British Ownership of Overseas Property up by 45%

A holiday home in the sun is now clearly a realisable dream for many Britons. The number of British people owning a second home abroad has leapt by 45 per cent in the last two years, according to a report just published.

Mintel, the market research group, said that 3 per cent of British households now own a second overseas residence, equivalent to 800,000 families, up from 550,000 in June 2004. Paul Davies, Senior Finance Analyst for Mintel, said money made in the UK housing boom supplemented by cheap borrowing and easy access provided by low-cost airlines meant that "the concept of owning a second residence abroad has become an achievable ambition for an increasing proportion of the population."

The research found that another 3 per cent intended to buy a second property overseas in the future and that 5 per cent intended to sell up altogether and move abroad. "This suggests that potentially the dream of owning a property abroad could be a reality for a further 2m households," according to the report.

Spain was the most popular destination for second-home ownership, followed by France, Australia, Italy and the USA. However, a big fear of being ripped off by unscrupulous property agents suggested that: "the introduction of statutory measures by the EU could have a positive impact upon the overseas property market," said Mr Davies.

Source: Financial Times

A Theme Park for Murcia

The new Terra Natura Theme Park in the Espinardo area of Murcia will cover an area of 13,000 square metres and cater for up to 3,500 daily visitors.
Of particular interest will be the parks replica of the Masai Mara Game Reserve, where visitiors will be able to take land rover rides through the ‘African Savannah’ to see the animals as they might on a real safari. The 400 animals will include: lions, hippos, giraffes, wolves, deer, zebras, bears and many others.
The park will also feature: an area replicating Iberian flora and fauna; a water park area, with water slides, swimming pools and a solarium; an aviary; a wooden bridge 7 metres high and 142 metres long; two cafes; three restaurants, and 5 small shops.
Although the park will be completed by the end of this year, it will not open to the public until next May, giving the animals some time to get accustomed to their new surroundings. The park, which will employ around 100 people, is expected to attract up to 250,000 visitors annually.
This is bound to be somewhere adults and children alike will thoroughly enjoy.
The cost of a ticket is expected to be around 12 euros.

Spanish Capital Gains Tax Reduced

Legislation to reduce Capital Gains Tax for non-residents from 35% to 18% (and to increase it for residents from 15% to 18%) was approved by the Spanish Senate in October.

The new regulations also reduce the withholding tax provision that non-residents pay when selling property in Spain from 5% to 3%.

The new regulations come into force at the beginning of January 2007.

Any non-resident currently selling Spanish property should therefore look at the possibility of delaying the completion of their sale until January 2007 in order to benefit from these lower rates of tax.