As I understand it...Spain for years had a rule about foreign ownership...so you had a bunch of guys who acted as middle-men and arranged the purchase, and just counted on retirees to continue to pay. Well...the middle-guys got caught up in a massive build-up, and never expected the market to dry up so quickly, or for pension-fund people to suddenly lose all their real savings.
What you have left are modest and small apartments or cottages, which are all out near the beach regions.
I took a vacation to the Canary Islands back in the late 90s. Actually did a tour of a cottage, which the real estate guy was talking up for roughly $50k but it was barely 800 square feet, and with no frontyard (barely a 30 x 30 foot spot for the backyard). This ownership role that he was going to play bothered me. I’d never really own the property myself. Then I figured out the electrical costs....almost the same monthly bill as the mortgage.
“I took a vacation to the Canary Islands back in the late 90s.”
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A Swedish friend of mine got tired of third world life here in the Philippines.
He and his Philippine wife tried Malaysia, but he grew tired of the Muzies.
They then moved to Canary Islands a few years ago and seem to like it very much.
One bonus for the Philippine wife...She became an automatic citizen of Spain, as Spain had once ruled the Philippines.