Sales of Spanish luxury property enjoy steady rise

The first half of 2014 has seen sales of Spanish luxury property climb steadily, according to one agent.

Property prices in Spain's luxury sector have continued to remain steady over the past 6 months, according to the latest figures from Barcelona-based Real Estate Agency Lucas Fox's half-yearly market analysis.

International clients account for around 90 per cent of all Lucas Fox sales, with interest from Far East and Middle East investors continuing to gain momentum.

There has been a steady upswing in sales in the first two quarters of 2014 compared to the same period last year, with increased interest from non-European investors, particularly the Middle East and Far East.

The Lucas Fox Barcelona office is currently generating approximately 30 offers per month, with approximately two out of every three being converted into sales.

"There is a great deal more confidence amongst buyers, in particular international buyers. It looks like prices have now stabilized and the number of transactions is slowly increasing. The big change is that sellers are being more realistic and that asking prices have come down in line with buyer expectations," comments Lucas Fox co-founder Alexander Vaughan.

The Ibiza residential market is also continuing to perform strongly, with an increased number of transactions compared to the same time in 2013. Prices of premium properties in some prime areas are beginning to increase as demand outstrips supply.

"Interest from Europeans is still high but demand has significantly increased from the Asian market, mainly Korean and Chinese buyers. There has also been a rise in interest from American investors," notes Amanda Martí, Director of Lucas Fox Ibiza.

Nothern European buyers continue to dominate in the Costa Brava, with Russian and Ukranian investors both falling away, a trend partly caused by the devaluation of the Rouble.

Nonetheless, despite this dip, there has been significantly more movement in the property market in the opening two quarters of 2014 compared with the same period at any time since before the beginning of the crisis in 2006/7

"The market is still almost exclusively driven by international investment, predominantly private investors from northern and eastern Europe attracted by the increasingly competitive property prices in prime coastal areas," notes Tom Maidment, Director of Lucas Fox Costa Brava.
Competitive prices are also driving activity in Marbella too, as values fall to up to 50 per cent from the 2007 peak.

Here, British clients remain the biggest group of buyers in the Marbella region, accompanied by Scandinavians, Northern Europeans and Russians.

"The positive trend of steadily increasing numbers of property transactions that started in the latter part of 2012 has continued during the first half of 2014. Most of the transactions are still focused on prime locations such as near to Marbella, Puerto Banús and close to the beach," says Stephen Lahiri, Director of Lucas Fox Marbella.

UK buyers also continue to dominate in Mallorca, along with German, Dutch, Swiss and Scandinavian investors.

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