January 13, 2025

Spain to Tax (the crap out of) Non-EU Buyers

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sรกnchez announced plans to impose significant restrictions on property purchases by non-EU buyers in Spain. The proposed measure would introduce a ๐ญ๐š๐ฑ ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐ฎ๐ฉ ๐ญ๐จ ๐Ÿ๐ŸŽ๐ŸŽ% ๐จ๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐ฏ๐š๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ž ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐ฉ๐ž๐ซ๐ญ๐ฒ made by buyers residing outside the European Union. He didn’t provide more details of how this would work, but did say this was something Congress (Spainยดs Congreso de los […]

January 10, 2025

3 Things to Stop Doing in 2025

๐ˆ ๐ฌ๐š๐ฒ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฏ๐ž – An agent asked me this the other day, so in the spirit of sharing (and caring), here are my proposed New Year’s resolutions for agents… 1. Delete the words “tapestry”, “realm”, “delve”, “engaging”, “evolving” and “landscape” from your dictionary, it stinks of ChatGPT (double-bad if used together “evolving landscape” ๐Ÿคฎ ) – when you use ChatGPT add: โ€œavoid using […]

January 8, 2025

A Look at 2024

Spain’s property market defied global trends in 2024, posting a remarkable 10% sales growth in the first nine months and surpassing 500,000 transactions. A standout third quarter saw a 16% year-on-year increase, with Malaga Province leading the charge at 18% growth. While neighbouring countries like France and Germany struggled with declining markets, Spain’s resilienceโ€”bolstered by foreign buyers, local demand, and a strong economyโ€”cemented its position […]

January 3, 2025

Spain Golden Visa ends 3.4.25

The Spanish government has announced that the ‘Golden Visa’ program, which grants residency permits in exchange for investments, will end on 3rd April 2025. After this date, no further permits will be issued under this scheme. The ‘Golden Visa’ program was introduced to attract foreign investment by offering residency to individuals who invested in Spanish real estate or businesses. However, concerns have been raised about […]

December 19, 2024

Spain Slaps Sanctions on Airbnb

Airbnb faces fines of up to โ‚ฌ100,000 (maybe more*) from the Spanish authorities for failing to remove thousands of unlicensed tourist apartment listings, despite prior warnings. This comes after Spain’s Consumer Affairs Ministry launched formal sanction proceedings against the platform, something that is part of a broader initiative by officials to crack down on unlicensed tourist apartments. Reuters reports that Airbnb said it always asks […]

December 7, 2024

Why Are More Buyers Relocating to the Costa del Sol?

The trend toward relocation on the Costa del Sol changes everything. We are already witnessing it in places such as The Pool Marbella where new ecosystems of startups and entrepreneurs from around the world are emerging. While several factors contribute to this change, the newfound capability to act on long-held aspirations (point 1 below) appears to be the most significant: 1. Remote work opportunities: The […]

November 23, 2024

Introducing the IAA

A new professional network for independent real estate agents has launched in Spain’s Costa del Sol. The Independent Associate Agents (IAA) network, established by LM Group and LMG Academy co-founder Marina Nitzak, aims to provide operational support for freelance real estate professionals. The network operates on a cooperative model, offering members shared access to business infrastructure and resources. Members receive standard business tools including Google […]

November 22, 2024

A Mixed Bag in Q3

Foreign buyers made up 14.9% of Spanish property sales in Q3 2024. While this total is in line with recent trends, the mix of buyer nationalities is changing. The UK, Germany, and France traditionally held the top spots, but France has dropped from 3rd to 6th place. Swedish buyers now represent half their 2022 percentage and have declined further since last quarter. Polish buyers have […]

November 21, 2024

Breakfast of Champions

You may have heard that the local agents association the LPA – The leading property agents of Spain held a real estate breakfast presentation earlier this week. Plenty to unpack, Iโ€™ll do something more in-depth another day but for now, the main takeaway for me is that at some point next year there will be agent regulation implemented through Andalucia and one of the criteria […]

October 27, 2024

The Best areas to Live in Marbella

Marbella offers several exceptional areas for living, each with unique characteristics and appeal. Here are the top neighbourhoods: Luxury and Exclusivity Zones The Golden Mile – Stretches from Marbella city to Puerto Banรบs – Most exclusive area with luxury homes – Spectacular sea and mountain views – Unique shops and high-end restaurants – Epitome of Marbella’s glamorous lifestyle Puerto Banรบs – Cosmopolitan and modern neighbourhood […]