Valencia Property Blog

I know, I know! The Valencia Property website has been quiet over the summer, and we want to explain why. Part of it is our own August schedule but most of it comes down to factors outside our control and really, sort of expected. We have continued to add blogs like this one, podcasts and Substack articles but the main website has been quiet with very few new listings. That will be remedied in the next couple of weeks. We are currently cracking the whip in that respect amongst both ourselves and also with collaborators and even developers. However, it is time to tell you why it has been quiet and as suggested above it's due to a combination of factors not just our summer recess.

This summer has been particularly quiet in the Valencia Property market in terms of new listings and this has affected us too. And some of the stuff we have been offered... It brings forward the title here, "To List or Not To List - That is the Question". "You really want a million for that???!!!"

Not to put too fine a point on it but frankly some of the stuff owners and agents have offered us and maybe listed elsewhere just doesn't justify any effort on our behalf to list them. It's not that we are lazy, it's just that they are priced, how can we say, optimistically.

There is other stuff we have been offered that doesn't quite fit into our normal areas and when we go outside our normal areas we want something to be really special in order to make it worthwhile. Nothing really special hit home where we would be prepared to make the exception this summer. Now and again we do list things outside our normal areas as you might well know and in those cases the properties have to have a certain something, they didn't.

However, this has also been true in the areas where we like listing normally. Not much has been forthcoming. Part of this is a seasonal thing, the normal summer slump as people go away, don't give access to their properties in their absence and just wait until September gets here and everyone is around again. And part of it is structural.

The structural part is actually... erm.. structural or constructural if that's a word. There isn't a large funnel of new build properties coming onto the market meaning that people aren't selling up their current properties where they live. That is not going to change any time soon as far as we can see. Building takes time as does licensing and finishing off current builds. There is a slow drip drip drip but not a gushing tap.

The Pricing Issue

Should we be listing what we consider to be overpriced properties?

For the last few years the answer to that question has been a resounding no because prices were not really that negotiable. However, as the market has definitely slowed down due to the summer (and prior to that due to the tax changes in June) along with the slight increases in interest rates pushing more people out of the market, it's a question that we are coming back to.

If we think something is overpriced should we list it if we suspect the owners might be more amenable to offers? My gut instinct is still a no, but in certain cases...?

One of the issues with this is that when we put the properties onto social media and they are seen to be "optimistically priced" then we get so much abuse from people. People who don't know the market or maybe have only a passing interest in it and those who bought ten years ago and think that they understand the market and that prices should remain the same. Of course their own property is worth a lot more... it's just others that aren't. They haven't understood the market and they won't understand that prices change.

Whatever the answer is, we cannot win. Some people want more listings and others want unrealistically low pricing. Some of the more unscrupulous agents do this by the way, place suspiciously low priced properties online to get enquiries, and guess what... the property has just been sold when you contact them but now the agent has your details to annoy you in future with other stuff.

Here's the thing though. Overpriced stock is essentially the same as no stock at all. A serious buyer should not even bother themselves to look at it as they will be directed to the properties that "undercut" the overpriced properties by any self respecting buyers agent. That's what we do.

The Misunderstanding of What GDPR is

Some listing agents don't understand what GDPR is and say they cannot send us the photos because of... GDPR. That's not how it works. Like everything in life it's about permission. Ask and ye shall receive.

Cooperation

We cooperate lots and in many ways. Most agents cooperate in their own way but their own ways might be limited to "Sure you can see it if you want but you can't list it". Therefore we have access to many more properties than we list but when they are not on our website then maybe they aren't as "front of mind" as they otherwise might be because the clients haven't specifically asked for that property, never having seen it before.

There's also an industry-wide issue here which is as interesting as it is frustrating. The lack of knowledge, or let's say industry-wide standards, of how to share listings, photos and information is truly amazing. There's no MLS in Spain. Years ago we had to explain how to use Dropbox. It was like pulling teeth. These days there are a hundred dropbox type services but it's still as if "The Cloud" doesn't exist. There are so many ways to share information but most people don't know about it so they say "Because of GDPR..."

And this is why buyers agents are so important to you, whether it's us or others. You don't know who you are dealing with at individual selling agencies and you may get the newbie without industry knowledge. You might especially get them on the treadmill and constant churn of the franchise agents (Just look for the coloured ties as uniform and the tight shiny suits even in summertime) because newbies are cheap and are just told what to do. Their product knowledge and understanding of your particular needs aren't at the forefront of their minds. Selling stuff is, whatever the price or condition.

Our Summer Break

Yes, it's partially our fault. We haven't insisted as much as maybe we should because we know what happens in the summer: People go away and things slow up. However, we maybe shouldn't have allowed August to become a dead month because the properties listed in the summer become more important both to us and you in the Autumn.

Don't worry though, we still had our eye on the market in the summer, we know what is available, what is good and more importantly what isn't even though it's listed.

Other Possible Factors

These are not the only factors even though they are the main ones. However, there are other potential mitigating factors. One of these may be that sellers want better guidance as to the price they should be setting their properties at and that guidance is scarce in the summer due to the summer shutdown. Equally, we know that certain properties have disappeared off the market due to the summer and they may reappear soon... or not. We will see starting next week.

Conclusions

I haven't really got anything concrete about the market and how it may move from this article, other recent articles below talk about that. Nevertheless, the question remains, to list or not to list? What do you feel is right? Let us know via mail. As a buyer, the main thing to remember right now is patience, my dear, patience. Things will turn up.

Just to let you know though, because you can rely on us, we will be going on a listing frenzy as long as we can find properties that we feel suit our client base, that's people like you. So keep an eye on the main website, the first new listings will be up this week and we might even come up with some outstanding, funny and even daring descriptions. That's what we do.

Meanwhile, fill in the form below and let us know what you are looking for. This helps guide us on what we should be listing too.