I was asked this question by a future client (We hope) over on Twitter. They wanted to know more about the current market conditions in Valencia after I said that supply was tight, really tight. The questions why, and who is selling came to mind so I thought it was time to have a little answer of those questions for everyone and also look behind the answers at the market and reasons why. As I said supply is tight but it’s still possible to find people selling property although summer tightens supply considerably.
Meanwhile we will also feature a few of our latest listings and our latest Golden Visa property of the week.
The Space Searchers
We have talked before here about who is buying property in Valencia. The people searching for space are buying but equally they are selling their smaller city properties to find and finance their upgrade to a larger property. The conversations are always similar; Does the house have extra rooms for a home office and study? Does it have broadband internet? How big is the plot/terrace?
However, we also ask these questions to them about the properties they want to sell along with others like is the apartment interior? Does it get a lot of light? Has it got good ventilation? (Take a look at our article here about the factors influencing price although all of the properties in the article are now sold of course as we wrote the article four years ago) It may be that a family sells their apartment to get more space but that apartment is perfect for a young couple, first time buyers or single kids who are getting a property from the bank of mum and dad.
The Investors
Over the last half decade people have bought properties as an investment and slowly they are trickling onto the market at higher prices as the modernisations finish and they decide to cash out of their investments. You can tell these places by the fact they are always presented well rather than looking rather “lived in”. This is also true of the next category of sellers. Many of these properties have never been lived in so they look pristine and are generally ready to go.
The People Bored of Airbnb
We have written before about the end of the airbnb economy in Valencia, and this was pre-pandemic! The pandemic has meant that many people are selling out their airbnb property as they were unable to rent it for a long time and in some cases the market hasn’t returned either. Nevertheless there are also those people who have just gotten sick of endless changeovers, over demanding clients, uncalled for bad reviews and simply put the time airbnb properties take up. Ally this to the costs of someone to do the changeovers, advertising, upkeep, taxes, the licence issue and more and many airbnb owners have decided to sell. There are plenty who haven’t of course but many of the IKEA’d properties you can see in the city and outskirts and from those bored Airbnb owners.
The Inheritors
Unfortunately the pandemic has had an effect on the market too. It has meant that many people have inherited a property and in many cases this means they have decided to sell it on as soon as the inheritance process in finalised with the property being registered in their names on the property registry. Oftentimes this is because they don’t want the extra costs of community fees, utilities, council tax etc… but usually it is a windfall which is quite useful for them if they have been affected by the pandemic. Only last week two of the sales we made were for properties inherited due to the pandemic.
The Four Horsemen
Of course the pandemic brings us one of the four horsemen, Death. The other three are also represented in people selling properties, disease, divorce and debt. I have it on good authority from the UK that Divorce solicitors are doing a roaring trade post lockdown, I believe the same is true in the Spanish Property market judging by listings we see offered. Disease is a given, people who are ill will often look to sell their properties to move to something more suitable. Debt is another that we expected a lot of properties for sale yet this is underrepresented at the moment as lots of people have had their jobs protected by the furlough scheme supported by the Spanish government and interest rates on mortgages are low and mortgage holidays are still being used by Spanish banks. We are still seeing some examples of debt forcing people to sell though.
The Suburb Hunters
People looking to move to the suburbs now they don’t need to be on top of their workplace comprise a lot of the sellers in the Valencia property market. We have written before about how places such as L’Eliana, Naquera, Betera and La Pobla are benefitting from people moving out from the city but wanting to stay near to the city for what it still offers them. These people are selling their highly sought after city properties to move to the suburbs.
The Nesters
The Nesters are those people wanting to make their comfortable home out of the city as their current place doesn’t allow them to do what they want. It includes growing families, extended families and people searching for something away from the crowds. They are selling their current properties and moving to places where they can put down some roots and construct their comfortable nests in the trees they plant.
Others
There are any number of other reasons for selling a property but these are the most common at the moment. Things may change in the future, you never know, but the pandemic has changed many people’s views of what a home is and more importantly isn’t.
This change of mindset is being seen around the world not just in Valencia, usually described as the “race for space” and it is impacting real estate prices everywhere but especially in well connected places on the outskirts of major cities. Luckily Valencia has plenty of properties that can be described as such. You might find some of them within our latest listings. See below for anything that might tickle your fancy.
Latest Listings From Valencia Property
Huge Villamarchante Villa Requiring Some TLC
Valencia Property presents this excellent villa just outside Villamarchante.
As we often do we will start with the downside and then mention all of the upsides. The roof terrace leaks and it needs work to stop it happening again. This has affected the downstairs bathroom and the ceilings in the kitchen, living room and hall. We reckon the repairs and the cleaning up of the gardens and pool to be in the region of 30-40k.
Now the good sides and there are many. Firstly, this villa enjoys lovely views over the countryside despite being just outside the town of Villamarchante. It has a large plot of around 2000m2 with a huge swimming pool with roman steps, outhouse ripe for redevelopment and covered parking. The house itself is huge with five or six bedrooms depending on your usage, two bathrooms, an excellently sized kitchen, large living room and covered front terrace with arches for you to enjoy the shade and a few barbecues and beers.
You can walk into town, fast internet is available and you are on mains for water and electricity. A decent little project for someone who wants to live in a large villa with space for the extended family with easy access to the local towns and into Valencia.
