DECEMBER 2008 - COUNTDOWN 2009

Countdown 2009… Written by Martin Bright of Tropicana Properties

"Faltan 89 Dias" announces Almuñecar town's electronic display boards; so what is this? Next month we will reveal more on the referendum plans. But first be sure that your town hall taxes (ibi & basura [the later may be scrapped at the end of 2008]) are paid up to date before the end of the year, and while your at it make certain that future payments are paid by direct debit because as of the year end the contribution office in Avenida Andalucia will close. It is not yet certain how future taxes will be re-covered as there is talk of moving part of the office to the town hall,  part to Granada, or even to privatise the complete operation.

This weekend has seen the big freeze hit the Costa Tropical, as heavy rains and high north westerly winds caused temperatures to fall to 5 and 10 degrees below the norm for this time of year. On Saturday morning many locals woke up to see the snow line well below the Peña Escrita and Sierra de Cázulas mountains. Lenteji received snow for the first time in more than 10 years. While picturesque, we are nevertheless reminded that bad weather is still the top reason the British choose to emigrate from the UK – with Australia their first destination and Spain, second; according to new research from the Alliance & Leicester. The Alliance & Leicester research found that 60% of retired British expats rate good weather as the prime factor, with a higher standard of living and  a better quality of life ranked second and third place (48% and 44%) respectively. Expats who have moved abroad to run a business, as well as those emigrating for family reasons, rated the weather as their prime motive for living abroad (70% and 60% respectively). The same survey also established that a huge 87% said the worst factor about living in Australia was that they were so far away from their family. Spain, however, fared best with 92% putting weather at the top of the list, and more than 85% appreciated the slower pace of life as well as feeling safer in Spain than in the UK.

The countdown to the Christmas holidays begins in earnest this weekend with December 6 & 8 (Constitution day & Inmaculada respectively) being a long holiday weekend – with most businesses and shops closed Saturday to Tuesday; however some may open on Sunday morning. Nochebuena (Christmas Eve) is a much larger event than Christmas day in Spain and most businesses close early in the day to prepare for the night time family feast. Christmas day tends to be a much quieter time  too with just a few bars re-opening late in the afternoon. On the 26th business re-open, and the 28th sees Spain’s April Fools' day, Día de los Santos Inocentes, a time for tricks and games before the year end festivities of Nochevieja (New Year’s Eve).

On December 1, Spain's Prime Minister, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, announced an 11bn euro plan aimed at creating 300,000 jobs. He said the money will be mainly invested in infrastructure and public works. Spain's unemployment reached 12.8% in October - the highest in the eurozone. Therefore this move may help the many failing building and construction companies who have suffered most in these last months. On the property side, newly built Spanish homes languishing on the market in search of a buyer rose by more than 20% in the first 6 months of 2008, according to an article in last months national press. Most of the unsold homes are located on the Spanish coast and also around Madrid. In Castilla-La Mancha and the Canaries unsold new homes rose by more than 30%, and as much as 60% in Catalonia. In the provinces of Lugo (Galicia) and Segovia (Castilla y Leon), the numbers rose to 73%. The report goes on to explain that, with 2 mega urbanisations full of empty properties; Marina D’Or in Castellon province (Valencia), and Seseña in Toledo province (Castilla-La Mancha) then Castellon and Toledo have the highest proportion of unsold new homes per capita in Spain.

Martin Bright moved to this area in 1995 and has more than 30 years experience in the service and tourism sector.  He joined the team at Tropicana Properties in Almunecar in January 2000. For more information on property sales contact Martin on 0034 958 630 320 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .