With Spain about to introduce legislation which will grant automatic Spanish residency to non-European Union citizens who invest €500 000 in property, major South African based real estate group, Pam Golding Properties, already has plans under way to market high quality, investment yielding residential property in prime locations in Spain to the South African and international markets.
Costa Brava: View of a seaside village on the Costa Brava in Spain
While the period of residency granted with the purchase of property is still to be finalised, the final version of the new bill is expected to be promulgated before the end of this year (2013).
Comments Dr Andrew Golding, CE of the Pam Golding Property group: “Spain will join other current appealing destinations such as Mauritius, Seychelles and Portugal in offering residency programmes to foreigners acquiring property at prices in excess of €500 000.
“A key attraction, particularly for South Africans, is that investors will have unrestricted access to move within the Schengen zone,” he adds.
The Schengen zone currently comprises Spain, France, Germany, Belgium, Austria, Finland, Greece, Estonia, Denmark, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Hungary, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Czech Republic, Portugal, Norway, The Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, Poland, Slovenia, Liechtenstein and Slovakia.
Says Chris Immelman, MD of the International and Projects Division of Pam Golding Properties: “Later this year (2013) we visit Spain on a fact-finding mission to meet with lawyers, reputable developers and real estate companies to ensure we fully understand the intricacies of the new law and how it will be applied, and to establish partnerships with a view to sourcing sound investment opportunities to offer potential property buyers.
“Focusing on quality products in prime locations, we will be looking at property in Barcelona, essentially as investment yielding property; the Costa Brava, a very appealing, upmarket holiday destination about one hour north of Barcelona and home to numerous picturesque villages with beautiful cove beaches; and the islands of Mallorca and Ibiza, both of which have been fairly resilient during the downturn in the market and are now showing strong rental returns and capital growth.
“In addition to the advantages of the residency factor, with its Mediterranean climate and scenic coastline, Spain has high appeal as these areas mentioned above have everything a great European city has to offer – exceptional tourist attractions, an incredible café culture with some of the best restaurants in the world, and close proximity to the beautiful, upmarket holiday destination of the Costa Brava.
“Furthermore, Barcelona is just two and a half hours from the ski slopes of Andora in the Pyrenees Mountain Range, which separates Spain and France and is very accessible to several other European cities. London and Paris are just a two hour flight away and importantly, South Africans can reach Barcelona with only one stop, via either London or Dubai,” says Immelman.
He adds: “With our success over the past 10 years in marketing prime located property in sought after leisure destinations such as Seychelles and Mauritius to our extensive database of top end buyers, we anticipate high interest from South African investors in specially selected properties in Spain.”
For further information contact Chris Immelman on 021 7622617 or 083 448 8083 or email chris.immelman@pamgolding.co.za or spain@pamgolding.co.za.
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