A buyers' market for new build properties as prices fall

Savvy buyers can snap up brilliant new build bargains in Spain

Figures from Spain’s Sociedad de Tasacion – the nation’s equivalent of the UK’s Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors – have revealed that prices for new build properties across Spain fell by an average of 67.9 per cent in 2012.

Throughout the country it is estimated that more than a million properties lie empty, the majority of them new builds. Such price drops are inevitable in oversaturated markets, and although Spain’s beleaguered developers are unlikely to welcome these figures, prospective property buyers are sure to be rubbing their hands with glee.

The figures, a reflection of statistics given by developers from all over Spain, reveal that a typical 90 square metre new build home costs an average of just €180,000.

The Sociedad’s report positively predicts that such price corrections are likely to entice international investors already eyeing Spanish property since the government reformed its residency scheme, offering permits to non-EU nationals who pay more than €160,000 for a property in Spain.

The Costa del Sol – Spain’s foremost destination for expats and second home buyers – has not suffered as badly as other areas of the country, with the oversupply issue in particular more tightly controlled here than elsewhere.

Hence, property on the Costa del Sol has not fallen in price as sharply as elsewhere; rather, it remains competitively priced and bulging with choice to suit all budgets and lifestyle choices.