Investors still not convinced that Greece can sort itself out without external help. Sterling and euro lumped with ‘risky’ currencies as dollar and yen push ahead. A one-cent range held sterling between €1.14 and €1.15. It opened in London this morning half a cent down on the week at €1.14. Until a month or so ago the world’s investors were still dismissing the fiscal problems of Greece as nothing more a little local difficulty in an unimportant south eastern corner of Europe. They were far more interested in how the German and French economic locomotives were hauling the rest of the continent ahead. Now, the tables are turned. Hard economic data, good or bad, get barely a moment’s attention. Instead, the focus is on the fiscal crisis in Greece which temporarily overshadows not just the euro but every currency and every market. The European Commission, the European Central Bank and the Euroland governments appear to have hardened up their attitude to Athens and the message to Prime Minister Papandreou is ‘Sort yourself out or else.’ Investors worry that it will not be as easy as that. Especially during the second half of last week the overriding sentiment among investors was a nervousness about everything. In a return to the risk-aversion tactics of last year they offloaded shares and reduced their holdings of ‘risky’ currencies, stocking up instead with the safe-haven US dollar and Japanese yen. Whilst it would be an exaggeration to call the trend a ‘flight to safety’ it was certainly a sign that there are still plenty of niggling doubts to trouble investors. Despite all the public optimism that a double-dip recession is out of the question, the market mumbles to itself about the risk of just such an outcome. As long as that mindset persists, national economic statistics and achievements will have to be spectacular if they are to offset investors’ underlying attitude to particular currencies. This was clearly the case last week for sterling. The purchasing managers’ indices (PMIs) are an important economic barometer, showing growth when they rise above 50 and pointing to a slowdown when they move below that level. Monday’s UK manufacturing sector PMI came in at a surprisingly strong 56.7, beating equivalent figures from France, Germany, Switzerland and the Euro zone. With sterling in their bad books, investors refused to be impressed. At 54.5 Wednesday’s services sector PMI was higher than any of the opposition but, because it was two points lower than the previous month, investors used it as an excuse to sell the pound. It was a similar story with the euro, which stayed ahead of the pound only by dint of losing just two US cents compared with sterling’s three. The what-shall-we-do-about-Greece story dominated the proceedings, especially after the ECB president downplayed the expected pace of economic recovery to ‘gradual’ and made no reference to higher euro interest rates in the near future. After spending the best part three months between €1.09 and €1.13 the pound is doing its best to attach itself to a slightly higher range between €1.13 and €1.16. Do not get carried away: although the euro is lumbered with its Greek albatross the worries are still there about Britain’s general election, its budget gap and the durability of its credit rating. Buyers of the euro should take advantage of any spikes to hedge 50% of their exposure. Get the best foreign exchange rates with no bank fees or commission charges using your Moneycorp Privilege Card

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Foreign Currency Markets Overshadowed by Greek Problems

