I am meeting a number of sellers lately telling me that they are thinking on selling their properties because the market is getting better. When asked about where they gather that information, they say on the news. Is it true or is not? If you look at the official numbers on the closed transactions for Benahavis, they do not look that good. In fact, as can be seen on the attached chart, the number of transactions in 2016 was lower than that of 2015 and also than 2014. In percentage, there are 16% less transactions closed in 2016 than in 2015. The first quarter of 2017 does also not look promising as the number of closed transactions closed goes down an additional 11% when compared to the first quarter of 2016.
That means that there is less demand now than two years ago and last year. If we add this parameter to what I commented in my last newsletter on the increasing inventory of properties for sale, the news are not that good for someone thinking on selling: less demand and more offer with stable prices on the lowest. It is true that in these numbers you can not see the reservations closed in new developments that are still under construction, and in Benahavis, will not be counted until next year but those will not greatly affect the general numbers of second house sales.
On the other hand, and if we take a look to the numbers in Marbella, the situation was quite similar in 2016 but with a minor reduction of 9%: less transactions, more inventory and flat prices. However, in the case of Marbella the number of transactions in the first quarter of 2017 showed a 7% increase versus the same quarter of 2016.
The information on the news about a better market is correct for some areas of Spain and even in the province of Malaga but not for the local market of Benahavis. Probably because the British market, with buyers in the area with budgets on top of 200.000 €, has been highly affected by the Brexit vote and the uncertainties that are around the negotiations between UK and the European Union. I am of the opinion that time will put thing back in place but, meanwhile, the truth is that the facts show that our local market is being affected by that vote.