Increase In Property Sales In Murcia Strong In Final Quarter Of 2018
Murcia region experienced robust growth in 2018 according to the National Institute of Statistics (INE) with a 24% increase in property sales up to Nov, putting our region in 2nd place! Although we await the figures for December it is unlikely to change the overall figure by much, so we should all be very happy with our performance in 2018.
However, there are warning signs the Spanish property market overall is beginning to show a cooling trend. With the exception of a few regions, there was evidence of erratic growth and sharp declines on the graphs of almost all of the official bodies that analyse the property market. These concerns are, as you would expect, mostly centred around the internal market. However, the foreign buyer’s market is also reflecting these concerns and there are several suggested reasons for these figures.
Some of the world’s top economists are predicting another worldwide recession starting this year, but biting hard in 2020. Trade wars with the US and China have caused a panic around the globe with the car industry suffering particularly badly. The sudden falling out of love with diesel engines has affected many manufacturers who were heavily reliant on the sales of diesel-powered cars. European markets are also affected, not least because of the concerns that the UK will crash out of the EU without a deal, which could damage supply lines across all industries.
When this kind of news appears regularly in the world’s press and broadcast media, the public tend to take notice, particularly because they are concerned for their jobs and pensions. They begin to tighten their belts and cancel plans, due to uncertainty. This could be how the coming year pans out. Buying a property abroad is an expensive business, a luxury even, therefore potential clients may consider holding off in the near future before committing themselves.
At present, there are no real signs of these events occurring just yet, but if you are considering selling up and moving on to other things, I would recommend expediting those plans a little earlier in order to catch the market whist it’s still buoyant.
Kenneth Whettall
Commercial Director
Fuente Alamo Real Estate
Info@fuentealamorealestate.com
Tel 0034 968 598 173