Situation report April 2009

Despite the economic dip we are still getting many enquiries about houses for sale on La Palma.
Many of the dreamers are gone and most enquiries that we have are from people who have real money in the bank or have already sold a property.

For some people the crisis has given them a reason to invest in property in a stable market, and La Palma is a lot more stable than neighbouring Tenerife and the Spanish Costas.

For other people the downturn has encouraged them to move forward their plans to leave the chaos, pressure and grey skies of Northern Europe and to make their dream of a house in the sun come true now rather than later.

Of course, we have our share of enquiries from people who think that a 10% downturn in some areas means that sellers on La Palma will accept offers of 40% below the asking price, but the difference in asking price and selling price is no different to previous years and the asking prices are only dropping by a few percent.

La Palma is still a good place to buy property. The island is not dependent on tourism and is therefore pretty much imune from the huge effects that a drop in tourism has had on many other locations.

Most Spanish banks are not keen on giving mortgages to foreigners these days but with proof of income and a good property valuation motgages of 60% to 70% are sometimes possible.