Who to believe? In the news this week, one commentator declares the Spanish property industry bankrupt. At the same time, a developer in Almeria has raised prices as a “signal that things are getting better”. In Spanish Property Industry Bankrupt? , we read that developers have raised the cost of credit for the entire nation and that Banks are buckling under the weight of their toxic real estate assets. Compare and contrast: Spanish Developer Increases Prices where we read that one developer in Almeria has increased property prices by €30,000 per unit to “give a signal to people that things are getting better and they should have faith in the situation”. Personally, I think that sounds like hogwash, and their justification that: “Almeria is one of the up-and-coming areas of Spain so it’s not as overbuilt” is too broad a statement to warrant any credibility at all. As I mentioned last week , I actually do believe that things are picking up in Spain - perhaps not for any sound economical reason - but this kind of baseless hype does Spain’s faltering recovery no good at all. World attention has been focused on Greece and the possibility of it defaulting on its sovereign debt. Now that the EU has gone in mob-handed to sort out the Greek situation, attention has passed to the next most risky countries on the list. Enter Portugal & Spain. The situation in Portugal is undoubtedly worse than in Spain - but the Portuguese economy is so much smaller than that of Spain. This leaves Spain as the most significant European economy at the most risk of being unable to balance its books. Unfortunately, the policies of Mr. Zapatero have failed to inspire confidence. Spanish policy is being seen as all ‘bark’ and no ‘bite’. Mr. Zapatero’s refusal to deal with Spain’s labour and government inefficiencies is further damaging Spain’s international reputation - and credit rating. If this is the first Property Pulse newsletter you’ve read, you might be wondering “What’s this got to do with the Spanish property market?” The short answer is: Everything. The Spanish property market is, not surprisingly, dominated by Spanish buyers. 90% of properties sold will be sold to Spaniards and, even though the remainder will involve foreign buyers, the market is geared around and driven by Spanish buyers. 4 million of the country’s workforce are currently out of work. Spain is still in recession and nursing a huge hole in the public purse from a prolonged bout of spending designed to promote growth. While that tactic has worked elsewhere in Europe, so far it has only served to slow Spain’s slide further into recession - with a ‘recovery’ hoped for sometime later this year. The net effect of all this doom and gloom is that the majority of Spaniards are unlikely to take any kind of financial risk - risks like moving home or upgrading to a more expensive property. Spanish first-time-buyers have, quite literally, no way of getting on to the property ladder in Spain. Hence there is very little movement in the domestic Spanish property market. So, the demand for housing is suppressed, and the domestic buyer sets the benchmark for property prices in Spain. This is where foreign buyers of Spanish property can benefit from the inherent weaknesses of the Spanish economy - and the relative strength of their own - particularly other Euro countries such as Germany, France and the Netherlands. That’s why keeping an eye on Spain’s policies, its economy, its unemployment rate, its bank rates, foreign exchange rates and all the other financial indicators is a smart thing to do if you’re thinking of investing in a Spanish property. And that’s what we do here in the Property Pulse newsletter. Martin Dell, Kyero.com

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Spanish Property: Hogwash or Hope?

Who to believe? In the news this week, one commentator declares the Spanish property industry bankrupt. At the same time, a developer in Almeria has raised prices as a “signal that things are getting better”. In Spanish Property Industry Bankrupt? , we read that developers have raised the cost of credit for the entire nation and that Banks are buckling under the weight of their toxic real estate assets. Compare and contrast: Spanish Developer Increases Prices where we read that one developer in Almeria has increased property prices by €30,000 per unit to “give a signal to people that things are getting better and they should have faith in the situation”. Personally, I think that sounds like hogwash, and their justification that: “Almeria is one of the up-and-coming areas of Spain so it’s not as overbuilt” is too broad a statement to warrant any credibility at all. As I mentioned last week , I actually do believe that things are picking up in Spain - perhaps not for any sound economical reason - but this kind of baseless hype does Spain’s faltering recovery no good at all. World attention has been focused on Greece and the possibility of it defaulting on its sovereign debt. Now that the EU has gone in mob-handed to sort out the Greek situation, attention has passed to the next most risky countries on the list. Enter Portugal & Spain. The situation in Portugal is undoubtedly worse than in Spain - but the Portuguese economy is so much smaller than that of Spain. This leaves Spain as the most significant European economy at the most risk of being unable to balance its books. Unfortunately, the policies of Mr. Zapatero have failed to inspire confidence. Spanish policy is being seen as all ‘bark’ and no ‘bite’. Mr. Zapatero’s refusal to deal with Spain’s labour and government inefficiencies is further damaging Spain’s international reputation - and credit rating. If this is the first Property Pulse newsletter you’ve read, you might be wondering “What’s this got to do with the Spanish property market?” The short answer is: Everything. The Spanish property market is, not surprisingly, dominated by Spanish buyers. 90% of properties sold will be sold to Spaniards and, even though the remainder will involve foreign buyers, the market is geared around and driven by Spanish buyers. 4 million of the country’s workforce are currently out of work. Spain is still in recession and nursing a huge hole in the public purse from a prolonged bout of spending designed to promote growth. While that tactic has worked elsewhere in Europe, so far it has only served to slow Spain’s slide further into recession - with a ‘recovery’ hoped for sometime later this year. The net effect of all this doom and gloom is that the majority of Spaniards are unlikely to take any kind of financial risk - risks like moving home or upgrading to a more expensive property. Spanish first-time-buyers have, quite literally, no way of getting on to the property ladder in Spain. Hence there is very little movement in the domestic Spanish property market. So, the demand for housing is suppressed, and the domestic buyer sets the benchmark for property prices in Spain. This is where foreign buyers of Spanish property can benefit from the inherent weaknesses of the Spanish economy - and the relative strength of their own - particularly other Euro countries such as Germany, France and the Netherlands. That’s why keeping an eye on Spain’s policies, its economy, its unemployment rate, its bank rates, foreign exchange rates and all the other financial indicators is a smart thing to do if you’re thinking of investing in a Spanish property. And that’s what we do here in the Property Pulse newsletter. Martin Dell, Kyero.com

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Spanish Property: Hogwash or Hope?

