The property market is terrible this year, sales have decreased massively and things just are not selling.

It is a great place to buy, for obvious reasons, but as I say, its not looking good for this year.

The people I bought off are turning more than double the sales around compared to last year.

If you are weary about Estate agents, ring them and ask for referrals. Most will be pleased to put you in touch with their previous customers. The housing market is as buoyant as ever, with reports stating government figures to prove that the trend is up, as more and more northern European buyers look to Tenerife etc. etc.

Prices are still increasing but the system works differently out here. Mortgages are given on a set amount per square metre so I a seller over prices their home they may be cutting out many potential purchasers out if they need a mortgage. This tends to regulate the general prices of houses.

The value of our home has increased by €14,000 over 1 year.

Many of the estate agents offer a "one stop shop" where they will organise everything for you from the mortgage, the debt search, the land search and all the legal matters and insurance etc. They don't charge for this as they add on their commission to the price the seller wants before advertising the property. You can save this commission if you deal direct with the vendor, but you would probably spend just as much doing all the leg work yourself / solicitors etc.

You are right about the embargo on new planning permission. it was just a political spin. Stopping new permissions for 3 years will have no effect on housing availability as more than 10 years of planning permission has already been granted. But "Tenerife planning permission suspended for 3 years" looked good in print and gave the then Spanish Government brownie points with the locals (until we all realised that it was worthless and just spin!)

Although I would recommend doing as much research as possible before taking the plunge, there are some things that you simply cant do in advance and at some point the serious prospector simply has to take the plunge. Which is where the one stop shops come in. They are here on the Island and do act on your behalf. They can do things on your behalf without you being here. They do it every day for 1000's of customers, and on the whole can be trusted.

.....can certainly agree with the advantages of a "one stop shop" - they get all the hassle, you get to sleep at nights !
We purchased last October, from viewing to completion in three weeks. All legalities taken care of,all paperwork, the NIE's applied for, bank account opened.....everything. They also do the management and rentals; of course they get commision - however it's a percentage of the actual rental, so if its empty, they're not getting any money either.....

We purchased in Tenerife primarily for the year-round rental market; we looked on the costa's for a long time, couldn't find anything at our price level to compare with the location and facilities that we now have; if you want to see what we eventually purchased, click on the www link below !

Like property everywhere, short term rises and falls are only really relevent if you intend treating it just as a commodity to be bought or sold as any financial transaction; to buy a property for your own long term use possibly including permanent occupation is surely a more personal decision, buying exactly what you like rather than what you could make a quick profit on.

Hi sunowner,

No link?

....the link should be underneath the text, next to the profile and private message boxes ; however, these are only visible when you're logged in.....

I'm afraid the link is not there..even when you log in

Okay..so we have heard from the folk that have been on the buying side of the chain...(and very happy they seem with their purchases)

What about folk trying to sell up...I suspect that would probably give a more balanced view of the true situation of the market...

The link is there, as sunowner says - clickon the www box along side the pm box & it will take you to the apartment details.