House prices
As expected September has started very strong with a healthy number of enquiries, sales and offers secured.
This demand, and shortage of properties, is keeping prices creeping up slowly, with experts predicting that this will continue until the end of the year, to an annual increase of around 2%.
However, if you factor in general inflation of 3.5% for the period to September, and expected to end at around 3.8% for the year, then in real terms, house prices have actually been decreasing and will end up being approx. 1.8% lower in financial terms.
Will this trend continue into the new year? we can only wait and see..
Property inheritance
In the first half of the year, more than 107,073 home inheritances have been registered throughout the country, with an average of 591 per day, which is a historic record, according to the INE (National Institute of Statistics).
The number of inherited homes has increased by 3.7% compared to the first six months of last year and 2.5% compared to 2021, which until now registered the record. And in less than a decade, home transfers via inheritance have skyrocketed by more than 50%.
Some experts attribute this to an increasingly ageing population, who are now considering leaving their homes to younger generations. There is also the factor of many Covid related deaths, which have taken time to transmit.
Others believe this is also down to the recent restrictive Housing laws on rental properties, where mature landlords have taken homes off the market as a result and decided to bring forward their inheritance plans.
There is another factor, which is perhaps the biggest driver to this increase, which is that in a few big autonomous regions, the recently elected local governments (mostly Partido Popular) have reduced or practically eliminated inheritance tax, and as such the highest recorded transactions can be seen in these regions, such as Andalucia, Cataluña, Madrid, Castilla y Leon, Valencia & Balearic Islands.
Joke of the month
How does a football player stay cool during a match? He has lots of fans..
Properties:
With the price increases we have been seeing, we have some good news for those looking for affordable properties this month. An attractive villa with large gardens, and a fixer upper both located in the outskirts of the town, yet within easy reach of amenities. Call us today for a viewing.