Euro lobby groups are making the most of Spain’s new prominence on the world stage. They’re making sure that Mr. Zapatero is painfully aware of Spain’s continued property-related human rights violations. Euro MP’s have renewed their threat to impose sanctions over Valencia’s ridiculous land-grab laws. And, in another article not included in this week’s newsletter, MEP Marta Andreasen asked how Mr. Zapatero’s plans for the EU presidency could be credible when his government is unable to solve property abuses in his own country. Mrs. Andreasen ended with a warning: “This parliament has only threatened to block payment of subsidies to Spain, but I can assure you that if this situation is not resolved during the Spanish presidency , I will do everything I can to turn this threat into action.” As Spain has just six months font and centre on the EU stage, let’s hope that Mrs. Andreasen’s bite is at least as ferocious as her bark. Mark Stucklin has an interesting perspective on the recent Economist report that Spanish property is 55% overvalued . He points out that this conclusion is based on official government data - which we all know is highly suspect. He concludes that “If The Economist used real transaction price figures it would find that Spanish property prices are much closer to fair value than they think.” Last week, I mentioned the forthcoming A Place in the Sun Live show at London’s Earls Court from 26th to 28th March. As promised, you can now avoid the £10 entrance fee and get free tickets to the event . The show will feature thousands of properties for sale, by hundreds of exhibitors from more than 40 countries worldwide. And with homes from less than £20,000, there really is something to suit almost every taste and budget. Finally, we’ve been promoting a car-rental booking engine called Car Trawler for a while now - and last week, I was able to put them through their paces. They claim to find the best car rental rates worldwide by automatically doing the leg-work for you. Compared to the best rates offered by EasyJet, Car Trawler offered me a reduction of almost 25% - £12 per day compared to EasyJet’s £16. A total saving of £28 over the week’s all-inclusive rental. If you intend to rent a car this year, why not use Car Trawler to get some quick comparison prices? Martin Dell, Kyero.com

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Spain: Front & Centre of the EU Stage

Something’s wrong with the Spanish property market, writes S. McCoy in a recent article at Cotizalia.com, a financial news website. His analysis points towards a big and desirable fall in house prices – up to 50% by 2011 says McCoy. However, there is no sign of this in the “imaginary” official figures, nor in any of the reports produced by the sector. On top of which the government and some banks are already claiming that the market has touched bottom. So what is wrong with the market, and why haven’t prices fallen more? asks McCoy. Supply and demand With a glut variously estimated between 800,000 and 2,000,000 unsold homes, and sales of around 200,000 homes a year, it’s going to take 4 years to liquidate the glut, in the best case, points out McCoy for starters. You would expect prices to be tumbling. House prices to income A good way to judge the level of property prices is the ratio of Spanish property prices over annual disposable income, which ignores mortgage financing issues. This rose to over 7 years at the height of the boom, and has now fallen back to 6.5 years because, although house prices have fallen somewhat, so have incomes. But that is a long way off the historical average of 4, suggesting price falls still have a long way to go. Rental yields Another way to judge property prices is the relationship between rental income and prices (rental yields), a type of inverted price earnings ratio. Higher yields mean better value. Gross rental yields fell to 2% during the boom, below even interest rates. Now that house prices are falling rental yields should be going up, right? Wrong. The property glut is driving down yields, as more owners try to rent out property they can’t sell. Yields tell us that, at present prices, property is a bad investment, so you would expect prices to fall more. But they aren’t. So why aren’t prices falling more? McCoy gives 3 reasons: Because interest rates are so low. That gives borrowers some breathing space, and allows developers to limp along as zombies for longer. Low financing costs mean banks can avoid selling at a loss, by not selling at all. Because borrowers in Spain are liable for negative equity, which gives them a big incentive to do everything they can to avoid foreclosure. Borrowers may be in a lot of financial distress, but this keeps some of it from reaching the market. Because unemployment benefits and the black economy mean that many of the unemployed have managed to keep paying the mortgage, until now at least. If the economic recession continues for much longer, and if interest rates rise, the distress in the system will reach breaking point, then prices will tumble, warns McCoy. But the sooner the better, he says. “That’s the only way to bring about Schumpeter’s creative destruction, so necessary for this country.” I should point out, however, that McCoy is talking about the wider market, including all that speculative primary housing built around cities like Madrid and Barcelona. The situation may be even worse for speculative holiday homes in subprime locations, but it’s probably a lot better for prime and A grade property in the best holiday home locations. The market for A+ property in the best locations is international, and not so exposed to the economic situation in Spain. Story from Mark Stucklin

