Editorial:
Catalonia is again keen to seek independence apparently, with the September regional elections being the pistol-shot for an attempt to secede from Spain some eighteen months later. It has been a long-held and much cherished dream, as there is the belief that Catalonia would be better off economically by seceding. In particular, proponents refer to the fact that Catalonia pays much more into Spain's central treasury than it gets back. Meanwhile, the Catalans enthusiastically continue to prove just how un-Spanish they are (sometimes uncomfortably so), with the insistence on their own language, no more bullfights (but, yes to correbous, which, like the caganer, are particularly charmless) and now, full-working days 'a la européenne' rather than the Spanish long-lunch and siesta version of working life (found at The Guardian). All this designed, in some way, to show Catalonia to be a modern European State rather than a fusty old Iberian one. Should Spain let them go? Who would want to be remembered as the politician who answered that question with a 'yes'? Of course, there are other parts of the Spanish national territory watching to see how this will all play out: particularly the Basques. (A good introduction to Catalonian independence here).
Housing:
'One of the world’s largest private equity investors stands accused of seeking to profit from Spain’s lowest income tenants. The Blackstone Group is the latest target for anti-eviction campaigners collectively known as PAH ('Plataforma de Afectados por la Hipoteca') over its Spanish real estate investments. Blackstone, along with other US investors, bought into the distressed Spanish real estate market in a bid to benefit from the sector’s recovery...'. From Forbes.
Spanish News Today headline: One third of Spanish properties sold are cash purchases. They note that 'Two thirds of foreign buyers don't require a mortgage'. We also read in Customs Today that 'Spain’s central statistics stated that the number of property sales registered during February in the Spain increased 15.5%. 'This brings the running 12-month cumulative total of sales to 326,143 since March 2014, an increase of 11.2% since the low of February 2014, and all of the market conditions suggest that the figure will continue to rise, although not to anywhere near the peaks of over 700,000 which were recorded in 2007 and 2008...'.
'The Spanish property market has seen renewed interest from investors over recent months, a sign that the country’s economy is continuing to recover after the financial crises...'. From Invezz. Probably to do in part with the weak euro.
An amusing read: the 'ten largest unfinished absurdities in Spain'. With pictures. Here.
That BBC One documentary about life on the Costa del Sol. They say: 'For 60 years Brits have flocked to the Costa del Sol. Since the launch of package holidays, it has guaranteed us sun, sea and sausage sandwiches. Up to a million Brits moved to Spain for a better life, but after a huge financial crisis, crippling austerity and plummeting property prices, the dream may be over. Figures suggest that 90 thousand Brits resident in Spain left in the last year alone...'. Fair or foul? (Hmm, apparently, you have to be in the UK to see this. We found a few short clips here). The Olive Press is critical of this 'one-sided' viewpoint: 'The BBC documentary ‘Costa del Sol: Last Brits Standing’ has left many cold after Spain and ex-pat life here was portrayed extremely negatively. The Spaniards featured describe ex-pats as ‘barbaric’ and ‘crazy’ while ex-pats are seen making derogatory remarks about the Spanish...'. The Guardian says that the Spanish didn't like it either: '...But Spain is up in arms at BBC documentary 'Costa del Sol: Last Brits Standing', which followed ex-pats such as Big Dave, Brönte the barmaid and 66-year-old jive dance instructor Colin. This week Spaniards got their first look at the film, and few were impressed...'. Lastly the (commercial) Viva Blog also has a poor opinion: 'Blinkered BBC hatchet job should not dull your dreams of Spain...'. Here.
Andrew Brociner in his article this week explores the consequences of the falling population on the housing sector (below).
Tourism:
About 75% of all tourist promotion – 87.8 million euros – is done by agencies and tour operators, says Hosteltur here. Viajes El Corte Inglés is the market leader.
Finance:
The IMF has raised its estimate for Spain’s economic growth to 2.5% for this year and 2% for 2016. This puts Spain at the top of European growth. El Huff Post has the story.
