Words: Ashley Rigg
Published: 20th April 2011
*Spanish authorities announce first date for European road shows
Spain’s Development Ministry has announced the first date for its European
road show tour.
The first event is to be held in London on 4th May. The tour will make subsequent stops in France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and Russia. Dates for these cities remain to be confirmed.
The road shows aim to persuade international buyers and intermediaries on the merits of purchasing property Spain in an attempt to address the oversupply of homes which is particularly acute in holiday home destinations.
The initiative will comprise two phases. The first will target the trade and business institutions and outline details of pricing trends and recent legal reforms.
The second phase will concentrate on the end consumer and will showcase developments that government-stipulated legal requirements and quality standards.
Development Minister José Blanco said the events will feature 13 exhibitors from the house building, real estate agency and banking sectors but did not reveal the identity of those participating.
Analysts disagree on the exact size of Spain’s housing surplus but it is thought to be between 700,000 and 1 million. At current activity levels, the overhang will take at least four years to clear.
The road shows are part of a broader strategy that aims to “normalise” Spain’s real estate sector.
Source: Global edge
User Comments
Are you really that naive Al, or do you work for the Spanish government?
You seriously beleive that what they are saying is an "initiative", take it from someone who knows what they are talking about, it is all typical politicians bullshit!
I have been listening to these same words for over 10 years and many other people have been hearing the same crap for a lot longer, the only difference now is, we're not talking about 1,000 properties effected it's well over 30,000... what a joke!
Therefore your comment "lets not start knocking the intention before we see the results" just goes to show how people easily beleive their bureaucratic lies and is extremely naive!
Ken Spencer,
Property Options Spain
Is Sr. Blanco really serious?
He says the Road Show will “Highlight the strengths of our economy, transparency and legal certainty of our planning legislation”
This is an insult to all those of us who stand to lose so much due to the corruption and negligence in the Spanish Property Sector. The Spanish Property Sector certainly does not have any transparency or legal certainty!
Sr. Blanco said “It seems that I have become a real estate agent but my role is to ensure greater legal certainty to potential investors following many campaigns against the Spanish property sector”
Does Sr. Blanco not think that those campaigns against the Spanish property sector are fully justified? What has Sr. Blanco and the Spanish Government done to address those campaigns? Nothing!
It seems Sr. Blanco is trying to blame the campaigns for the lack of legal certainty in the Spanish Property Sector! Just like the rest of them he is passing the buck. These are the actions and words of a desperate man hoping that a miracle will happen and that all the campaigners will just ‘go away’.
Sr. Zapatero is leading a weak government who is failing to tackle the very serious problems in the Spanish Property Sector. Instead they are attempting to ignore the victims and move forward with a Road Show to promote transparency and legal certainty which are elements of the Spanish Property Sector that for thousands of victims simply do not exist.
On 6 July 2010 in the European Parliament Sr. Zapatero said "We stand shoulder to shoulder with those people, who maybe have had the wool pulled over their eyes in the property sector”. More empty words I am afraid.
In February 2011, when previewing the upcoming Road Shows the Spanish Housing Minister, Sra. Beatriz Corredor Sierra said: “Come here calmly and trust in the system that we have and the transparency we provide”
Sr. Zapatero, Sr. Blanco and Sra. Corredor need to understand that for thousands of victims of the Spanish Property Sector there was and still is no ‘transparency or legal certainty’.
Despite many empty words by Spanish Government officials there still remains little evidence of any ‘ongoing policy reforms’.
Lawyers and Banks have been negligent, the court system is overloaded, judges are inconsistent and real justice is still an expensive dream for many victims.
There remains a basic lack of understanding of LEY 57/68 (the law relating to Bank Guarantees) and in many cases the law is not applied correctly.
The Supervisor of the Spanish Banking System – the Banco de España is totally ineffective and has no real power. The result is that the Banks & Savings Banks have been allowed to ignore their obligations according to LEY 57/68 and collude with the corrupt developers to blatantly steal purchaser’s off-plan deposit funds.
It is a very serious situation and Sr. Blanco and the Spanish Government have NOTHING to put on a show about. Before making more empty promises and embarking on a Road Show designed to entice other unsuspecting ‘victims’ into the shambles that is the Spanish Property Sector Sr. Blanco must, together with his government colleagues, rectify the serious injustices that have taken place over the past decade in their country.
If you have been affected by any type of Spanish Off-Plan Bank Guarantee abuse please sign the Petition at:
www.bankguaranteesinspain.com
Keith,
Bank Guarantees In Spain Petition
What a joke, yet another load of b******s from the Spanish government!.
Why don't they start by supporting the real estate business's doing their very best to survive in their own country before trying to con the world that they give a toss and wasting tax payers money on their jolly trips, extravagent lunches and dinners!!
A combination of the farce regarding occupation licenses which has been going on for years with over 30,000 properties still waiting to receive them even though the owners and developers still have to pay taxes on these properties, a lot of which have also been occupied for over ten years.
Once again we are facing local elections full of false promises from the representing parties to sort the real estate situation out, we'll be sat here in another four years time hearing the same thing just like we have done for the past 12 years!
Then there are the banks, same old story of Spanish corruption only wrapped up in a different way, their employees and then their friends and families getting first offer of any true "bank reposessions" with the overpriced actual toxic assets being offered to everyone else, in other words "the stupid foreigners" as a lot of the Spanish think!
Finaly there's the Spanish mentality, an age old culture of corruption, jobs for the boys and a general attitude of "don't give a shit" when it comes to service and let me tell you, there is one rule for the Spanish and another for everyone else.
The Spanish government just needs to quit all the bullshit, get their own house in order, listen to the people who know what they are talking about and people will not need to be "persuaded" to buy in Spain as it has the best climate in the whole of mainland Europe so it becomes a no brainer.
Let me tell you, the reason people do not purchase in Spain is because of the Spanish.... SIMPLES!
I also agree with Roys comments regarding the media fueling totally unrealistic expectations from "so called" buyers and the British media are the World leaders when it comes to spreading negativity!
I deal with the situation each and every day and it does not matter what price tag you put on a property the client immediatley thinks they can knock 40% off that price, why? because the media has brainwashed them into thinking that's the "normal"!
I challenge anyone from the British media to come down to my office, speak with ANY of the owners of properties which I have on mine or anyone else's books here on the Costa del Sol and see if they can purchase a property at 40% below what they are asking.
I'm waiting :-)
Ken Spencer
Property Options Spain
Ken Spencer,
Property Options Spain
The Government have stated the need to reform planning & bureaucracy now we have this initiative, at least its something in the right direction so lets not start knocking the intention before we see the results.
Al Gunning,
Religare Select
Dont you just love the terminology! "normalise"?? What the Government needs to do is take away the real fears people have regarding Planning Laws and calm the bad media press throughout Europe regarding falling prices. Clients continue to arrive here looking to get prices 40% lower than current advertised prices due to the way the situation is reported in their home countries. Those reports seem to ignor the massive reductions already made. A Road Show is all well and good but why do I feel it will be a cosmetic excercise aimed to benefit a few rather than the industry as a whole?
Roy Hayes,
Kasas Royale