Spain has been a great place for property speculators and investors alike over the last 20 years or so but recent interest hikes have seen a property market slowdown. Added to this is the "threat" posed by other property markets such as those in Bulgaria and parts of North Africa that can offer a bigger return on investment in the short to mid term. However, Spain is still a great place to buy property, particularly if a trend of offloading properties takes a hold of foreign homeowners.

Spanish property prices have certainly seen a price deceleration in recent times but it might be worth looking at the figures to get some perspective. Spanish property prices increased by around 19% in 2003 decreasing to approximately 11% in 2006… still a pretty good return.

Of course different regions boats different rates of property price increase. Spanish Property Insight shows the following regional property growth figures for 2006:

Andalucia 9.7% - Aragon 12.9% - Asturias 8.6% - Balearic Islands 11.8 - Canary Islands 8.0% - Cantabria 12.3% - Castilla y Leon 9.9% - Castilla La Mancha 9.6% - Cataluna 10.7% - Comunidad Valenciana 7.2% - Extremadura 8.4% - Galicia 12.9% - Madrid 6.1% - Region de Murcia 7.5% - Comunidad Foral de Navarra 6.4% - Pais Vasco 9.2%
La Rioja 9.8%.

Many people involved in the Spanish property business are agreeing that things are getting tougher for them at the lower and middle areas of the market. This could mean that you could be able to pick up a great deal from someone who bought high 3 to 4 years ago who now wants to make a quick sale. Also the owners of large property developments who started building around during the last year may start to panic and offer Spanish properties at a discounted price.

So if you are interested in looking for a Spanish property, now might be a good time to do your research and develop your bargaining skills!