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Expats flee Spain as unemployment soars and property prices crash
| Published: | 1 May at 6 PM |
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According to figures issued by Spain’s National Statistics Institute, the total population of the country has fallen for the first time in 150 years.
As Spanish unemployment soars to over 26 per cent and the country’s economy staggers, a total of 206,000 residents have given up and left. According to the figures, the entire drop represents foreign residents leaving the country.
From the year 2000, Spain experienced a rapid rise in its immigrant population, mostly fuelled by migrants from Spanish-speaking countries in South America arriving for jobs in its construction boom industries. The same South Americans are returning to their home countries in droves due to the collapse of the Spanish property market.
British expats are also attempting to head for home, but are finding it difficult to sell their properties due to the bad press caused by the Spanish property scandal and the inability of the Spanish government to deal fairly with the thousands of expats affected. Brits with funds, however, are now purchasing buy-to-let homes in the UK against the time when they can move back to the UK.
The investment property market in the UK is booming due to international buyers and expats working abroad who intend to return when their contracts end. Short-term letting is seen as a means to generate income, with properties reverting to family occupation once the owners arrive back in the UK.
As Spanish unemployment soars to over 26 per cent and the country’s economy staggers, a total of 206,000 residents have given up and left. According to the figures, the entire drop represents foreign residents leaving the country.
From the year 2000, Spain experienced a rapid rise in its immigrant population, mostly fuelled by migrants from Spanish-speaking countries in South America arriving for jobs in its construction boom industries. The same South Americans are returning to their home countries in droves due to the collapse of the Spanish property market.
British expats are also attempting to head for home, but are finding it difficult to sell their properties due to the bad press caused by the Spanish property scandal and the inability of the Spanish government to deal fairly with the thousands of expats affected. Brits with funds, however, are now purchasing buy-to-let homes in the UK against the time when they can move back to the UK.
The investment property market in the UK is booming due to international buyers and expats working abroad who intend to return when their contracts end. Short-term letting is seen as a means to generate income, with properties reverting to family occupation once the owners arrive back in the UK.
Comments » There is 1 comment
Casey Bahr wrote 11
years ago:
Well, it's hard to tell from such a short story, but it sounds like the "expats" are migrant workers mostly, yes? Not really the kind of folks frequenting this site. I would have thought that retirement minded expats would be moving Spain up their top ten list, since soon they'll be able to get a house for almost nothing there.