You can deposit on this property right now and complete in a few months once the inheritance is registered correctly with the property registry so get in quick.
Riverbed Property in Valencia
One of the most curious features of Valencia, and maybe the best, is the riverbed park. What do you do with a river that floods regularly, causing death and destruction every few years? Well, you just move it, obviously. And what do you do with the dry riverbed that’s left behind? Do you
A) build a 6 lane highway through the city centre
or
B) convert it into a linear park for the benefit of all?
These were the options facing the city council and amazingly they chose B. I can only imagine there was some misunderstanding, they must have been furious when they realised what they had voted for, all those lovely brown envelopes missed out on.
So when you are buying a property, proximity to the riverbed is a huge factor. And this apartment looks right out onto it. Everything about the apartment is decent. 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, larger than most (133m2), balcony big enough for table and chairs, 10 minutes walk from the city centre and only a couple of hundred metres from the tram stop direct to the beach.
A very rentable property, medium and long term, and a great holiday property as well to really enjoy all Valencia has to offer, starting with the riverbed park.
Sought After Property With Terrace in Ruzafa
An apartment right in the heart of Ruzafa. If you know Ruzafa then you won’t need me to explain this but in case you don’t its one of the most desirable areas of the city to live in. Its a few minutes walk from the city centre, it seems to have hundreds of restaurants and bars, and next year the new Ruzafa metro stop will open making it even easier to get to the beach and the airport from here.
This apartment is on one of the quieter streets, on the first floor. And we all know what first floor means, don’t we? – TERRACE! Yes, there is a lovely terrace out the back here, plenty of room for a table and a few chairs. The awning is a good choice too, giving shade from the sun, and protection from falling clothes pegs from the neighbours washing lines above.
2 bedrooms, nicely decorated, and the option to purchase a garage space too (total including garage €275,000), very useful given that one big problem in the area is that street parking is very hard to come by. No point moving to Spain only to spend half your time doing laps of the block searching for a gap in the parked cars.
Great location in one of the most sought-after areas of Valencia with a couple of the most sought-after features – parking and a terrace! So get seeking after and come see it
Fantastic Family Villa Just Outside Naquera
This excellent villa is less than a kilometre from Naquera town (30mins from Valencia city and 15mins from the beach, international schools very close by), and in fact from the front terrace you have views of the city and the sea.
When you see photos of a house its always worth having a look to see if the house has been lived in or was just a holiday home. This place has lots of kids stuff around, there’s a packed games room downstairs, the pool is spotless, so clearly this is a home that has been lived in. Ok, you have to put up with a few marks on the wall in the kids rooms from the football posters, but in return it usually means that the place has been looked after and not neglected.
The indoor living space looks great, modern bathroom, living room and kitchen furniture and equipment. There are 4 bedrooms, or 3 and a home office. In fact there is a secondary building with its own bathroom, which would be perfect as a home office if you don’t want to be disturbed, or indeed as a guesthouse.
Outside there is a big pool, a garden area with trees, lots of space for a vegetable patch, a covered terrace, a garage, a barbecue area and even a small football pitch for the kids with artificial grass.
More than just a holiday villa, this is a fantastic home, well located for great family living.
Family House in Rocafort
Many people looking for property in Valencia, especially if they are coming from Britain or North America begin by saying they would like a house, in a town, with a bit of a garden. Sounds like an easy enough ask, but the truth is that these properties are few and far between in Valencia, its just not the usual style of house.
Here is one however. In Rocafort (10kms from the beach, 10kms from the city centre), this house is a few minutes walk from the town centre and the same from the metro. It is a large townhouse, not much to look at from the street perhaps, but coming through the side gate to the main entrance via the garden, it really is something special.
A nice garden area, but no pool at the moment (although both neighbours have installed one) and a spacious outdoor dining area. Inside the house there is an open fire, 4 bedrooms upstairs and access to a large roof terrace. The house has a south-east orientation, with nothing to block the views from up here of the mountains and across the huerto to the sea.
A beautiful house in a nice peaceful town on the edge of the city, with easy access to the huerto and the beach, this is a house for living in all year round. Many international schools are within easy reach from here, if you’re thinking of moving to Valencia with your family, and you’re not ready to embrace apartment living and give up the garden shed just yet, then this is the place for you.
Golden Visa Property of the Week
Soon to Be Beachfront in Denia??
Ever thought you would like a fantastic high-quality beautiful villa on the first line of the beach, with the waves lapping at your garden fence? I know, all those properties are crazy expensive, 7-figure prices.
Well, here’s an opportunity for you. A much more affordable place in Devesa Beach, which is a few kilometres to the north of Denia, about an hour from Valencia city.
5 bedrooms and even more bathrooms (when there are more bathrooms than bedrooms you know its next level). A winter kitchen (indoors) and a summer kitchen (outdoors on the shady terrace), a pool and jacuzzi, and large sliding class doors to allow plenty of air and light through the house.
At the moment it is about 150 metres from the beach, and I know, I know, I mentioned first line, but who buys a property without thinking of the future? The way things are going, by about 2040 this house will be right on the beach, which is just about when they will have worked out how to stop the seas rising, and you will be left with a prime beachfront. You see? Up here for thinking, down there for dancing as they say.
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