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The Real McCoy on Spanish House Prices

Generally speaking, Spanish property prices have fallen by less than you would expect given Spain’s economic crisis, high unemployment, and monumental housing glut (especially holiday homes on the coast). I say generally speaking, because some people who have done their homework and have funds in place ready to pounce are finding bargains from distressed sellers with a lot of equity to sacrifice. In these cases, prices have fallen enough. After all, if something sells, it means the price is right. But putting those exceptions aside, anyone house hunting in Spain today may well conclude that Spanish property prices have not fallen as much as they should have, certainly compared to the US and UK. Why is that? Partly because of Spain’s banks and savings banks (cajas) who control the market through their own property portfolios, and through the owners and developers they have financed. It appears that these guys are only reducing prices to the extent that they can afford to write off losses without damaging their capital ratios. That also helps explain why transactions are so depressed; if prices were lower, there would be more sales A few months ago the Bank of Spain announced plans to introduced a new rule forcing banks to write off an additional 10% of the value of any repossession they have owned for a year or more, on top of the 10% they have to write off when they first repossess. This might give banks an incentive to drop prices, as banks can either drop their prices by 10% in the hope of a sale, or lose it anyway through provisions. We will have to wait and see. All we know for sure is that, at present, banks do not appear to be serious about selling their stocks of holiday homes. If they were, they would be priced to sell, which they are plainly not. I predict that this will start to change in 2010. Story from Mark Stucklin

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Spanish Property Not Priced to Sell - Yet

Unless it turns out to be a false dawn, the housing markets in the UK and the US may be seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Can the same be said for Spain? Spanish housing market experts can’t agree on the answer, according to an article online at the Spanish news site elconfidencial.com. Some say there are still big price falls in the pipeline, whilst others say prices are set to stabilise. Real Estate Consultants Aguirre Newman say that Spanish property prices are still over-valued by 27%. International investment bank Morgan Stanley say prices are still 10% over-valued, perhaps more considering that, by some measures, prices should fall by 58% from the peak. When you compare property prices to income and rents, Spanish property prices “should fall much more than in the US or the UK to return to adequate levels,” they argue. And this week BBVA, Spain’s second largest bank, published a new report arguing that Spanish property prices will fall another 20% over the next couple of years. Spanish savings bank Caixa Catalunya argues that the market is at or near its inflection point, with prices already starting to rise in some areas. Caixa Catalunya has many reasons to wish prices to rise, having been caught out more than most lenders by Spain’s property crash. Global bank HSBC are also mildly optimistic that the worst is over. They point out that price falls are starting to decelerate (based on official figures that I would consider worthless) and that mortgage lending has picked up slightly. But they also note that other indicators like transactions are still highly negative, suggesting a shaky recovery at best. Who’s right? Only time will tell. I, for one, am still in the bear camp when it comes to the overall market. But if you are talking about prime and A grade property, I’m not so sure. 2010 might be the year to pick up prime and A grade Spanish property at a great price. But to do so you’ll have to do your homework, and know your Spanish property segments. Story from Mark Stucklin

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Experts Disagree Over Spanish Property Market

