A few days ago, the Bank of Spain confirmed what a number of estate agents and Spanish property portals have been saying for some time – that Spanish property sales to foreigners were increasing dramatically.  In fact, the Bank of Spain claims that the amount of money invested in Spanish property by foreign buyers during 2011 rose to 4,748 million [...]

So, it appears that there may be a ‘run’ on Bankia, Spain’s fourth largest bank – which has just been part nationalized by the Spanish state.  This ‘run’ is being denied, predictably, by the government and the bank itself.  Indeed, it may well be that people are not withdrawing their money as fast as they can from Bankia.  However, the [...]

The pound has hit 1.25 against the euro this past week, its highest rate since Oct 2008, as Spain struggles to get to grips with its banking sector and Greece contemplates a euro exit. So what next for the continent in crisis, and the exchange rate? Here is my latest update of the British pound to euro exchange rate, covering [...]

Spain is, of course, famous for its horses and its riding.  In fact, one of the emblems of Spain is a proud male rider astride a huge, white Andalusian horse, its short, powerful neck arched and its forelegs thrown ‘artificially’ high as it moves forward.  The rider is usually seen wearing a black waistcoat, a broad brimmed hat, black jodhpurs, [...]

So, over the past couple of weeks the true state of the Spanish property market is becoming apparent and confirms what I have been saying for a long time.  In short, average property prices across Spain have fallen by around 40% since the height of the boom in 2007 – not the 20% that the Spanish government has been steadfastly [...]

Have you noticed that the price of prescription drugs in Spain has dropped markedly over the past year?  So much so that, in some cases they have dropped in price by 75%!  I had noticed this happening over the past few months but I had thought that I was just imagining things.  However, this was confirmed to me by a [...]

Buying Spanish property can be somewhat hazardous.  Indeed, a combination of illegality (both in title and construction), potential liabilities (i.e. where an infrastructure project may occur) and indifferent build quality are far from rare when it comes to Spanish properties. That is not to say that there are not fully legal, sound properties to be bought in Spain.  To state [...]

If you are thinking of banking in Spain then, in principle, you are spoilt for choice – or are you? There are dozens of banks in Spain including a number of savings banks in Spain called Cajas or Caixas.  The latter are often regional and some have very few branches. Spanish banks vary in terms of their exposure to the [...]

The INE (the Spanish Statistics Institute) has just released data showing that there are now some 5,639,500 people unemployed in Spain – a figure that is nothing short of disastrous.  Indeed, some 4,000 people a day lost their jobs in Spain during the first quarter of 2012.  A mind numbing figure. Indeed, with an unemployment rate in Spain of 24.4% [...]

One aspect to Spain that is often overlooked is its world class heritage.  In fact, it may surprise you to know that Spain is second only to Italy for its UNESCO World Heritage sites, of which it has 42 to Italy’s 47.  By comparison the UK has 28. I say that Spain’s World Heritage position may be a ‘surprise’ because, [...]

As the son of Spanish immigrants, born and raised in the UK but having spent most of my working life doing business in Spain and the last seven years living here, I have given a lot of thought to trying to understand what gives the Spanish the character they have – loud, opinionated, proud, autocratic, confrontational and individualistic. Yes – [...]

The backlash against austerity has begun, following the victory of Socialist Francois Hollande in Round One of the French presidential contest this weekend. So what next for Europe, and the euro? What next for Europe? This question has quite suddenly gripped the markets in the last day or two, following events that have apparently reduced the edifice of European austerity [...]

So, Spain is formally back in recession, with the Spanish economy having lost ground in the last quarter of 2010 (by 0.3%) followed by a further loss (of 0.4%) during the first quarter of 2012.  This is, of course, very bad news – but was entirely predictable. Needless to say, what is less predictable is when Spain will emerge from [...]

Have you been thinking of buying a property in Spain or moving here but been put it off because you cannot understand the Spanish property market? Are you confused by what is happening and unsure whether to buy now or wait – or do you think that perhaps you may have lost the opportunity of buying your dream home in [...]

The pound has continued its climb against the euro, as speculation Spain will need external aid reaches fever pitch. There’s no doubt then: the slow motion car crash that is the Eurozone debt crisis is back with us. Furthermore this time it’s centred on Spain, where this week yields on government bonds (a good indicator of market confidence) breached the [...]