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Two places in Spain are in the list of the 15 most expensive locations in Europe. They are Cabo Formentor in Mallorca and Passeig de Gracia in Barcelona.

This information is contained in a report recently published by Engel and Volkers which showed that Passeig de Gracia is the 14^th most costly place to set up home in Europe. The average price of a property in this region is €14,000 per square metre.

Following closely behind is Cabo Formentor, which is fifteenth. This bay area is at the extreme north end of the island of Mallorca. Prices here are €12,000 per square metre.

According to the report, France has the largest proportion of the top fifteen most expensive areas in Europe. Top of the French list is Saint Jean Cap Ferrat followed by Cannes in the south of the country. Two streets of Paris follow with the Champs Elysees leading the Avenue Montaingne.

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Potential investors considering a property purchase in Spain will be interested to learn that Barcelona is the city that has experienced most sales in recent times.

A report showing property sales activity for the second half of 2010 indicates that the Barcelona market is independent from the activity in other parts of Spain. What is also different is that the report published by Lucas International Properties shows that most of the purchases were made by Spanish citizens.

Of all of the transactions completed, only 15 percent of purchases were made by foreign buyers. This is completely different from the rest of the Spanish market, especially the popular resorts such as the Costa del Sol.

The report shows that of the foreign buyers in Barcelona, they mostly came from Northern Europe, Russia and the USA. The Barcelona region receives approximately 34 percent of all foreign investment into Spain.

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It is claimed that foreign investors are once again looking at the Spanish property market and seeking out bargains. Simon Conn who is a leading overseas property and finance consultant said that Britons still want to invest in familiar markets. He added that in the current market conditions, only serious buyers are contacting agents. He added that in these cases, enquiries will often turn into a sale.

Overseas mortgage advisor Claire Nessling of Conti says that the current low interest mortgages that are available are attracting investors. She said that 80 percent mortgages are typically available and that annual rates of 3 percent are normal.

Clair also said that in the current economic climate, investors are sticking to the areas that they know best, such as Spain. She said that at current prices and interest rates, buy to let properties are a very good investment.

Conti reported that in December 24 percent of their enquiries related to Spain. When that was added to France and Turkey, those countries made up 85 percent of all enquiries.

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Data published by the Spanish National Statistics Agency are showing that the number of mortgages entered into in April fell by 38.2 percent in comparison to the same month in 2010. There was also a decline of 27.4 percent from the previous month.

In addition to that, the value of the mortgages fell as well. The average value of a residential property mortgage fell by 6.1 percent year on year and was €106,899, approximately £95,000.

Of the loans granted in April, 94.2 percent were on a variable interest rate and those rates had risen by 2.5 percent to an annual rate of 1.04 percent.

Javier Diax-Gimenez, an economics professor a Madrid’s Business School said that this addition to a long list of negative reports relating to the property market confirms Spanish growth s weak. However, he said that the data did not confirm that the sector is weakening any more than before.

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A specialist Spanish property lawyer has reminded Britons of the complex tax laws involved when they sell a Spanish property as a non-resident. Writing for Lawdit, Carlos Paton said that there a number of complex rules involved. He also added that non-resident can expect no more that 97 percent of the sale value due to the “Plus Valia” capital gains tax.

When a non-resident sells a Spanish property, he must make a declaration to the Revenue Commission. He must state the revenue he received and declare any capital gain which may have been made. Non-residents must do this within 30 days of the sale being completed.

The lawyer said that in view of property prices continuing to decline, many owners may well retain ownership of their property and wait until prices improve.

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