Over the years, trends and technology have changed making us think differently how we buy a property abroad.

In Spain, in the eighties, we had the 3 or 4 day inspection week-end where clients were wined and dined, shown property and signed up before catching the plane home.

In the nineties, we experienced the previous crisis which lasted till around 1997/98 when Spain still had the Peseta, a huge amount of black money under the mattress and the up and coming entry into the Euro in 2001. Property was very cheap, Internet had been invented, developers were booming – building and selling new complexes all over Spain and the “off-plan” syndrome was at its height as never seen before in Spain.

Today, we’re into the fifth year of recession, property prices in Spain have been falling constantly since 2007, unemployment is one of the highest in Europe, their economy is in tatters and they don’t have the Peseta to devalue.

So how do we buy a property in Spain today?

If you’re a developer or an estate agent and you’re not on the Internet, it’s almost as if you don’t exist. Prospective buyers surf the net at home or in the office. They visit dozens of websites and portals, send off emails in all directions, save properties to their “short list”, and think they know the property market, where they want to buy and how much they’re going to spend. Of course some do, whilst others don’t. And this happens before they even get on the plane!

The advent of the Internet in the property industry is evident. But does it make it any easier to choose the right property or the best estate agent? In the past you would choose an overseas agent through advertising or perhaps an exhibition in your own country, or simply arrive in Spain and go walk-about. Choosing an agent today on the Internet is no easier than it was before, without the net. At least before, you could visit an office, speak to staff, and you could make an opinion. With a website, what do you know about them unless they’re a household name? Not a lot, considering that some estate agents in Spain work from home (in Spain and in the UK), without an office, but have a great looking website.

The experience of a professional estate agent cannot be underestimated.

Many buyers in Spain, including the Brits, but also from many other countries, particularly the Nordic states, do not realise fully how an estate agent works in Spain.

Well established and long standing agents work together. They share their portfolio of properties as well as their clients. This they do both on the Internet, by exporting their property feeds to portals and other websites, as well as on a day-to-day bases in and around their working area by picking up the phone. On any given day, an agent will have the right property for another agent’s client, and on another day, visa versa. The price of the property remains the same. And half a loaf is better than none!

Buyers in Spain don’t need to deal with lots of different estate agents to find their dream property when one agent in the right place can deal with other agents on their behalf, find and select suitable properties and make all necessary viewing arrangements. Let the agent do the walking!

It is with this in mind that the LPG (Leading Property Group) Spain came about. To bring together estate agents in a given area of Spain, all with many years of practical experience, all with long track records, and most importantly, that know one another. When you deal with one of our agents, you can then deal with all of them, and benefit from the widest choice of property available in our area.

An LPG Spain member only has to contact another member to introduce you, the client, to their town or village, and start the process of finding the most suitable property. And this applies not only to properties for sale, but also to long term rentals and holiday accommodation.

At present, LPG Spain has nine members, each one covering their own particular town or village. Currently, our members have comprehensive property portfolios in the towns of Málaga, Rincon de la Victoria, Torre del Mar and Vélez-Málaga, the inland villages of the area known as Axarquía (the eastern side of the Málaga province) such as Competa, Sayalonga, La Viñuela and Puente Don Manuel, the coastal towns of Torrox Costa, El Morche and Nerja, Frigiliana, and stretching along the Costa Tropical to La Herradura and Almuñecar in the province of Granada.

LPG Spain, as a professional association of estate agents, is a young project and still in its first year. Over the coming weeks and months we will continue to invite selected agents in other towns within our area so that their portfolios can be added to LPG Spain, thus further improving our service, in one place, on one website.

Unlike many property portals or associations, LPG Spain is not driven by advertising revenue. Estate agents of LPG Spain become members by invitation only. They must adhere to a strict code of practice and offer complete transparency for clients and agents alike.

If you are considering a property purchase or rental on the east Costa del Sol, Axarquía or the Costa Tropical, please browse our website for a wide selection of properties in all price ranges, in the knowledge that we will be adding new members and more property constantly.

LPG Spain can also help if you are selling your property in Spain. As multi listing is common practice, place your property with us and gain multiple exposure, instantly!

LPG (Leading Property Group) Spain.

Head Office: Nerja (Málaga) Spain.

RELATED TOPICS:

About LPG Spain.

Guide to purchasing a property in Spain.

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