Common site... For Sale signs

The Spanish Government is considering changing the law to grant a residence permit to foreigners who purchase property in Spain over a certain threshold in order to stimulate the housing market. Initially the  amount of 160,000 euros was proposed but rumblings are that this is too low and 500,000 euros is being considered.

The is certainly a glut of properties all over the country and unfortunately many bank repossessions since the beginning of the financial crisis. Banks have millions of euros worth of properties on their books which they need to liquidate, and this measure is one way of reducing this excess of housing stock.

The Secretary of State for Trade, Jaime Garcia Legaz said the aim is to boost foreign demand for housing, specifically targeted at the Russian and Chinese markets - the ones which appear to have liquidity obviously! Figures show that these markets only make up 4.1% of all foreigners living in Spain.... but you´d be forgiven thinking its more when it comes to the Chinese with the amount of Wok and Chinese restaurants in every town and "Bazar Chino" on almost every High Street.

Local agent advertising to Russians

But the profiles of these two groups is very different, the Chinese opting for towns and cities whilst the Russians favor coastal resorts - in 2011 they purchased 1.645 homes in Spain, 7.8% of the total purchased by foreigners. The Spanish are certainly going out of their way to attract the Russian clientele - go to many restaurants and you will find the menu translated into Russian in addition to the standard English, Dutch and German. I have yet to come across a restaurant with the menu in Chinese though.... But the latest data from the Ministry of Employment & Social Security show that not all Russian and Chinese citizens registered in Spain have residence card.

The new law, if passed will not automatically give them the right to live here permanently, but will have limitations, allowing them to be here no more than 90 days in any 6 month period. With a new annex of a  Benidorm tourist office in Moscow there is bound to be many more Russians walking up and down the promenade next summer.