Spain Property Investment Opportunities. Real Estate Spain.

£98,000 / $148,000 *

New Developments in Spain

The southern European country of Spain is one of contrasts, in climate, terrain and culture. From the high mountains of the Sierra Nevada to the beach resorts of Andalucia, with dazzling cities, plains, Moorish castles and Gothic cathedrals in between, it has something for everyone. It is situated below France and also borders Portugal, Andorra, Morocco and of course Gibraltar. The climate is temperate in the centre, where the capital city of Madrid lies, with snow in winter, but the south is popular for its hot, dry summers, while in the northern regions of Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria and the Basque Country, relatively warm winters and cooler summers with fewer temperature extremes mean that rainfall is adequate and reliable throughout the year. In the last forty years, Spanish tourism has reached second place in the world and brings in around 40,000 million Euros per year, whether from sun-seekers, cultural tourism or skiing.

The Spanish economy is also enjoying a real estate boom, with construction representing 16% of GDP and 12% of employment, and has contributed to over half of all new employment in the EU in the last five years, thus attracting significant foreign investment. The foreign investment is in people too – the second highest immigration rates in the EU mean around 3.7 million (1/5 of the population) are from abroad - 8% of whom are British, 8% French, 6% Argentine and 5.5% German – many in wealthy retirement or increasingly distance working via the internet. Spain nevertheless remains amongst the least densely populated countries in western Europe.

Its culture is a heady mix of Moorish and European – reflected in its music (the Spanish guitar is descended from the Moorish lute), its stunning architecture and its Flamenco dancing, rooted in the cante jondo (deep song) of the gypsies of Andalusia, so popular with tourists. Musicians such as Segovia and Paco de Peña are known worldwide and traditions such as the paseo (walking out in the evening) or sitting at a pavement cafe for a breakfast of coffee, anis and churros are unique to this vibrant culture whose life is so much of the street, with its colourful religious festivals, noisy but friendly people and all-day bars. Earlier Muslim Spain’s capital was Córdoba in Andalucia, founded in ancient Roman times and in the tenth century its half a million inhabitants made it the second largest city in the world after Constantinople.

The Spanish Constitution recognises historical nationalities and languages such as Basque, Galician and the Catalan of Valencia. It is a democratic constitutional monarchy, with a parliament of two chambers and its decentralised character means that communities are autonomous, managing their own health and education systems and some their own public finances and policing. Within these communities, there are further divisions into provinces and municipalities.

• Official Language: Spanish
• Currency: Euro
• View Spain on the World Map

New Developments in Spain

Spain Property     * currency exchange rates subject to fluctuation.