Buying property in the Canary Islands...

Does anyone have experience of buying property in the Canary Islands?

If so what are the things to look out for when buying there.

I wonder if the rules are exactly the same as they are on mainland Spain or if it varies from island to island... or generally for all of them.

Pricewise I have been looking and it appears that there are some real bargains out there.

However if you are buying then you need to do some thorough research to find out what is happening as each island has had a different experience of the recession.

For instance if you were to buy in Fuerteventura then be aware that the population has more than HALVED in two years.

That's because loads of Spanish builders etc came over a few years ago and just deserted the island a couple of years ago when there were problems in the economy so there are shells of buildings around.

Knowing this and that there are not so many flights to this island and that if ryanair say decides to fly or not fly each year has a reasonable impact on the economy and therefore property prices it can be seen that a lot of research is needed before deciding to buy on the canary islands and which of the islands and whereabout to go.

Having a holiday to such a place generally to get a feel for the market there is a good idea and to find out what the up and coming resorts are.

Re : Buying property in the Canary Islands

You would have to be very careful because as mentioned in your post, the number of people living on these islands is very unstable.

When times were good a lot of people came from the mainland of the Iberian peninsula, and then there was a great need for a lot of housing.

However in bad economic times they disappear.

Now, since housing is all about supply and demand, it follows that the demand has fallen massively since the recession and therefore there are not enough people to buy any homes for sale - so if you want to buy there by all means do, just not as an investment property, it is too risky for that.