An interactive map of Spain shows which provinces have suffered the most during the seven-year long recession.
If you owe something to the bank, they can be quite ruthless, says a lawyer who helps those suffering from foreclosure: '..."For debt on a mortgage, the bank or caja can take over the apartment, plus the home of the guarantor, the monthly pension and still be looking for more." says José María Erauskin, a Gipuzkoa Attorney...'. Found at El Diario del Norte.
Workers make an average hourly rate here of €15.70, which is 27.3% less than the €21.60 made by workers in the other euro-zone countries. El País in English has the story.
Politics:
We must attack Ciudadanos (the other centre-right party in Spain), while keeping channels open for future pacts and coalitions. Such is the thinking at the Partido Popular, according to El Mundo here.
Has Podemos lost its way forward, asks El Diario in an interesting article as the anti-austerity party falters slightly in the polls. Reuters shares the concern: '...Podemos led the poll carried out by Metroscopia for El Pais newspaper for the fourth month in a row, garnering 22.1 percent support. However, the opposition Socialists regained lost ground to come second with 21.9 percent of the vote...'. It says here. Story also at El País in English.
David Jackson has a good article here on Susana Díaz' problems with finding support for her as President of Andalucía ahead of next week's investiture.
Felipe Gonzalez is in favour of 'a grand coalition between the PP and the PSOE if the Country needs it'. Explain that to the voters...
Courts
'The ex-Junta de Andalucía boss Manuel Chaves has claimed ignorance over Spain’s biggest public money scandal. Appearing in court in Madrid over the ERE scandal, on Monday, he insisted: ‘If I had known what was going on, I would not have permitted it.’ The 70-year-old, who led Andalucía for 19 years and now has a seat in Madrid’s parliament, claimed to have no idea that his Employment Ministry was syphoning tens of millions fraudulently every year for a decade...'. More at The Olive Press. Manuel Chaves and José Antonio Griñán need to be fired from the PSOE by party leaders Pedro Sánchez and Susana Díaz, as they have done with another ex-regional president Fernando López Aguilar, if they want to improve the image of the party, says Periodista Digital here.
Various:
Since we aren't allowed to protest without permission (which we may not get – something right there to protest about?), thanks to the new Law of Citizen Security coming in soon (July 1st), how about a protest outside the Spanish Parliament by hooligans – sorry we meant holograms? This clever idea happened last Friday and thousands of angry, ah, holograms turned up. See TV La Sexta's report. A spokesperson for the 'No Somos Delito' organisation said afterwards, 'If this sounds like surrealism, so does the law'. By the way, if you are going to protest without the right paperwork completed, the new law contemplates fines of up to 600,000€.
Spain has the largest fleet of official cars in the World at 40,000 vehicles: which is twenty two times larger, for example, than the USA. The story comes from the appropriately named Indignate site here.
'Fast money guaranteed!'. It sounds like a scam and it is. These regular radio adverts lead you to small credits of quick money, but at huge interest – as much as 3,000% annual. El Mundo exposes this legal robbery and names some of the companies.
'Spain ranks in the bottom four when it comes to regulating the "hidden influence" of lobbyists in government, according to a report on European countries released by Transparency International on Wednesday. Spain was ranked 16th out of the 19 countries surveyed ... with an overall score of 21 percent for being able to safeguard against undue influence from lobbyists...'. From The Local.
The New York Times has published a fascinating report (and slide show) on Spain's last coal miners. There are now only around 4,000 left and their jobs are increasingly precarious.
The Daily Mail has printed a story about the 'slave conditions' of the workers in the Almerian plastic farms. 'Read this and you will NEVER want to buy a bag of supermarket salad again...'. Channel 4 TV has made an exposé on the subject: 'An army of modern-day "slaves" are being used to grow the salad and winter vegetables that fill Britain's supermarket shelves...', includes several clips here.
One day... they were just everywhere! Roundabouts in Spain: Pictures of the oddest ones!
