Foreign Residential Investment in Spain Jumps 25% in 3Q

---

(ALICANTE, SPAIN) -- Foreign residents continue to invest in Spanish properties according to the Ministry of Public Transactions. In the latest report, property sales made ​​by foreign residents in Spain experienced an increase of 24.7% in the third quarter of 2011.

This positive figure takes into account all foreigners who live and reside in Spain.  The most sought after region is Alicante, with 2,097 properties exchanging hands in that province in the third quarter.

The other regions with the greatest number of sales activity were Malaga (951), Barcelona (607), Balearics (516) and Santa Cruz de Tenerife (476).

With this in mind, Spain looks set to continue this trend, according to experts with a final rush of property buyers seeking out Spanish real estate before 2011 comes to a close with experts suggesting that tax breaks and low interest rates on savings accounts will be the main factors encouraging buyers to hunt down bargains.

"The increase in property sales to foreigners in the last quarter of 2011 shows that many buyers have been discerning enough to strike while the iron is hot and purchase properties that are well priced and in excellent locations," says Marc Pritchard, Sales and Marketing Director of Taylor Wimpey España. "With this in mind, the Holiday Lettings' Insight Report for 2011 identified that there was a 3% increase in the number of inquiries about buying Spanish property between January and October this year compared to the same period in 2010 while the report also discovered that people looking for holiday let opportunities in Spain was the second most-inquired about destination among buy-to-let investors, after the UK, between January and October 2011.

For those who are thinking about making a Spanish property purchase next year, Taylor Wimpey España has some superb homes available in Mallorca, the Costa del Sol and the Costa Blanca to spice up 2012.

Located on the south east coast of Mallorca, very close to the glamorous Marina de Cala D'Or El Puerto II consists of two-bedroom-apartments costing from just €195,000 ($254,787). With three communal swimming pools available these properties are surrounded by outstanding natural beauty offering various other activities such as water sports, biking and golf in the local area.

"Indeed, it is looking likely that prices in Spain will begin to increase by the end of 2011 with places like Tenerife and Malaga seeing property values improve," Pritchard continues,  "signaling good news for the Spanish real estate market next year."