While recently we have seen significant problems materialise in the Cypriot property market regarding ownership of land and property, there appear to be even worse problems emerging from Spain.
Just one year ago Len and Helen Prior were the subject of a draconian local property ruling which saw their £600,000 Spanish villa razed to the ground after the land was reclaimed by the local authorities and their earlier property license was deemed illegal. The situation is reaching crisis point across Spain and there are significant implications within the EU as EU ministers get tough while trying to bring the Spanish authorities back into line.
At this moment in time there's probably no worse property market in the world to be looking at than the Spanish market which has literally fallen to its knees over the last 12 months. Buyers have disappeared, tourists are staying away in droves, the national economy is under serious pressure and to cap it all the Spanish mortgage finance industry has literally dried up. Can you really get any worse?
Those who look at the UK property market and wonder exactly what is going on and when it will all come to an end will no doubt be reviewing the Spanish property market which has a lot of similar concerns to the UK. The number of houses for sale in Spain is growing, buyers are waiting on the sidelines and even those interested in buying properties are unable to raise the necessary finance. The situation is nearly identical to the UK and while many Spanish property experts have called the bottom of the market over last few weeks there is a growing concern that this is only the tip of the iceberg.
