Half price Spanish property could be a thing of the past following bank bail out

 

The recent government bailout of Spanish bank CAM could mark the end of opportunities to buy repossessed properties at half price with favourable mortgage terms on the Polaris World resorts in Murcia. CAM bank originally began slashing prices on its property portfolios in an attempt to recoup some funds when it found itself in trouble. Other Spanish banks followed suite but now the bailout and failure of the bank has materialised the situation is not so urgent. Paul Williams, MD of Villa Cashback, an international agent for CAM, said: “CAM has been offering half price properties on the Polaris World resorts over the last six months. “Half the stock has now sold and in recent weeks the mortgage terms have begun to tighten. We don't know what the future owners of CAM will want to do but we suspect the urgency to dump the properties at any price is not going to be so great as before the bailout.” CAM bank still offers a large selection of properties on the Polaris World resorts including Hacienda Riquelme and Condado de Alhama. Prices start from €72,000 complete with 90 percent mortgages. Buyers can still purchase on the current terms and at the existing prices. However the Spanish government has indicated its intention to sell CAM bank by 30 September 2011 at the latest so bank policy may well change after that point. According to Government figures, a total of 396,000 homes have been sold in Spain in the past 12 months with sales accelerating in Q2 2011. A total of 90,746 homes were sold between March and June this year, bringing about a 21.9 percent increase on the first quarter. And according to other recently published figures, Spanish property prices are on the rise in Costa Blanca and Costa Calida areas with Alicante and Murcia noted as being two locations where prices have pushed upwards in Q1 and Q2 of 2011. Ignacio Osle, Sales and Marketing Director of leading house builder Taylor Wimpey de España, said: “Although Spanish property prices are yet to catch up with the highs seen in 2007, the price increase is nevertheless an encouraging sign for investors in the market.”