Recently an influential annual report was published by Acuna & Asociados who are highly regarded Madrid real estate analysts. Their report makes depressing reading given that they do not think the Spanish property market will recover for several years. Indeed, at current rates of demand (around 200,000 properties per year) it may take some six to seven years to clear just the existing housing stock for sale. Certainly, there is an inordinate amount of property for sale on the Spanish marketplace. According to Acuna & Asociados there are some 1.67 million properties for sale in Spain. These comprise some 500,000 new builds, some 470,000 new builds yet to be completed and around 500,000 re-sales. It is quite likely that the estimated number of resales is very conservative given the amount of properties privately for sale that will not be registered formally anywhere. Meanwhile the Spanish economy is in meltdown. Unemployment is currently somewhere around 19% with Citibank predicting that it will rise to 22% and Acuna & Asociados to 25%. The collapse of the Spanish construction industry has impacted not just on its associated industries but on the population at large who have been caught in a lethal vortex. As more people lose their jobs so more properties come onto the market - often with distress sale prices. Unfortunately, there are no apparent ‘quick fixes’ for the Spanish economy which is also being hurt by the world credit crunch. Socialist Prime Minister Zapatero has tried to stimulate the economy with his much publicised Plan E. However, this is due to cease soon due to lack of further funds and has done little other than reduce the very short term unemployment figures. These will, obviously, rise once Plan E stops and as Spain goes into the winter period when any tourist related employment reduces radically. So, what does all this mean for Spanish property buyers and sellers? Well, as a seller of Spanish property, it is obviously bad news – particularly if you bought within two years or so of the boom. In this case, it is unlikely that you will recover your money for some considerable time to come. Worse still, the sheer quantity of other properties for sale (including many genuine distress sales) means that you will be entering a savagely unforgiving market place. Indeed, the only consolation (for British sellers) will be the strength of the Euro over Sterling which may mitigate any drop in their Euro sale price. As a buyer, of course, matters are very different. Virtually everything is for sale and you can now pick up bargains throughout Spain almost everywhere you look. However, this does not mean that you can be careless. Far from it. Indeed, uppermost in your mind, at all times, should be the adage that ‘not everything that is cheap is a good buy’. In fact, you should not even think of buying unless you know intimately how to tell whether a property is fully legal or not. Furthermore, you must be able to assess objectively what will make a long term sound investment. As always, the key to a sound investment is its ease of resaleability. However, establishing resaleability is often less easy than it sounds when you are in a foreign country with a particularly complex marketplace involving not just native buyers but also a very significant proportion of foreigners from an array of different countries. Without doubt, the Spanish property crash has produced some excellent bargain buys. These exist now and are well worth exploiting. However, the question is whether property prices in Spain have now reached their bottom? My own feeling is that prices still have around 10% further to drop. This will be an unpopular ‘call’ but the sheer numbers of property currently for sale together with an economy in freefall means that any optimism at the moment is hard to justify objectively. At the end of the day property, like any other commodity, is subject to supply and demand and at the moment, there is far more supply than demand. Until this readjusts, prices will continue to drop and the Spanish property market will remain very weak for the forseeable future. Of course, if you are thinking of buying a Spanish property then your next question may be ‘when will it be a good time to buy?’ Well, I cannot help feeling that the desire to make untold money on property is somewhat distasteful. Surely, the primary aim of moving (particularly to a foreign country) and buying a property is about obtaining a better quality of life than you have currently - preferably as soon as possible? To place life ‘on hold’ whilst waiting for a market to guarantee a ‘profitable’ investment seems somewhat short sighted given life’s brevity and uncertainty. This is not say that you should not be very careful. However, now I think the emphasis should be on buying a property that will retain its value long term – as opposed to being purely focussed on the profit that it will, or could, make. Those days, in Spain, are, for the time being, largely over. That does not, in any way, diminish the valid reasons for coming to Spain which should be about delighting in the genuinely superb quality of life still on offer. Little has changed in that regard – it is just that combining this with a guaranteed short term profitable property investment is less valid. In short, I suspect, that the prices of Spanish property will hit their low point probably in the spring of 2010. However, that is not to say that you cannot now pick up a heavily discounted property - and one that will prove to be a good purchase for the future. If you are planning to move to Spain then, give or take, this is about as good a time as any. However, be prepared to drive a hard bargain - as I believe that the market has some time to go before it stabalises… From Nick Snelling’s latest book: How to Move Safely to Spain

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Spanish Property: What Now?

