Industry experts believe the Spanish government’s latest incentive for overseas buyers, the “property passport”, will attract buyers from countries like India, who have hitherto not invested in Spanish property in great numbers. As a result of the new residency scheme, that offers Spanish citizenship with every real estate investment over EUR 160,000, Indian buyers are expected to surge to the property markets of the Costa del Sol, Granada province and the Balearics.
Speaking to The Economic Times, Sonu Iyer, national leader and partner for human capital and global mobility at Ernst & Young, said recently: “This is an effort by the Spanish government to attract foreign investment. Considering that Indians are increasingly being see as high spenders globally, the scheme will be targeted at them in a big way.”
While in Spain potential property investors only have to put down EUR 160,000 to qualify for Spanish “property passports”, in Ireland and Portugal they have to spend at least EUR 500,000 and EUR 400,000 respectively before the coveted citizenship is in sight. This should bode well for Spain, where luxury apartments and penthouses in Marbella can cost as little as EUR 150,000 to EUR 250,000.
Spain could become a springboard for Indians wishing to establish a European base without fuss. “The lure of permanent residency in Spain for high net worth Indians could be children’s overseas education or retirement in the Mediterranean,” Mr Iyer told the news provider. Marbella and other resorts at the Costa del Sol offer many international schools and plenty of choice for property buyers looking for retirement homes.
At present Spain is a comparatively untapped market with respect to buyers from India, who have so far headed to the UK, US or to Dubai, where already established Indian expat communities can be found. Here Indians find an established Indian workforce and new employment as well as business opportunities, while Spain is an unknown country as far as those aspects are concerned.
Anuj Puri, chairman and country head of real estate consultancy Jones Lang LaSalle India said in an interview with The Economic Times that much would depend on how Indians would perceive Spain with regard to its job market and as a country to conduct business in.
Until the Spanish economy picks up and the general employment situation improves, it is unlikely that a surge of Indian buyers will head to Spain to claim residency but that doesn’t mean they won’t know a bargain when they see it.
Investing in property in a country that has consistently been named as one of the top four most popular holiday destinations in the world is never a bad move – if the property is purchased at a realistic price that will leave good yields and present good capital returns in the future.
Holiday letting is now being made easier by banks and international property brokers working hand in glove to speed up the registration process and offering full furniture packages as well as listings on holiday lettings websites with their sales packages. Thus buyers can hit the lettings market running as soon as their property title is registered and they have become its legal owner.
Marbella and the Costa del Sol may not have been in the radar for Indian property buyers up to now, but this bound to change in the near future. With price reductions of 50% to 60% for luxury seafront penthouses, apartments and villas and with further price adjustment on the horizon for this year, who could blame Indian investors for dipping a toe into the Spanish property market?
Accessibility through nearby Malaga and Gibraltar Airports, some 300 sunshine days per year, fine sandy beaches and excellent amenities make the Costa del Sol still a great place for international property investors. From the super yacht luxury of the Golden Mile and Sierra Blanca developments to the understated chic of eastern Marbella’s Elviria and Los Monteros districts’ prime property, Marbella property is hard to beat in terms of appeal, price and future capital gains.