Spanish house builders have been left with so much unsold and semi-completed stock that they have resorted to supermarket-type tactics. (Telegraph)

When I read the above I was a little skeptical until I recalled what a friend told me the other day about someone they know in Almerimar who has just bought a new build property and got a second (smaller) one thrown in on a 2-1 type deal.

Amazing.

Updated 16th October. See comment 18

I am but a small time blogger, trying to give people accurate and unbiased information on life here in Almerimar. I recently contacted In Spain TV to enquire about advertising with them to drive traffic to our Almerimar Life Property site. I had held a few discussions with local estate agents about using the site to acquire traffic on their behalf’s.

Received this email from regular reader Tina, who owns a property in Laguna Beach and would like to hear from other owners.

Been following your site all summer. Hope you will have some interesting bites for us to help us through the cold grey winter months in England.

Would it be possible for you to post a request on your site for any owners at Laguna Beach to contact us.

Over the last couple of days the subject of what is happening with the Spirit de Mar (old hotels) development has kept cropping up.

First a fact - having run past it a couple of times this week it is true that they have removed all the scaffolding and safety nets from the site and no work is going on at all.

The Telegraph have some advice that I 100% disagree with!!

Using a tried and tested UK company can be one way of minimising your risk when buying overseas property.

OK 100% may be an exaggeration but the gist of the article is that with property markets across the world struggling you should ‘protect’ yourself from the increased risks of investing abroad by using a reputable British company that has already sort out the ‘best’ investments for you.

It is good to be back in Almerimar, especially as I have no plans to travel again in the near future (well there is an outside chance I will be in Dubai again for two weeks in June) but as that is pretty remote I am pretending it isn’t a possibility at all!

One of the things that I had missed the most (Sands, Moreno and Saidi apart of course) was the impromptu nature of life here. I tend to take it for granted until it happens which is exactly what happened on Wednesday night …..

Many people who are looking to buy a holiday home are also thinking of renting the property out when they are not using it, and may even plan to settle down in it at a later date. This makes the considerations when buying a holiday home more complex, depending on what the main priority is.

Maybe not so gloomy after all for Brits looking to secure a holiday or eventual retirement home in Spain, as Spain has cut the Capital Gains Tax Rate:

The decision is good news for those looking to move into a property market suffering from negative publicity

This tax is payable on any profits made when you sell a second property, either in the UK or abroad. Yet while it shrinks the sum you walk away with, the rate levied in Spain - where 800,000 Britons have chosen to buy homes - has fallen.

Thanks to Mediterra Inmobilaria for this article on the current position regards Off Plan Property in Almerimar:

There continues to be a large number of ‘off plan’ properties available in Spain and not least here in Almerimar where there are numerous developments either under construction or partially completed by developers such as Proindal (Alta Entinas, Las Entinas, Puerto Fino & Puerto Bello), Viña Herrera (Spirit Mar) and Aifos.

The Spanish Costas were the start of the love-affair with property abroad for British people, and despite economy gloom, and stiff competition from new emerging markets, such as Turkey and Bulgaria, it appears we are still rather fond of them as a ‘tried and tested destination’.

The full article below looks at the Costas in turn, and compares features and property prices. I have focussed on the our own Costa Almeria in this article:

This is the second in a series of articles looking at the reasons why people buy property in Spain, and specific things to look out for depending on which type of buyer you are. Today I am looking at buying a property to let or rent out.

I had a really interesting conversation recently with an estate agent who has been working here in Almerimar for the last 10 years. We didn’t talk specifically about prices but we discussed the market generally and talked about some of the recent scare stories in the press, including the demolitions. The latter was in my mind as I had just read ANOTHER article in the UK press on this topic:

The first and probably most important thing when selling property in Spain is to find a reputable agent. If you bought resale and had a good experience then you will most likely go back to the agent that you bought through.

Obviously there are lots of reasons why people buy property in Spain, but to me the most obvious ones are as somewhere to live, or as an investment. In addition there are the people who buy an apartment or villa in Spain specifically as a holiday home, and those investors who plan from the start to let out their property. I therefore thought it might be useful to pass on a few buying tips, looking at these 4 scenarios in turn.

This is my final article in the series looking at the relative advantages and disadvantages of buying off-plan and resale property. Today I am looking at the disadvantages of going for resale:

Finding the Right Property
As every second hand property is different it normally takes a long time and many visits to different agents and properties to find the right one.

This follows my previous articles regarding the advantages and disadvantages of buying off-plan property. Of course the alternative is to but resale property of which there is plenty of choice here in Almerimar. Resale, like off-plan property, has pro and cons; today I am looking at the advantages!

Further to my posts describing the principles of, and the buying process for off-plan properties, here is a summary of what I see as the disadvantages:

Seeing the Property
If you purchase early in the construction phase, you will obviously not be able to see the finished product (the property), and depending on how early, there may not even be a show flat to view. There is always a slight risk here as to whether you will like the finished result.

Further to my posts describing the principles of, and the buying process for off-plan properties, here is a summary of what I see as the advantages:

Investment Factor
If you purchase early in the construction phase or even before construction has started, the investment value of off-plan properties is likely to be very good, as initial prices tend to be set below perceived market value to attract the investment needed to help the developer finance construction.

I have posted a number of articles recently about the plight of British expats, who are threatened with, or have already had their dream homes demolished in Vera, not far from us here in Almerimar. Well it now appears that there is another property scandal even closer to home linked to the former president of the Sevilla-based football club Real Betis, one Gerado Martinez Retamero.

We have all been reading articles about the current state of the property market in Spain, with inflated prices predicted to fall and concerns about an over supply of new-build property, but one of our local estate agents here in Almerimar remains optimistic for the future and believes this region still provides good investment opportunities:

Richard Dixon, a Partner in Alcor Properties SL, which sells property in Andalucia, is confident that the current situation is only temporary, and this is echoed by other international property companies.