Kevin Brass travels the world reporting on tempting locations, unusual homes and hot markets.
He is a longtime contributor to the Properties section of the International Herald Tribune, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, People, NWA World Traveler and a wide variety of other publications.
In Raising the Roof, the properties blog of the International Herald Tribune, Brass writes,
When you talk to experts in the Spanish property business, they tell a dramatically different story than the charts and valuation reports.
“The market has totally stopped,” said Frederic Mangeant, partner in Knight Frank’s Spain office, when asked about Madrid.
Around the country, agents, developers and industry analysts say there has been a dramatic pause in the market in recent weeks. Both buyers and sellers appear to be taking a deep breath, in anticipation of more bad news to come about dropping valuations and tightening credit.
“Everybody is waiting,” said Julia Serrano Rituerto, head of the residential office for Cushman & Wakefield in Madrid. “hey see prices are going down. It’s quite a normal reaction.”
Of course, the big question now is: How long will the pause last? Few believe anymore that it is a simple “dip” in the market. Property sales were down 25 percent in the first two months of 2008 compared to a year earlier, according to recent reports.
- Source: Kevin Brass, Experts say buyers in Spain “waiting” for more bad news, Raising the Roof, International Herald Tribune properties blog, May 7, 2008