Risk-averse international investors seek the safe haven of the Canary Islands this winter
· Canaries shoot up the ranks to take 2 of top 5 trending destination spots on Kyero.com
· ½ of all Tenerife homes sold in Q2 2016 bought by international buyers (Fomento)
· Canary Islands one of best recovered areas of Spain (House Price Index)
As the chill of winter sets in across Northern Europe, and Brexit-related uncertainty continues to impact on financial markets around the world, risk-averse international investors are heading to the warmth of the Canary Islands in increasing numbers. New data from leading Spanish property portal Kyero.com has shown that the Canaries now feature as two of the top five trending destinations across Spain.
Corralejo, on the island of Fuerteventura, and Playa Del Ingles on Gran Canaria moved up to take the third and fourth positions during October in Kyero.com’s monthly ranking of top trending Spanish property hotspots.
Richard Speigal, Head of Research at Kyero.com, comments,
“Foreign buyers went sun chasing in October, with Kyero seeing a marked rise in enquiries for the Canary Islands. This is a normal pattern, but it comes at the end of a particularly good year for the Canaries. Foreign demand has become more price sensitive since the Brexit vote, and the Canaries are well placed to take advantage of tightened budgets. Local prices remain below average and have also suffered a less tumultuous history than other parts of Spain. Market stability and an agreeable climate at agreeable prices is a strong combination.”
The relative safety of the Canary Island property market is what makes it particularly attractive to risk-averse investors, according to the Kyero.com team. The official House Price Index shows that the islands are one of the most recovered regions in Spain. Prices fell less sharply and recovered much more steadily in the Canaries than in the roller coaster markets of Madrid and Barcelona. The relative stability of prices holds strong appeal in the current environment of political and financial uncertainty across much of the world.
The international interest in property across the Canaries has been building throughout the year. Newly release figures from the Ministry of Development (Fomento) show that half of all house sales in Tenerife in Q2 2016 were to international buyers. The figure puts Tenerife on a par with the Balearics in terms of its appeal to overseas buyers.
Interestingly, Tenerife is one of the more expensive Canary Islands when it comes to property. According to Kyero.com’s data, the average price across all islands is €239,000. Tenerife comes in a little higher than average, at €248,000, with prices there up 3.6% in the last year. Lanzarote is also above average in terms of price, with an annual increase of 5.9% making the average price on that island €295,000. Buyers looking for cheaper homes in the Canaries tend to opt for Gran Canaria, which has an average price of €215,000 (up 6.7% in the last year), or Fuerteventura, where prices have risen by 1.5% annually to an average of €159,000.
While second homes in the Canaries have long been popular with British buyers, Kyero.com’s October data shows that Italian buyers are on the brink of overtaking them as the dominant buyers in Tenerife, Gran Canaria and Fuerteventura. Only in Lanzarote do Brits look set to remain at the forefront of demand.
Regardless of the nationality of the buyers, Kyero.com’s data indicates that 2016 will be a very good year for the Canary Islands. The trend is expected to continue into 2017, as political factors add to the usual enticements of climate, landscape and lifestyle in making property investment in the Canaries a particularly attractive option.
For further details, visit www.kyero.com.