Is there money to be made in Spain?

Is there any money to be made in Spanish property? - at Moneyweek.co.uk - the best of the week's international financial media.

Hundreds of thousands of British investors now own homes in Spain and many will have made a killing. But it is getting much harder to find a bargain, says Emma Thelwell

Why do the British buy in SpainFor the weather, obviously. But also because it is easy to get to, thanks to the glut of low-cost airlines offering cheap and frequent flights. And because it is cheap compared to Britain: council tax rates are roughly a tenth of those in the UK and petrol prices are a third cheaper than here. As a result, Spain is by far the most popular destination for British investors: more than 750,000 of us own our own hacienda in the sun, and around 160,000 Brits have settled there permanently. And not all of these are pensioners looking to enjoy their retirement there. A recent ICM survey for BBC2 found that it is where 24% of 18-24-year-olds would most like to make a new life.

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Emma Thelwell

Emma is a former digital journalist with more than 15 years of experience in national news in the UK and overseas. She was an assistant editor at MoneyWeek, covering property, funds, alternative investments and the share tips pages, then Emma moved on to The Daily Telegraph, first as a personal finance reporter and then as a business reporter. 

Emma also worked as a finance correspondent for Ninemsn (Australia’s Channel 9 online) in Sydney, Australia for just over a year, and since then Emma has worked at Channel 4 News as a reporter and producer, and she spent more than 4 years at BBC online. At present Emma is a senior manager for content and thought leadership at PwC.