Interest in Spanish Property at a New High

We have great news from TheMoveChannel.com and its Hotspots Index; at the start of 2017, interest in Spanish property surged to a three-year high. The Hotspots Index reports on the most highly searched locations on the international property portal and Málaga claimed the Number One spot in the first quarter of 2017, which is the first time a destination in Spain has taken such a pole position. According to the report, Málaga accounted for 4.01% of all searches between January and March 2017. The city and region climbed 18 positions from the last quarter of 2016 and has now overtaken Florence, which has been relegated to fourth place. Spain’s popularity wasn’t confined to Málaga either, with Almeria being the second most sought after location on 3.56% of searches, followed by Tenerife with 3.40%. Benidorm took fifth place with 2.53% of searches. Overall, Spain claimed eight out of the top-10 most popular locations, which is the highest result for any single country since the Hotspots Index started in 2014. Indeed, the Index shows that the country also took 13 of the Top 15 spots to complete its domination of the leader board. It is interesting that Spain’s neighbour Portugal has also experienced a revival in interest, with eight of the Top 50 spots, putting it ahead of Italy and France. Spain, however, topped the chart, having doubled interest in it since 2016 to achieve an all-time high over all other countries. The figures reflect the finding of the property portal’s latest ‘Top of the Props’ report, which shows Spain taking 14.02% of all enquiries to the site, its biggest share since 2013. It tallies with the Spanish Land Registry’s figures that showed a 19% increase in property purchases between January 2016 and January 2017. The Director of TheMoveChannel said: “Spain is undoubtedly flavour of the month. Searches and enquiries are both at highs not seen for several years, showing that foreign buyers are actively seeking opportunities in Spain.” It would seem that the recent rise in Spanish property values offers capital growth, alongside the timeless appeal of the Spanish lifestyle, yet property process here continue to make Spain extremely attractive to buyers. Long may it continue!