Spain’s Government Presses Property-Bubble Rewind Button

Spain’s Government Presses Property-Bubble Rewind Button by Don Quijones • May 6, 2017 • 15 Comments Share on FacebookTweet about this on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on Google+Share on RedditPrint this pageEmail this to someone Taxpayer-funded subsidies to benefit banks, real estate agencies, construction companies, PE firms, and landlords. By Don Quijones, Spain & Mexico, editor at WOLF STREET. After spending the last few years groggily getting back onto its feet following the collapse of one of the most spectacular — and destructive — real estate bubbles of this century, Spain’s economy is once again being primed for another property boom. In the last quarter prices registered a year-on-year rise of 4.5%. Rents are also surging, though the country is still home to over half a million vacant properties. The cost of renting in Madrid and Barcelona, which between them account for 16% of those vacant properties, has reached historic highs, according to a new study by the online real estate market place Idealista. In Madrid, rents have risen on average by 27% since 2013; in Barcelona they’ve surged over 50%. This trend is being driven by two main factors: the recent explosion in tourist rentals [read: Is Barcelona’s Crazy Tourist Boom Too Much of a Good Thing?], as well as a general shift in consumer behavior as more and more people choose (or have little choice but) to rent rather than buy property. Reed more:http://wolfstreet.com/2017/05/06/spains-government-presses-property-bubble-rewind-button/