Of course, there is no denying that the Spanish property market is in deep trouble. Indeed, the problems caused by the Spanish property crash are, undeniably, central to the ‘crisis’ in Spain. Quite simply (as everyone now knows) far too many properties in Spain were built during the boom years. To compound this fact, promoters were lent absurd amounts of money on projects that, at the best of times, would probably have been unworkable. Meanwhile ‘debt’ for the general public was easy to obtain and often based upon over-valued properties. All of this created a rampant Spanish property market that spiralled out of control and for which Spain is paying heavily now. However, for a foreign buyer to look upon the Spanish property market as a lethal area to avoid, at all costs, would be a mistake. The truth is that the Spanish property market has many different parts to it. It is far from being a one-dimensional market and still offers value for money to the careful foreign buyer - who is unlikely to be in the least interested in the vast majority of the housing in Spain for sale. Indeed, many of the Spanish properties for sale are flats, apartments and adosados (terraced houses) that were built not for ‘wealthy’ North Europeans but for the Spanish (or in-coming non-European immigrants) within towns and villages away from the coast. Of those that are on the coast many newly built properties are often too far from normal tourist amenities (bars, cafes, restaurants, clubs, international airport etc.) to be attractive to North European holiday buyers - let alone those wanting to move to Spain permanently. Of the properties remaining there are large complexes around golf courses and ‘ghetto’ estates specifically built for ‘wealthy’ foreigners. Some of these estates never were going to be sound buys and many would be discounted instantly by any wise buyer upon seeing the rows of almost identical new, or almost new, properties. These are often transparently poorly built and offer little obvious, long term value. This is not say that a Spanish property , for example, on a golf course is not a good value buy – but recognise the difference between a golf course complex built in the middle of no-where and a quality one that is part of an integral and workable infrastructure. As I have mentioned before, the secret to buying property in Spain is to know what is (and always has been and always will be) of long term value. As a very crude generality, when it comes to the foreign buying market there are two principle types of property that come within this definition (taking absolute legality for granted). Front line beach apartments close to amenities. These are always a good buy and tend to hold their value well. They are also surprisingly hard to find (a quality build with a panoramic sea view, pretty beach/bay, reasonably quiet road in front – or no road in front at all! - within walking distance of amenities etc.) ‘Character’ villas within 15 minutes of the beach on a quality estate with a full infrastructure close to a lively village. These are also tough to find (given that the ‘ideal’ specification for the build tends to be three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a flat plot, a swimming pool and some degree of privacy). Try finding a property in 1. and 2,. above and you will discover that it is far from easy – proof, if ever it was needed, of the importance of knowing exactly what to look for if you want to be assured of long term value. Indeed, 1. and 2. are as good a representation of the complexities of a ‘crashing property’ market as anything else. There is always value to be had (and a reasonable amount of it) if you know where to look and what to look for. Of course, 1. and 2. are a simplification. In Spain, some town houses and flats are, even now, excellent buys as are, occasionally, some new adosados. However, as I stress in my book guidelines exist to buying property as a sound investment even when a market (as in Spain) is badly damaged. Always there are properties of value – it is just vital to know exactly how to gauge that value objectively. No-one would deny that the Spanish property market is in long term trouble. However, know what you are doing and there is no reason why buying now in Spain should be anything but a positive action. In short, the Spanish property market is certainly in crisis - but this does not mean that the entire Spanish property market is defective. Far from it. Some sectors will always have long term desirability and be sound investments. Just be sure that what you buy into is the sector that has assured value and that you are not seduced by ‘bargain basement’ priced properties - in the wrong sector! From Nick Snelling’s latest book: How to Move Safely to Spain

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The Complexities of the Spanish Property Market

The sharp housing correction that has sent Spain’s economy into a tailspin is bottoming out, Housing Minister Beatriz Corredor told parliament Wednesday. “Recent indicators show a trend toward stabilization in the housing market,” Corredor said. Spain’s once-buoyant housing market collapsed last year as the global financial crisis worsened a correction that was already underway after years of overbuilding and spiraling house prices. Data Tuesday from Spain’s national statistics institute showed the number of houses sold in Spain rose 4.7% in July, their third consecutive month-on-month gain, though they were down 20% from July last year. Falling housing prices and interest rates are helping to improve the affordability of housing, Corredor added, saying this should stimulate demand. The government has offered incentives to convert unsold homes into rental properties or to sell them to qualified buyers in social-housing programs. It has also said it will limit current tax incentives on home purchases from 2011 in an attempt to bring forward decisions to buy. In a note to investors Wednesday, Citigroup economist Giada Giani said the rise in July home sales points to an improvement in demand for Spanish property , but noted that housing construction indicators continue to “decline sharply, depressed by the huge amount of unsold inventory.” Story from Nasdaq

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Spanish Property: Correction Bottoming Out