The EU requests that Spain remove tax breaks for home buyers

It's one of lime and one of sand for Spain's current real estate market scenario.

On a negative note, we find the European Union's harsh criticism of Spain's fiscal policy, especially regarding tax deductions for home-buyers.
We should soon witness to what extent the possibility of a Spanish bailout — which still clouds Europe's skies — or the inevitable recapitalization of Spain's banks, mark government policy regarding tax exemptions for home buyers, a likely rise in the VAT rate or a further adjustment in housing prices. With this outlook, Europe's request may soon become Europe's demand.

On a more positive note for mortgage payers is the decrease of the Euribor rate in the month of May. As you can see the good news fits into just one, short sentence.

For the full story (in Spanish):

bruselas pide a españa retirar las desgravaciones por compra de vivienda (idealista.com)

Un alivio de 730 euros para los hipotecados (ventadepisos.com)

Breathtaking Galicia

You live there. You work there. You see some of those places every day. Yet sometimes it's only when those sites are photographed or shot  in such a spectacular way that you realize just how beautiful your country, region, city or village really is. Enjoy Televisión de Galicia's (TVG) promotional video, which you can also view on the website of CIRCOM (European Association of Regional Television).

Nice news for Spanish real estate. It seems that Spain still tops the list for British citizens wanting to invest in a second home. Let's hope it stays that way.Click here to read more on PropertyWire.com

A near-zero energy house in Spain

Villa Ana, a sustainable private residence, was designed by architects Iván López Veiga and Juan R. Iglesias Babío in cooperation with Annabella Ortiz, José Álvarez and the engineering studio Indugal. The goal of this group of experts is to become the first Breeam Es certified sustainable building in Spain. This green construction project is located in Santiago de Compostela.

I’ve always imagined a project like Villa Ana on the landlot we offer on this blog and the idea of a near-zero energy house sounds very tempting, especially now that the electric bill has gone up again.

Are any of my readers ready and willing to take the plunge and create something like this green construction project in Caión? It would be adding to the already high environmental and landscape value of the village’s natural surroundings.

Luxury and beauty in a seaside apartment

 I can't believe that no one has yet made the property investment of their life by purchasing the landlot on sale here!

Maybe it's because my readers prefer a fully furnished, luxurious apartment in the same spectacular setting of Caión. If what you're searching for is a beautiful home with incredible seaviews, high quality finishes, top of the line wood flooring plus an unbeatable location in the heart of the villa, then you've surfed into the right blog post. To see details of this wonderful apartment, visit my ads on idealista.com and tucasa.com

 Don't let this opportunity slip past you.

I have a feeling that it's not going to last.

The realistic optimist

Realism means facing the announcements made yesterday by the new Spanish government regarding important tax hikes, drastic cuts and an unprecedented GDP deficit of 8%.

Optimism means relying on the new regulations that promise to stimulate the stagnant real estate market. Among the measures just established are the reintroduction of a tax benefit and a super-reduced VAT rate of 4% on the purchase of new homes.

In addition, the new Public Works Minister Ana Pastor has included a housing policy in her portfolio and made reducing stockpiles of unsold new homes one of her priorities.

These measures tell us that this may a good time to purchase buildable land like the plot offered on this blog.

We shouldn’t forget that investing in land continues to be an option that promises benefits in the medium or long-term, whilst gold and silver prices threaten to begin their downhill or at least unstable course in the coming year, especially if the European debt crisis continues.

Whatever the news, I wish everyone a happy New Year full of optimism, mixed with a bit of realism!

Good day for the housing market

We’ve gotten used to the markets’ to-the-minute rss feeds on how they respond to every bit of economic news released in Europe. It’s hard to get a firm footing in this financial storm.

However, this past Tuesday was a good day for the housing market as stocks surged, partly in response to positive economic data on the housing sector in the U.S. and positive indicators from the euro zone.

According to the N.Y. Times, the hopeful mood in Europe was sparked by reports from a study showing that “The German economy seems to be successfully countering the downturn in Western Europe.” as well as by the successful auction of three-month bills in Spain.

The promise made by Mariano Rajoy, Spain’s newly appointed president, to stimulate the housing market through a housing policy geared towards growth and cohesion is also seen by investors as a positive and encouraging news feed.

Raging storms and the warmth of Christmas

Winters are also a great season to visit Caión. And when Nature unleashes its fury, it creates astonishing visuals. So even if it doesn't snow in our village, Christmas can still hold a special charm when stormy seas are raging!

