Spain’s Property Prices Are Set For Slight Fall This Year in Good News for Sellers

Spain’s property prices are set for a slight fall this year in some good news for sellers.

THAT’S the view of a report by S&P (Standard & Poor’s) Global Ratings, but they believe that things could be even worse as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Furlough measures introduced by the Spanish government will keep the market comparatively stable by protecting jobs and the rating agency suggests an average drop of between 3 and 3.5 per cent in the country for the rest of the year.

There will be an inevitable set of regional variations, especially with larger falls in places like Madrid and Barcelona, whilst coastal tourist spots like the Costa del Sol and Costa Blanca could see tiny reductions.

S&P takes the stance that sellers should be reasonably optimistic as after any modest reductions(if at all), they predict that the market will start to improve next year.

Rapid action by the European Central Bank, the agency says, has also limited the reduction of the credit market, which could have been much worse.

“Households are currently accumulating large savings, which should help in the recovery of the economy and the housing market once virus containment measures are lifted and economies start to return to a semblance of normality,” the report states.

S&P say that their forecast could change if there is second wave of the coronavirus in the autumn, or if unemployment rises steeply once furlough measures are stopped.