When thinking about buying a property abroad, it's important to be able to tap into cultural differences in the property markets. Here's a quick look at the main differences for Spain and in particular, Barcelona .
Pricing an apartment in a foreign country can be a daunting experience. Very often, you only have your country of residence to compare and contrast to, and given the huge differences across Europe , it's wise to get ahead of the game. In the UK and other strictly regulated EU countries, for example, an estate agent visits your property and "surveys" the property. Current market trends are taken into account, the area, school catchment areas, local transportation, many, many factors. The estate agent then comes back with an educated estimate about how much they think they can put the particular property on the market for. Often a seller will contact a few agencies in the area to view their property, and then choose the one who gives them the highest estimate remembering of course that this is no guarantee of being able to achieve that selling price, with the agency commission and other taxes and charges involved.
In most of Spain, and definitely in Barcelona where I can speak from personal experience, it is the seller who puts the asking price, and those agencies need to add on top their agency fee, and then the buyer generally needs to add an extra 10 % of the final asking price to cover all the notary costs, taxes, costs of opening a mortgage etc.
One of the main problems in this scenario is the quality of the apartments on offer. For example, in the same apartment block you may have a fully refurbished, quality apartment, wit the latest designs, up-to-date appliances and a living-space abiding by all the current regulations set down by the town hall and local government offices. Let's say, for example that this property is on the market for 150,000 Euros. Now, although this is known to happen more in the older neighbourhoods in the Catalan Capital - in fact those which make up a high proportion of the overall floor space on sale in the city - it's perfectly normal for another neighbour in the building to put their own property on the market for the same or very similar price. The major difference being that this particular neighbour has been living in their apartment for over 30 years, with no improvements or investments so to speak. So while their apartment might offer a little more "character" than the newer, neighbouring property, it's way behind on security and living up to the current laws regarding ventilation, installation of gas, electricity and water. Barcelona is a diverse city, built up of neighbourhoods of varying sizes and ages and within those neighbourhoods, or " barris" one can find a stark contrast in living spaces.
Don't, however, expect this as cause for negotiation. The owner of the older establishment simply looks on this as an opportunity of sale, and will more often than not budge on the asking price, claiming that if their neighbour has done the same (in the same year of construction) then they are also fully within their right to ask the same price.
For this reason, it's extremely important to choose a Barcelona real estate agent with care. It will become apparent after a short time conversing with these agencies those which will separate the class acts from the amateurs that's because they have done the leg work for you in crating their portfolio. Never before has such an informed decision been so important in losing valuable viewing time and separating the cream of the crop from the also-rans.
Disclaimer: All information on this site is provided for informational purposes only! By no means is any
information presented herein intended to substitute for the advice provided to you by any health care or other professional
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