28th June 2007 12:58

Spanish coastlines are being destroyed by overbuilding, announces a report by Greenpeace on Tuesday, which blamed local councils in Spain for failing to protect the environment. Spain's coastline is disappearing under concrete at a rate of three soccer pitches a day according to the report and yet councils plan to build 3 million new houses, 202,000 hotel spaces, 316 golf courses and 102 new marinas along Spain's 5,000 km coast over the next few years.

Greenpeace warns this extent of construction will cause irreversible damage to the landscape and wildlife: "The numbers demonstrate the failure on the part of local administrations to find a solution to the problems of the coastline and the need to adopt important reforms regarding the management of the coast to put the brakes on the destruction," the report said.

Last week the European Parliament condemned Spain for the environmental damage which overdevelopment had caused along the Mediterranean coast, blaming lax building laws, greedy developers and corrupt politicians for environmental disaster. The police are currently investigating 55 town mayors in connection with 100 cases of corruption concerning illegal development.

Not only is Spain’s property market expected to suffer from an excess of properties and lack of demand, but the environmental damage caused in the process could be catastrophic as well, as tourism hot spots and areas of natural beauty become no more than concrete jungles.

Costa bargains reignite interest -

According to Rightmove.co.uk's overseas division, interest in the Spanish market is crawling up again.  Spain accounted for 21% of overseas searches on the website in June 2009, an increase of 0.3% on May.  France followed hot on Spain's heels with 17%, although the percentage of hits had decreased by 8.2%. 

Half of the regions that featured in the top climbers list were Spanish, with Tenerife experiencing an 9.1% increase in searches followed by the Costa del Sol with an 8.7% increase. 

Another high achiever was Turkey, whose market share rose by 13%, taking it into the top 10 countries searched.   The Bodrum Peninsula proved particularly popular.

The biggest loser was Dubai with a year on year decrease in searches of 60%.

- 14th July 2009 10:48
Spain forced to repay discriminating CGT to Brits - Spain faces the possibility of having to repay Capital Gains Tax to thousands of non domicile European homeowners following a British couple’s legal win against the Spanish government. - 10th March 2009 12:09
Spain tops Google searches - Research carried out by business portal Globaledge has confirmed that English speakers place Spain way above every other country when looking for international real estate. - 20th January 2009 16:12
Brits still love the Costas -

Spain remains the country of choice for the majority of Britain’s looking to invest in property abroad and currently it might prove a wise one. - 4th November 2008 15:58
Is the Spanish market bottoming out? - Pierre & Vacances, one of France's largest leaseback providers, recently announced plans to increase its Spanish portfolio by eight-fold by 2010. - 8th July 2008 16:44
Spanish get tough on illegal holiday lets -

The Spanish authorities are clamping down on property owners who rent out their properties to tourists, without registering them with the local tourist authority. - 3rd June 2008 12:36
Spanish boost to sluggish economy -

The Spanish Government has come up with a number of initiatives to boost Spain's sluggish economy, many of which should benefit expats and investors in Spanish property.  Firstly, tax breaks will be offered to anyone renovating a property, where the cost of the renovation is greater than one quarter of the property's purchase price.  Secondly, in an effort to revive the flagging construction industry, changes will be implemented to speed up the way public works are put out to tender and contracts completed.  House owners will be able to extend their mortgages for two years, without further fees being charged and 150,000 state subsidised houses will be built per annum.  Furthermore, 16.4 million workers are expected to be given a 400 Euro rebate on their personal income tax and Wealth Tax is set to be abolished after the 2007 payment.

- 6th May 2008 11:44
Costa homes under threat - The Spanish authorities are threatening to confiscate and demolish thousands of properties along the Spainish coast, in order to protect the nation's coastline.  The environment ministry will be investing £3.5 billion in a campaign to restore and protect 482 miles of coastline from over development.  The government are using a 20 year old law called Ley de Costas (Coastal Law) to clear properties built within 550 yards of the sea.  Even properties built legally before the law was applied in 1988 will be affected.  Development has been allowed to occur along the coastline in recent years mainly due to local corruption and the flouting of planning laws.  The drive will affect upto 500,000 people along the coast of Spain, many of which will be Britons. - 15th April 2008 11:49
High LTV, interest only Spanish mortgages -

In spite of the ‘hard times’ currently faced by the Spanish property market, with much talk of over inflated property prices, combined with increasing interest rates; new and established Spanish property owners are being offered a helping hand, to support them through increasing problems with affordability.

Several key mortgage products have been developed, offering high loan to values and interest only periods, some even with no early redemption penalties. - 21st August 2007 11:01
Spain's property prices show no signs of cooling -

In spite of Spain’s reputedly ‘cooling’ property market, statistics show that property prices in Spain are not coming down. - 8th August 2007 09:16