Spanish Property News

Spanish property repossession is undoubtedly a buzz phrase at the moment – we are told this is the way to grab a bargain property in Spain. Indeed if you Google ‘bargain Spanish property’ you’ll see the phrase several times on page one. Public access to Spanish repossessions was thrown into the spotlight when CAM bank (Caja de Ahorros de Mediterraneo) launched a website offering their repossessions and properties in danger of repossession to the general public. There are various agencies offering access to the properties, but this is the direct link - www.mediterraneancam.com/. Here you can see the CAM bank properties available and if it has the term “en subasta” next to it, you can go to another website to bid on that property in an auction.

Almost every article on Spanish property at the moment will not fail to say that there is an over-supply of property in Spain. They suggest that hundreds of apartments lie empty and banks are having keys thrown back at them by disgruntled ex-pats. Here in Murcia, the building of resorts by Polaris World are used by some as an example of the apparent over-supply in this region. Therefore as CAM bank have worked with Polaris World on their developments I would expect to see endless lists of incredibly cheap properties, many of those from Polaris, on the CAM repossession website.

However if I go to the website this is not what I find. There are currently only 107 properties on the website for the region of Murcia. Yes, there are a few very cheap inland properties for sale – ideal for those with a big restoration budget - you have always found these on Spanish Property portals. There are also a handful of low priced apartments in Cartagena city. I don’t find that surprising as, like most cities, there will always be parts of the city where cheap property surfaces during difficult times.

However if I look in the areas most popular with second home buyers - the Mar Menor, Los Alcazares, Polaris World resorts - I do not see an endless list of repossessed new build properties or even very low priced resale opportunities. There is the odd property which looks reasonable value- especially when compared to the quoted original price. However I am not convinced by the accuracy of these original valuations – and the “repossession” prices are often no cheaper than some of the properties we have available in the resale or new-build market.

We will keep watching this repossession site with interest to see how much clients can really gain by purchasing one of these properties. We know that our clients want the best value for their money. This is achieved by finding a property that is constructed to a very high quality, in a great location and at a realistic market price. Great value property has always been available on the Costa Calida – but to judge this accurately you need help from someone who really knows the local market conditions regarding prices, location and build quality. That way you can be sure that you really are grabbing your own Costa Calida property bargain.

Labels: cam bank property, cam bank repossessions, Costa Calida Property