Rough? Yes, but relaxing, too, especially when you're lucky enough to be contemplating those images from inside your very own, warm, cozy home. If you decide to purchase the buildable land lot offered on this blog, you'll be one step closer to living moments like this.

The video above is of a tempest that hit our Atlantic coastline and the port of Caión. I would have chosen a different soundtrack; you can imagine your own.

As good as —no— better than gold!

No, it doesn't shine like gold, it's not the same color as gold and it certainly hasn't got the same texture as that precious metal. And we all know that you wouldn't be able to wear this fabulous piece of land to your next dinner date because it just wouldn't look right.

On the other hand...

Smart investors know that this real estate asset is as good as—or even better than—gold. I keep wondering how long it will take for that perceptive buyer, knowledgeable about the market, to purchase this buildable property.

Real Estate Investments: As Good As Gold?

In these economically uncertain times, many people are turning to gold as a safe investment. But is gold as brilliant a choice as it seems?

... some argue that investing in real estate continues to offer the security that investors are searching for in recession-plagued Europe or even the U.S.

Read more: http://technorati.com/business/article/real-estate-investments-as-good-as1/#ixzz1g86jEKGI

Galicia segue sendo unica--Galicia is still unique

Sit back and enjoy the Galician images, words and music!

Listen.

Butterfly.

What do you see?

Manor house.

What do you see?

And streets?

Time.

Galicia.

Do you feel it?

So much left for us to tell.

So much left for you to live.

Galicia.

It remains unique.

Song "Tu gitana" by Luar na lubre

Sea of Caión: Short documentary films about Caión

 

I recently discovered some very interesting videos (in Spanish), which offer lots of historical and current information about the village of Caión and its people.

Proud of the land on sale

Every once in a while showing off a bit doesn't do any harm, does it? Anyway, you don't feel like a show off at all if what you're boasting about is as great an investment as the land on sale here.

Just out of curiosity, today I did some "land lot browsing" of my own and realized what a truly fantastic buy this piece of land would be for anyone willing to invest their ideas--and ideals in it. It's not that there aren't interesting buys out there, but so few of them can compare to this spectacular plot of land situated in an area full of history, of beauty, of opportunities! In fact, the words "unique opportunity" keep popping into my mind.

Look around--surf around--and you'll realize that you shouldn't miss out on the chance to build your dream house on this bit of Galician coastline--or an apartment complex if you see this as an investment opportunity. Come on! Take the chance and purchase this risk free land lot. You'll never regret it!

By the way, the weather today is simply perfect for some surfing in Caión's waters. Wish I were there!

Time for a newsfast

According to the latest news, property sellers and buyers alike have no other choice but to wait patiently for a recovery of the economic scenario. Since I know that you can only win with this investment, I'm waiting for a creative, enthusiastic buyer with a talent for risk taking to come along— and I'm sure that he or she will. Instead of a financial or real estate expert, the buyer of this property might simply be a person captivated by the beauty and peaceful lifestyle of our coastline. Whatever the buyer's profile, it's first come, first serve! The person willing to purchase this lot will be the one to enjoy its singular beauty, which in this case is no cliché! You won't find a better spot for a newsfast, something I think we would all benefit from now.

Galicia. Unlike any other place in Spain

It's true: No matter what people say, the southern coast of Spain is still one of the hottest spots in Europe, but there's another beautiful, not so hot (literally speaking) spot for you to explore. If you're searching for a unique, great place to live and invest in a coastline property, you'll love Galicia--and of course Caión. As it says in IdealSpain.com:

"Galicia is now an increasingly popular destination for those Spaniards who don’t want the heat of the Andalucian, Murcian or Valencian summer but do want the scenic beauty and culinary delights. Along the coast, Galicia has a flourishing economy which now includes its own brand of tourism. The coastline is popular with all manner of outdoor activities that cannot be found along any other coast. It is still a place in which you can enjoy Spain at its simplest and its best."

Harvesting seaweed: an eco-friendly fertilizer

Women working in the fields (Caión)

It's not common practice today, but in a not-so-long-ago past, my family, like other inhabitants of Caión still used this marine resource to fertilize their farmland. My dad would go into the water and haul the seaweed towards the beach, while his sisters gathered it into piles on the sand. They always said that this organic fertilizer was what made the potatoes and famous sweet onions of Caión so tasty! Now this tradition is being studied as a natural alternative to other types of fertilizer (news article in Spanish).