An article in Fortune titled 'American Millennials are among the world's least skilled' shows that young adults of the 'Generation Y' perform remarkably badly with '...literacy (including the ability to follow simple instructions), practical math, and — hold on to your hat — a category called “problem-solving in technology-rich environments.”...'. They '...“scored lower than their counterparts in 15 countries,” the report notes, “and only scored higher than their peers in Spain.”...'. Huh?
The first British 'Cañas y Tapas' bar has opened in Islington, London. The bar, part of a Spanish chain, says that 100% of the products offered come from Spain. Story here.
See Spain
'The mills of Folon and Picon are a collection of 60 mills located on the slopes of Monte Campo do Couto, in the Spanish municipality of El Rosal, in the autonomous community of Galicia. These mills, built during the 18th century, are arranged in a cascade so that they could share the same water channel. The energy provided by the waters as it flowed down the mountain was utilized to grind corn and wheat, as well as working with linen and wool. Although no longer operational, the beautifully restored mills constitute an ensemble of great cultural and ethnographic heritage of the El Rosal region...'. From Amusing Planet.
'Located on the Bay of Biscay, among steep cliffs, Comillas is half fishing village, half architectural treasure. With a noble, stately air, it is one Cantabria’s most celebrated towns and one that attracts most visitors...'. From Eye on Spain.
'Easy-going cities invite you to take a rest from the breakneck speed of your daily life. They want you to enjoy the peace and quiet of sitting in the village square, of lingering over the lunch table in an outdoor restaurant, and of discovering the intricate work of craftsmen in their workshops. You’ll be able to do all that in these cities of under 50,000 inhabitants, which have had to fulfil a series of requirements to enable them to be recognised as towns offering an outstanding quality of life...'. Might be worth a look. From Spain Info.
'A weekend in the Sierra de Gredos is really rewarding. You can enjoy a few days in the countryside, with snow covered mountains as background and exploring this natural landscape and towns, full of history...'. Photographic essay at Mindful Travel.
Population and the Housing Sector
by Andrew Brociner
In the last two issues, we looked at the effects of the declining population in Spain, first on long term growth and then on pensions. In this issue, we explore the consequences of the falling population on the housing sector.
The boom period saw a mind-boggling building frenzy in Spain. The following is a chart of houses constructed and completed in total monthly units:
Luckily, this delirium ended, but late, in fact, as notice that the peak in construction did not come until July of 2008, with much construction still going on for a year after that. There seemed to be no limit to the amount of greed that prevailed at the time and people kept right on building when the boom was over, oblivious to the fact that no one would buy those houses. Not surprisingly, when the property boom ended, there remained a huge number of unsold dwellings.
When we took a look at the population in Spain, we saw that it is decreasing. The population in Spain is expected to look something like this:
During the boom years, much of the demand for houses was fuelled by the large immigration which took place with families setting up new households. As we have seen, the population in Spain rose from 40 million to 46 million between 2000 and 2008. There was clearly a need for housing. In fact, in 2007, 474,000 households were set up in Spain. In 2014, it was 117,000 and this trend is set to continue. In fact, INE puts the increase of new households at 1 million only by 2029. So, at the current rate, it will take a long time to assimilate all of these new houses.
According to the INE, in 2011, there were 3,443,365 unsold houses sitting empty in Spain. This large stock of unsold property is being reduced only very slowly. We can see the total houses sold (both old and new) in the graph below:
Things are changing ever so slightly. The decreasing population in Spain will impinge on the demand for houses. With the demand for households much less than before, it will take time to absorb the outstanding stock of unsold houses. And this lack of demand will put a drag on construction and prices.
Letters
To your inquiry: In Sandanski, Bulgaria, a retired couple with their own home can live very well for 400 Euro per month, including taxes and good wine!
Per Svensson
Thank you Per, it sounds a bit frugal. And while things are getting more expensive, I still prefer Spain. Lenox
Business over Tapas on Facebook with regular updates. Here.
Finally:
Flamenco-Arab mix here. 'Habibi ya nour el ein' with Alabina. On YouTube.
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