Has the Spanish property market bottomed out?

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Has the Spanish property market bottomed out? Some think so

Astonishingly, Laura Nicoll, director of Iberian International, believes that it is only a matter of time until there is a housing supply shortage in Spain, despite the fact that there are over a million homes lying empty in the country.

Some experts’ think that the amount of homes built in Spain could fall to under 200,000 annually, within the next couple of years, to help absorb the current oversupply of homes on the market. But surprisingly, Nicoll believes that this will translate to an "inevitable supply shortage in the coming years", which will cause an "increase in property price

Nicoll says that property in Spain has now reached the bottom of the market, and that prices will not fall any further.

"Spain is still one of the world’s top holiday destinations with more than 40 million people visiting each year, says Nicoll. "Housebuilders have recognised this and reduced their prices as low as they can go and we believe we will not see any further [property price] reductions. There has never been a better time to buy a home in Spain."

Despite her optimism, the facts show that the Spanish property market crisis appears to be far from over. Fresh information from BBVA, Spain’s second largest bank, estimates that average Spanish property values will depreciate by 10% this year, and by a further 12% next year. The bank does not expect prices to start to recover until at least 2012.

The bank also estimates that the glut of homes in Spain could reach as high as 1.5 million by next year.