Europe's news in English

COPY LINK

PROPERTY

Costa Blanca expats triple pre-crisis home-buying

Foreigners, mainly British, have rushed to take advantage of a 30 percent fall in prices since 2010, leading to a 300 percent increase in purchases on the Costa Blanca compared with the start of the economic crisis, according to new figures released last week.

Published: 27 March 2014 12:14 CET

Costa Blanca expats triple pre-crisis home-buying

Alicante is Spain's hottest property market for homebuying foreigners. Photo: Flickr/Jose F. Caro

In 2009, foreign residents and non-residents bought 6,357 properties, mainly for use as second homes, on the Costa Blanca.

That figure rose officially to 12,217 according to the Spanish government's Ministry of Economic Development, but data from Provia, an Alicante-based property promotion association, based on statistics from the Valencian Notary College puts the true number at 17,488.

Spanish daily La Verdad revealed that most of the foreign buyers were British.

Algerians were surprisingly revealed as the second-largest group of buyers, beating Russians into third place.

Finns and Swedes, who had all but stopped buying Alicante property a couple of years ago, have also returned to the market.

The increased take-up has been attributed to falling prices, as much as 50 percent in some cases, from agents and banks.

The average purchase price was €109,434, some €44,451 less than in 2010, a saving which has offset the increased taxes on used property.

Provia declared its confidence that the increase in purchases would continue, especially as a result of the Entrepreneurs' Law, approved last September, which offers non-EU buyers the possibility of becoming legal residents if they buy property worth more than €500,000.

Spanish Ministry figures show that Alicante is the part of the country where most properties are sold to foreigners, followed by Malaga, Barcelona, the Balearic Islands and Tenerife.

Don't miss stories about Spain, join us on Facebook and Twitter.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.

Become a Member to leave a comment.

Seven residency words that confuse foreigners in Spain

Tarjeta Permanente and Tarjeta de larga duración

When you become a resident in Spain you will probably get a residency authorisation called residencia temporal (temporary residency), which gives you the right to live in Spain for a period of time which runs more than 90 days to up to five years depending on the authorisation.

You will be able to apply for long-term residency once you have lived in Spain for more than five years legally and continuously.

There are three types of long-term residency cards in Spain: Larga Duración, Larga Duración UE and Permanente.

The terms residencia de larga duración (long-term residency) and residencia permanente (permanent residency) are often used interchangeably – even by Spanish authorities – but they are slightly different.

Both types of residency are technically valid indefinitely. However, the larga duración card is valid for five years and the permanente for ten years. They then have to be renewed, even though your residency status isn’t at risk if you forget to do so or do it late.

Even though they give this indefinite residency status, an absence from Spain for one continuous year can result in losing your larga duración residency, and with the permanente residency the maximum absence is two years. Therefore, neither offer permanent residency no matter the circumstances.

As for the Larga Duración UE residency, they’re still meant for non-EU nationals (as are the two others), even though the name would suggest they award long-term residency status to EU nationals. The main difference this residency status has with the larga duración and permanente is that it technically makes it easier to be accepted to live and work in another EU country.

READ ALSO – EX-11: How to get your long-term residency card in Spain

NIE and TIE

For years, many Spaniards and foreigners have wrongly referred to the EU green residency certificates (Certificado de Registro de Ciudadano de la Unión) as NIEs.

A NIE is just your Número de Identidad de Extranjero or foreign identity number, which is included on the green residency certificate. There is a document which isn’t a residency certificate and contains the NIE number and is more aptly referred to as NIE, but this is a white document.

More recently have been confusing the NIE with the TIE as well. The TIE is the Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero, the biometric residency card that’s given to third country nationals residing in Spain. The TIE includes the NIE number, but again NIE and TIE are not interchangeable terms.

READ ALSO:

Arraigo

The word arriago simply means ties or roots to something. These type of residency authorisations are issued in exceptional circumstances if you have certain ties to Spain, even though the word arriago on its own doesn’t clearly indicate that.

There are various types of arriago authorisations such as laboral, social or familiar (work, social and family).

READ ALSO – Arraigo: How Spain’s residency under special circumstances works

Régimen Comunitario and Régimen general

No doubt you’ve seen these terms several times if you’ve been looking at residency documents and permission to live in Spain and you’ve more than likely been pretty confused as to what they mean.

Simply put, the Régimen Comunitario refers to the European Union as Spain is part of the ‘community’, so it relates to residency matters covered under EU/EEA/Switzerland rules. Usually, the Spanish residency status of EU nationals and their family members who move to Spain would be dealt with under the Régimen Comunitario.

The Régimen general on the other hand usually covers residency matters of foreigners from third countries that are not EU member states. In this case, it’s Spain’s extranjería (foreign affairs) department that sets the rules, not the EU’s.

Residency authorisations are of course very different for those from EU countries and those who are not. EU/EEA/Swiss nationals fall under the Régimen Comunitario and don’t have to get an authorisation to live and work in Spain, although they do have to register at the Registro Central de Extranjeros (Central Registry of Foreigners) in their first three months in Spain.

Foreigners from third countries do require an authorisation to live and work in Spain, bring over family members, live in Spain with the non lucrative visa and so on, all of which falls under the Régimen General rules.

Darse de alta and darse de baja

Literally these phrases mean ‘give yourself up’ or ‘give yourself down’ but it has nothing to do with ‘giving yourself’ up to the police or anything for that matter.

They actually mean to register or to de-register. You will have likely seen these terms if for example you’re self-employed and are required to darte alta como autónomo, which means to register or sign up to Spain’s freelance system.

Likewise, if you darte de baja on the padrón for example, it means you’re deregistering from the town hall.

These terms can also apply to residency, darse de alta como residente or darse de baja como residente.

READ ALSO: How do I officially give up my Spanish residency?

En trámite

Tramitar or solicitar is the verb you use when you are applying or processing your application, while ‘En trámite’ is the status given when it’s being processed by the authorities.

For example, if you want to check on the status of your application, you will often see the words ‘En trámite’, which means they’re dealing with it but haven’t completed the process yet. At this stage, all you can typically do is wait and see if your outcome is favourable or not.

Modelo

If you have to fill out any type form in Spain you will see this word. It’s usually the word modelo followed by a number such as Modelo 790. Confusingly the word modelo in Spanish doesn’t actually mean form, this should be formulario instead.

But the word is used for all types of documents you’ll have to complete throughout your entire time in Spain, from presenting your taxes to applying for benefits, becoming self-employed and renewing your residency cards. In this scenario, it’s nothing to do with a model or a prototype at all.

Url copied to clipboard!