movers and shakers

The USA had to settle for second place in August's chart, swiftly followed by France in third place and Portugal in fourth. Middle of the ranks at fifth was Turkey and Italy in sixth place.

Cyprus remained in its lucky number seven position for the second consecutive month, with Brazil and Greece yapping at its heels at eighth and ninth places respectively.

Bulgaria dropped two places from eighth place in July to round off August's chart, coming in tenth.

August's Top of the Props chart

Hide table

Overall Enquiry Volume for August 2009
Rank	Country	Share	Change	Comment
1	Spain	14.91	Up 1	1 month in top spot
2	USA	13.31	Down 1
3	France	11.76	Non-mover
4	Portugal	8.61	Non-mover
5	Turkey	5	Non-mover
6	Italy	4.43	Non-mover
7	Cyprus	3.75	Non-mover
8	Brazil	3.5	Up 8	New to top 10!
9	Greece	3.28	Up 3	New to top 10!
10	Bulgaria	2.35	Down 2
11	UAE	2.33	Down 2
12	Thailand	1.63	Down 1
13	Morocco	1.33	Up 1
14	Germany	1.03	Up 1
15	Egypt	1.03	Down 5
16	Croatia	0.98	Up 5
17	Canada	0.88	Up 3
18	Malaysia	0.8	Down 5
19	Australia	0.73	Down 2
20	Sweden	0.65	Up 2
21	New Zealand	0.63	Up 7
22	Austria	0.45	Up 10
23	Belize	0.33	Up 26	Highest climber
24	Philippines	0.3	Down 5
25	Costa Rica	0.3	Up 8
26	Bahamas	0.3	Up 8
27	Barbados	0.25	Up 9
28	Dominican Republic	0.23	Down 2
29	Cape Verde	0.23	Up 17
30	Hungary	0.2	Down 6
31	Romania	0.2	Down 1
32	Sri Lanka	0.2	Up 11
33	South Africa	0.18	Down 2
34	Panama	0.18	Down 7
35	Poland	0.15	Up 4
36	Tunisia	0.15	Down 11
37	St Lucia	0.13	Down 2
38	Slovakia	0.08	Up 3
39	India	0.08	Down 16	Biggest faller
40	Argentina	0.08		Highest New Entry

Print Show Full Table

Picture of Andalucia, Spain by everystock

Bookmark This Page

Tag, share or bookmark this page:

Recent Related Stories

Subscribe to Newsletters