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Where Spain still shines

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For many years, Spain was like a blazing beacon in the property market, attracting investors like moths to a flame as prices soared and the potential for buy-to-let was evident in the vernacular popularity of sun, sea and sand.

Now, many would say, that flame has been extinguished, plunging Spain into a stygian twilight which sees the shadows of concrete monstrosities built in the Costas growing ever darker in the gathering gloom, while investors head off elsewhere.

Yet this is not the whole picture by any means, explained Mark Stucklin, the head of investor advice website Spanishpropertyinsight.com. He stated that while it was indeed true that the bits of the Costas that have been "covered in cement" are in serious trouble, it can at least be said that other areas of the same region are at least seeing prices hold steady.

It is other parts of Spain which offer the best current prospects, Mr Stucklin added, commenting: "In general the areas that are doing better, or those that have managed to maintain a more upmarket positioning with less off-plan investment type products, are the Balearics, Majorca, Menorca and Ibiza." Such locations, he said, were in a better position than others to come through the present situation.

So if not altogether bright, there are certainly areas which may hold out better prospects for the future, which in turn could make them good places for long-term investors to buy in the expectation that these will be the areas leading the future recovery.

Those with such a long-term vision may be pretty big winners in the future. Earlier this month the Independent suggested that now may be just the time to buy in Spain just because the market has hit such a rough patch. "No slump lasts forever" it stated. Investors who are so bold as to buy now or soon and hold their nose through any further falls may be smiling when the sun rises on the next uprturn.

Of course, the paper noted, there are plenty who will still buy in Spain anyway, for all the usual reasons. Derek Blaney of independent estate agency Links Estates said: "All the reasons people love to own in Spain are still there," before adding that the benefits are presently greater for those who want a holiday home than those in it for "pure investment".

But, Mr Blaney suggested, the trend may be no bad thing in one sense, as so many were simply buying for "pure greed" and the market needed "cleaning up". If such a clean-up can avoid errors such as overdevelopment, rash purchases or illegal building in the next hotspots, the next growth period may even be a better one all round.

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