Mallorca Property Market Report October 2010
Introduction
It has been six months since I wrote my last Mallorca Property Market Report. It is always a little bit worrying going back to reflect on what one has said and whether, with the benefit of hindsight, an alternative conclusion might have emerged! Back in March, the big question was whether we could call the “bottom of the market” and what that might mean in practice – one thing is a market that has touched bottom and is ready to move up the gears quickly, with real growth just around the corner, while the other is a market where values have bottomed out. Still, the expectations are much less about change and much more about “stagnation”! My conclusion at the time was that we might indeed be able to call the bottom of the market if we were to define it in terms of reaching the “bottom of the cycle of underlying residential property values in Mallorca” (please note the essential reference to underlying values, something very different to, for example, asking prices!). More specifically:
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March 2010 Market Report Conclusions
1. Underlying values to bottom out at current levels
2. The evolution of asking prices to vary depending upon whether they have been set realistically / adjusted sufficiently to account for the significant falls in property values.
3. Future growth in values to be nonexistent in the short term and very limited and restricted to underlying inflation in the medium term, i.e., no real change in the next couple of years. A modest increase over above general inflation levels in the economy to follow after that at levels of 1-3%
5. Land values hold down prices in the medium term as developers take advantage of cheaper land to sell at these new lower levels for the medium term. Long-term shortage of supply, save for those in urban areas and for “mid-range” apartments, like Palma, Inca, and Manacor, should see values rise. Alongside these conclusions, I set out a few “tips” or recommendations for both owners and potential investors of Mallorca residential property:
1. If you are a lifestyle purchaser or investor with an income return bias, start looking at the emerging buying opportunities.
2. “BUYER BEWARE” is all about value and ensuring that you buy at an appropriate level and don’t overpay on unrealistically priced properties.
3. Look at new build where good discounts are available (but beware of off-plan unless your deposit(s) are backed with a bank guarantee)
4. Look at properties with “defensive” qualities, as set out in (4) above, for greater short term security
5. Look at land to hold as a long-term investment / to build a home. Particularly rural plots, front line or with magnificent sea views, etc
Market Update March 2010 – October 2010
So what has been the reality of the last six months? Have my conclusions been largely borne out, or has hindsight led us to see that we should have reached alternative conclusions? Let’s start by reviewing the statistics and data that have emerged since the March 2010 report and what the so-called specialists say. But before that, let’s enjoy the headline that greeted me this week that none other than the Spanish Prime Minister had just called the bottom of the property market in Spain!
While I am immediately cynical when it comes to anything said by a politician, mainly when it is a Foreign PM talking to US investors in a desperate attempt to convince them to buy bundles of government bonds at the lowest possible yield, he did seem to be confirming what I said, namely that we are at the bottom and although it is true that I said it six months ago, if prices have largely remained unchanged over that period, then it could be said that it was the bottom then as well as now!
The problem for me is that Zapatero then proceeded to get over-excited, quoting official statistics that indicated that prices were starting to rise in many areas of Spain, i.e., we had touched bottom, and wey hey, we are on an upward trajectory again! So let’s look at the emerging data, starting with ZP’s own Housing Ministry. National Institute of Statistics (INE) According to new figures from the INE, Spanish property prices rose (quarterly) for the first time in 3 years. More specifically, these figures claim that average prices at the end of June were 1.6% higher than at the end of March, although over 12 months, prices are still down by just 0.9%.
For the Balearic Islands / Mallorca, the statistics weren’t quite as rosy but still offered “some positive” news for those desperate to call the end of anything called recession/crisis/market crash,h etc.! The overall figures put property values unchanged for the last quarter but down 2% for the year. For new build property, it appears there is a “rebound” with prices up 1.4% even though for the last 12 months prices remain 2.5% down. Second-hand property values were down 1% for the previous quarter and 1.6% over 12 months. Interestingly only Navarra in Northern Spain came out with worse data with a slight fall of 0.1% in the last quarter. In other
