Tag Archives: interior
Homes sales up again in Spain in September, most recent data shows
Home sales in Spain increased again on an annual basis in September after dipping in August, according to the latest figures from the National Institute of Statistics Sales went up 13% in September and excluding social housing, there were 24,096 sales registered, the highest level in four years and 14% up on a monthly basis. In the 12 months to the end of September there were 216,682 sales inscribed in the register, almost identical to the same period last year. On that basis it looks like the Spanish housing market is no longer shrinking, according to Mark Stucklin of Spanish Property Insight. He pointed out that looking at the annualised change in sales each month, this year is clearly an improvement on last year, excluding the first two months of the year when figures were artificially distorted by tax changes. The data also shows that the difference between resales and newly built properties continues to widen, though sales of both types increased in September, with resales up 17% and new builds up 10.5%. He believes that more resales are emerging because after years without building any new homes it is possible that the supply of new homes that people actually want to buy is running dry so buyers increasingly have no choice. A breakdown of the figures on a regional basis show that the province of Malaga, which includes the Costa del Sol which is popular with overseas buyers, along with the Balearic islands have seen sales rise close to 15% this year. The Canaries, and Alicante, home to the Costa Blanca, another area that attracts a lot of overseas buyers, have also been showing strong gains. Coastal provinces where foreigners tend to buy are doing much better than provinces in the interior, which rely more on local demand. Meanwhile, figures from the Spanish Consumer Price Index shows that the average price for long term rentals in Spain fell by 0.7% in October compared to the same month in 2013. This means rental prices have been falling for 19 months in a row and it is sharper than the general CPI which is down 0.1%. Overall rental prices went down by 0.1% on a monthly basis regionally the monthly rate for long term rentals fell in 15 autonomous regions. Asturias was the only region where it rose, up 0.1% and prices remained static in Catalonia. The regions with the biggest price drops were Navarre down 2.3%, Murcia down 2.1%, La Rioja down 1.7%, Madrid down 1.4%, The Valencian Community down 1.2% and Castilla La Mancha down 0.9%. Andalucia and Extremadura both saw a 0.8% fall and prices dropped by 0.7% in the Canaries, 0.6% in Aragón, Cantabria, and Castilla y León, 0.4% in the Basque Country and 0.2% in the Balearics and Galicias. Continue reading
Wear and tear is most misunderstood issue for tenants and landlords
Fair wear and tear is the most misunderstood area of the whole renting process and agents and landlords still have unrealistic expectations centred on the deductions that can and cannot be made from the tenant deposit, it is claimed. According to the Association of Independent Inventory Clerks (AIIC) it is a commonly held view in the lettings industry that a tenant cannot be held responsible for damage at the end of a tenancy caused by ‘reasonable use of the premises and the ordinary operation of natural forces’. However, while the precise source for this quote is unknown, it is a general guideline that has been accepted across the industry, and the source of most disputes. Recent figures from the Tenancy Deposit Scheme annual survey reveal that cleaning related issues make up 56% of all disputes. Damage to property accounts for 43%, redecoration 30%, rent arrears 17% and gardening issues 13%. It seems that 55% of all disputes are raised by tenants unhappy about the proposed deductions from their deposit and of these, only 21% received all their deposit back. In contrast, 45% of disputes were raised by landlords and agents and of these, only 19% received the amount in dispute. ‘I have lost count of the number of times that a landlord or letting agent has demanded that a property is repainted from top to bottom following a five year tenancy, when the marks on the walls are no more than normal wear and tear,’ said Pat Barber, chair of the AIIC. ‘Everyone has their own view of what constitutes fair wear and tear. Landlords and letting agents may hold the view that a tenant is responsible for repainting a whole property at the end of their tenancy, however the law may not agree. A tenant on the other hand may believe that all the marks, pin holes and damage to the interior walls at time of check out will be covered by normal wear and tear. The same viewpoint is often also applied when assessing damage and wear to the contents of the property and its fixtures and fittings,’ she explained. She pointed out that there are two main things to remember with wear and tear. Firstly, the tenant has a duty of care to return a property in the same condition at the end of the tenancy as found at the start and as listed on the initial inventory report with allowance for fair wear and tear. Secondly, the law does not allow for betterment or ‘new for old’ when assessing the action needed to be taken after a check out inspection. So, if an item was old at check in and after a two year tenancy, there is some additional damage, the law will not allow a landlord to simply replace this item with a new one. Instead, some sort of compensation is allowable towards future replacement…. Continue reading
