The December and full year figures from the General Council of Notaries – just out – paint a picture of a market slowly recovering from a deep crisis. That’s good news in itself, but it doesn’t negate the effects of the crisis, which can still be seen all around. Some segments, in particular those that benefit from foreign demand, are recovering, but many others are still deep in the doldrums. So figures like these from the notaries, which aggregate all segments into national figures, conceal big differences between local markets. Not all areas and segments are heading in the same direction.

The notary figures are the most timely available, as they are based on sales witnessed by notaries each month, rather than sales inscribed in the property register a month or two later (published by the registrars and the National Institute of Statistics). They probably give us the best picture of what actually happened (at a national level) in 2015. So I’ll run through the main figures with a chart for each.

HOME SALES

There were a total of 401,236 homes sold last year (including subsidised housing), with sales of both flats and houses rising for the second year in a row. Sales are still less than half what they were in the last boom year of 2007, but we should not expect to return to the inflated sales levels of a speculative bubble. That said, the market is still depressed by normal standards, so there should still be room for more growth in sales in the coming years, assuming that economic growth continues.

Source: Mark Stucklin, Property Insight, February 19, 2016

The Spanish developer Metrovacesa is planning a big new development in Tarifa, in a sign that Spain’s second-home resort market is coming back to life.

Metrovacesa, one of the biggest developers in Spain, now owned by a consortium of banks including BBVA and Banco Popular, and controlled by Santander bank, will invest €70 million in a mixed-use development including hotels, commercial space, and up to 250 “upmarket” homes, walking distance from the beach and Tarifa town centre.

The company says the development, called Surf City (Ciudad del Surf), will be positioned internationally to take advantage of “surf tourism, the principal attraction of the area,” in a clear sign that Metrovacesa has international buyers in mind.

The company claims the project, which is expected to create up to 500 new jobs in the area, will be “one of the most innovative” residential developments on the Spanish coast. Sustainable development and ‘green’ architecture will be involved, whilst the slope of the site will be used for wind protection and offering panoramic views.

Tarifa is the southernmost town in Spain, located in Cádiz province, home to the Costa de la Luz, facing Morocco across the Straits of Gibraltar. Once part of the hippy trail, it is an ancient and picturesque town that has become a fashionable if somewhat niche destination as the wind and kite-surfing capital of Europe, attracting an affluent and young international crowd. Expats and property investors in Tarifa are looking for something out of the ordinary.

Tarifa Surf City Plan

Just in case you have not heard, this has been reported in the Sur in English, Friday 5th February 2016 and we would like to share this very important information for people renting out their accommodation:-

“The Andalusian government has given owners of tourist accommodation three months to officially register their properties. This week the Junta approved its new decree which aims to close the existing loophole regarding apartments, houses and rooms which are rented to tourists.

The three month period will begin once the decree has been published in the Official Bulletin of the Junta de Andalucía (BOJA). The authority believes that by ensuring that all such properties are registered, it will prevent fraud and unfair competition.

To make their properties legal, the owners have to register them with the Registro de Turismo de Andalucía and will then have one year to comply with the requirements laid down by the new regulations.

The Junta calculates that there are about 80,000 unregistered properties in the region at present, offering 400,000 beds. The Andalusian Head of Tourism, Javier Fernández, said he was confident that the register will be “operative” by May and that all properties will be registered by the summer. Anyone who fails to comply will face fines of up to 150,000 euros.

Javier Fernández said the new rule has “maximum support” from the sector but he did not want to discuss criticism from the Fevitur federation which has called for changes in the status of the properties affected.

The text classifies tourist accommodation as properties located on residential land which habitually offer accommodation for tourism purposes in exchange for payment, through travel agents, intermediary companies or organisers, using methods which involve reservation.

The decree differentiates between complete properties, which are rented in their entirety and can sleep no more than 15 people, and properties in which the resident owner rents rooms, which must have capacity for no more than six people.

Exceptions

The new regulations do not apply to properties for which no money changes hands; rental contracts for more than two consecutive months for the same tenant; and properties in rural areas (the last two cases are already subject to their own regulations).

Also excluded are complexes of three or more properties, all owned by the same person, located within the same building or group of buildings, whether or not these are adjoining. These will now be covered by another decree, Decreto 194/2010, for tourist apartments, which has been modified for this purpose. This section implies that if two or more properties belong to the same owner and are more than one kilometre apart they are not included in the decree, something which has been rejected by the Spanish Federation of Tourist Apartments and Houses (Fevitur).

The new decree was drawn up at the request of owners who were left unregulated by the modification in 2013 of the Law of Urban Rentals (LAU).

Now the Junta will ensure that tourist accommodation matches the standards of quality and comfort laid down for other types of accommodation, such as hotels. Properties must have an occupancy licence and fulfil certain specifications, including external ventilation, air conditioning, suitable furniture, household linen, kitchen equipment and first aid kit.”