Crikey – what on earth is happening to the exchange rate at the moment. After the scary days of January when the sterling euro exchange rate fell to a record low of 1.02 and some travelers were being paid 96p for each euro purchased, we saw a steady recovery to highs of 1.18 in June this year – hardly back to the good old days of 1.47 but a move in the right direction! And now, our hopes are dashed again. As I write, one British pound is worth a paltry 1.0801 Before you dismiss these figures as irrelevant, just consider this. If you had been thinking of buying a property in Spain in the 6 months from January 2009 to June 2009, a €200,000 property would have cost you the equivalent of £196,078 in January………and yet the same property would have set you back just £169,492 in June. That´s a massive difference of £26,586, a saving of over 13% A 13% saving on a pair of socks isn´t much to get excited about, but when it´s a applied to a €200k house, it´s another matter entirely! The Brits traditionally account for the largest proportion of overseas buyers of Spanish property , so the weakness of sterling is a massive problem for Spanish property sellers and estate agents alike. The problem for the market is that no-one truly knows which way the exchange rates are heading, It seems that the UK is exercising its freedom to manipulate the value of sterling in order to boost its export market and thereby emerge intact from recessionary times, but this is causing major problems for any Brits thinking of buying anything in the eurozone. Recent reports suggested that some experts think that sterling will once again be dragged close to parity with the euro before the end of the year, while experts at Barclays were quoted as forecasting a recovery to 1.18 within 3 months and then 1.25 within 12 months. It´s all very unsettling for any British buyers thinking of investing in Spanish property – most prospective purchasers seem happy to play a waiting game to see exactly which way we are likely to go – not great for Spanish property sales, but understandable nonetheless. Related Posts Sterling is Rising! Sterling on the Rise - Great News for British Buyers in Spain Exchange Rate - should it prevent me from buying in Spain?



Property in Majorca | Pounds to Euros | Majorcan Property


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