Fisherman and daughter gathering seaweed

When the seaweed—called golfe in Caión and other parts of the Death Coast—appeared on the seashore, each person would haul it inland and set it into piles on a part of Salseiras beach called "auga redondo" (round water) or the "ribeira", near the port. The piles of golfe were marked to make sure other late-comers would not take them; then the "owners" of the piles would stuff the seaweed into a square piece of hand-made sack-cloth and carry it on their backs to the farmland, where they would spread the seaweed on the soil. There was no machinery to help with this tough job that both men and women of the village had been doing from time immemorial.

From the property for sale there are wonderful views of "auga redondo" where seaweed still gathers. The villagers used to walk on these mounds of seaweed because they believed it was very healthy and good for their bones. I've done it myself. The smell is bad but not unbearable, so if it's really as good for you as they say it is, then it's worth putting up with! Today some people harvest seaweed from Caión for use as fertilizer, while others gather and sell it to pharmaceutical companies, who value it for its medicinal properties. Follow this link to see a short 3 minute video about seaweed gathering and uses on the Galician coast (in Spanish & Galician).

Pirates just aren't what they used to be!

In an earlier post I talked about the good and bad changes that this village had undergone throughout the years. One of the good changes is that pirates are long gone... at least the old-fashioned kind. Yes, pirates did visit our coast in the past. I wonder where they came from?

Things got so complicated that the Augustine monks who had settled in Caión in the 16th c. decided they could no longer fight against the invaders. They were tired of struggling and recovering from the pirates' destruction of the crops they had so carefully planted and lovingly cared for, so they finally moved to the nearby city of A Coruña.

Now that there are no more pirates to destroy our crops and our houses, it's no longer a risk to live so close to the sea, as close to it as the monks did!

I should say that this is the story that my great-grandparents used to tell my dad and his sisters, because I've read a pretty different story (in Spanish).

SUMMARY

LOCATION  Caión, municipality of A Laracha (Coruña) at 8 km from Arteixo and 20 from A Coruña.

ZONING  Urban Residential: fishing village

PLOT SIZE: 128 m2 (0.032 acres)

CONSTRUCTED AREA: 70 m2

YEAR OF CONSTRUCTION: 1960

FEATURES: The buildable property, located in the traditional fishing village of Caión, includes a garage, a small house behind it and, to one side, a small yard enclosed by a low wall. The length of the front and rear façades is 10.70m and 11.80m, respectively.

Situated on the corner of the path that leads to the lovely beach of Salseiras with its crystal clear water, the lot offers extraordinary views of the sea and is only a few steps away from the main plaza of the village. Caión is within a few minutes driving distance from the town of Arteixo and less than 30 from the bustling coastal city of A Coruña.

The property owner and the village

Hello,

My name is Mari and I'm here to show you a property for sale and the spectacular surrounding landscape of the fishing village of Caión. This small community is located on the famous Death Coast of Galicia, the northwesternmost region of Spain, where the Camino" or Way to St. James reaches its final destination: Santiago de Compostela.

My family has lived here for generations but honestly, this isn't the only reason why I believe you won't find many places like this anywhere in Spain—or the world. Caión is a small but remarkable peninsula situated in an area of exceptional marine and landscape value. Its people are friendly and helpful, its seascape alluring and surrounded by protected natural land areas and woods.

If you're looking for a home where you can enjoy tranquility and breath the pure clean air of the sea and the hills, whilst enjoying the comfort of living at just a few miles from A Coruña, "the city where no one is a stranger", this is your opportunity. Don't let it pass you by!

We can schedule an appointment if you're travelling in our area and are interested in visiting the property. If you prefer, just contact me by filling out the form at the bottom of this page and we can discuss pricing and conditions.

Property for sale in the charming fishing village of Caión in Galicia (northwestern coast of Spain)

LAND FOR SALE ON THE SPANISH ATLANTIC COASTLINE

The property, located in the traditional fishing village of Caión in the northwestern Spanish region of Galicia, includes a garage, a small house and a small plot enclosed by a low wall. The length of the front and rear façades is 10.70m and 11.80m, respectively.

Situated on the corner of the path that leads to the lovely beach of Salseiras with its crystal clear water, the lot offers extraordinary views of the sea and is only a few steps away from the main plaza of the village. Caión is within a few minutes driving distance from the town of Arteixo and less than 20 from the bustling coastal city of A Coruña.
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