Skyline Newsletter Jan 2025
New Year, New Optimism
A warm welcome to the new year. I hope everyone had a wonderful festive season. 2025 brings new hopes and new challenges, and we approach them as we have always done with optimism and enthusiasm.
I won´t go too much into the re-election of the 47th president of the United States. I think we all have our opinions on it, most of them are of shock and disbelief.
I would say that he seems to be capable of getting things he says done, but many are things that most of us would disagree with! I am sure Canada can´t wait for the day they become the 51st American state!!
Tourists Go Home v2.0
The prime minister of Spain, Pedro Sanchez on the 14th January made a shocking announcement that put fear into foreign buyers/investors by suggesting the government would impose a tax of upto 100% for the purchase of property by anyone that is non-EU and non-resident, saying it wants to put Spain in line with Canada and Denmark to alleviate the current housing crisis.
There is still some uncertainty as to whether the tax is 100% of the purchase price, or 100% of the actual tax payable, which in Andalucia is currently 7%. Nothing has been approved or published as yet. If it´s the former, this will certainly put an end to any foreign purchasers buying property in Spain. If it´s the latter, while not as exorbitant, it will no doubt make a purchaser re-consider their options.
There are some who believe the impact will be minimal, as the percentage of non-EU and non-resident buyers is small compared to the total operations carried out annually. We will see what eventually pans out, as Spain will definitely not want to hurt it´s economy by introducing laws that may have wider reaching negative consequences.
This new proposal is in addition to the already imposed restrictions on licences for tourist rental properties, especially in high demand areas. Malaga has recently announced a 3 year ban on new tourist rental licences, and Barcelona will be removing all tourist rental licences by 2028. Community of owners within an apartment block will have the final say on whether a property is allowed to obtain a licence, and will have to vote 3/5 in favour.
Cadiz and Chiclana, while not as publicised have also introduced similar restrictions to tourist rentals, shadowing those of other government aligned regions. All these regulations are in response to the continued cry for affordable housing by residents who feel foreigners/tourists are to blame for the situation as they have been priced out of the market. While some of this is true, I believe government policy is largely to blame, as discussed in previous newsletter editions.
Finally, the golden visa, another incentive introduced a few years ago to generate investment/income, and now blamed for overtourism, will no longer be available from April 2025.
Watch this space for further news and updates..
Joke of the Month:
A man is speeding down the motorway when a police car stops him. The policeman asks “Do you know how fast you were going?”. The man replied “Sorry officer, I am rushing to a lecture about the negative impacts of alcohol and the importance of staying within the law”. Intrigued, the officer asks “Oh really, who´s giving that lecture at this time of night?”. The man smirks and says “My wife!”
Properties:
An eclectic mix of properties this edition. We have a large apartment in town, building land on a golf course, a commercial unit in Novo and a lovely villa for entertaining with private sauna. Don´t hesitate to contact us for more information or to arrange a viewing.
Properties to include:
Attractive Villa with pool for sale in Costa de la Luz id h2o8z – skyline-costa-luz.com
Building plot for sale on golf course in Chiclana, id s2a0g – skyline-costa-luz.com
Commercial shop for sale in Novo Center, Chiclana, id n0s5p – skyline-costa-luz.com
3 bedroom apartment for sale in Chiclana centre id c0h7c – skyline-costa-luz.com