If you’re considering buying property to let it out to make an income or to cover mortgage repayments and achieve capital growth then you already know you’re not alone!
With the recent creation of buy-to-let mortgages in the UK for example, many people have considered this angle as a new approach to building long term income and wealth.
More traditional insurance policies and stock market related products have failed to deliver what so many people were promised, some financial faith seems to have been lost on a global scale and so people are looking around for alternative opportunities for their money.
And why not?
After all, diversity is one of the keys to successful financial planning.
So, let’s consider buy-to-let...instead of buying a little terraced house and letting it out to students, or purchasing an apartment to let to those desperate-to-get-on-the-property-ladder potential first time buyers, why not take a step back and consider the situation from a wider perspective?
What am I talking about?!
Well, what if you could fulfil two commonly held dreams with just one clever move?
Here are some interesting facts that might give you a hint at what I’m about to tell you: -
1) The Spanish Canary Islands are Spain’s tropical paradise; they attract 10 million tourists a year, making demand for quality holiday accommodation there very high.
2) The Spanish government have committed half of their entire tourism promotion budget for 2005 to promoting the Canary and Balearic Islands, meaning demand for accommodation will likely increase significantly.
3) Juan Herrera, the head of tourism in Spain has already publicly damned much of the accommodation available as “obsolete” and “aged” and said that “it needs reforming and...replacing”.
4) The Canary Islands offer genuine year round sunshine, and both summer and winter sun brochures feature the likes of Tenerife, Lanzarote and Fuertaventura.
Yes, demand for short term rental and holiday let accommodation across the Canary Islands is high, and demand is about to increase.
And yes, the Canary Islands are an ideal destination offering beautiful beaches, stunning and diverse vistas, excellent night life and good infrastructure - and yes, yes, yes there is still plenty of room for growth in the property markets on each island!
So, if you’re considering buying to let AND you dream of owning a holiday home in the sun you might just be able to achieve your two goals with one deft move!
By purchasing an investment property on the Canaries you’ll be able to let it out year round at ‘tourist prices’ - or simply rent it out short term to generate a decent income and then holiday in it yourself for the rest of the year!
Neat huh?
What to know more?
Okay, here’s a brief low down on three of the more popular islands and what they have to offer both in terms of investment property AND tourism potential.
Gran Canaria
Smaller than Tenerife or Fuertaventura, this island makes up for in scenery what it may lack in size! The island is also very well developed, it was one of the first of the Canary Islands to develop its tourism market and as a result it does have some less aesthetic developments in need of a bit of a face lift now.
That said, infrastructure on the island is excellent, the beaches are endless and sandy, lush vegetation and desert like sand dunes offer beauty through diversity and there are some very classy residential development projects underway on the island.
Gran Canaria is also one of the most popular destinations for year round holidays meaning demand for well presented accommodation is ever present.
Tenerife
This is the largest of the Canaries and one of the better developed islands in terms of infrastructure and has quite a lot in common with the Spanish Costas. It is very lively on the beach front and offers tourists a great party scene and night life, Tenerife also supports a fair degree of industry.
If you move back just a little way from the coast you’ll be struck at how peaceful the island becomes...if you were to consider buying to let here and were not too keen on the thought of being disturbed day and (especially) night by those wanting to party, you could pick up a quality property away from the main drag and easily promote it as offering the best of both worlds - close to the lively scene...but not too close!
Lanzarote
Birth place and stomping ground of the inspired sculptor Cesar Manrique. Manrique has left a beautiful legacy behind on Lanzarote, he designed and built many properties on the island and set a trend that modern planning authorities have followed.
Thanks to Manrique, properties on the island are no more than two stories high, are painted white and either have blue or green woodwork. There are no unsightly signs or cables or aerials to spoil the beauty of the place making Lanzarote unique, unrivalled, stunning and highly desirable as both a place for holiday makers and those looking to escape to the sun (average yearly temperatures are 22 degrees). It offers visitors quite a tranquil paradise actually.
Two striking facts about Lanzarote that are worthy of mention here:-
1) In 1987 the island was named one of just six “universal models of sustainable development” by the World Tourism Organization.
2) In 1994 UNESCO named the island “a Reserve of Biosphere”
If you visit you will be struck by Lanzarote, that’s for sure! In terms of the real estate and investment property markets on the island - suffice to say business is booming!
The unique nature of the place has made demand very high which has in turn pushed up property prices.
It does seem that people advertise property for sale at a price they would like to make rather than at the actual value of the place however, which can make house hunting in Lanzarote hard! A price does not give a perfect indication of quality!
But shopping around you can find a genuine ‘dream home’ - to let out, to holiday in, to retire to and to grow your investment via!
Meaning that buying investment property in the Canary Islands could give you the best of all worlds then?
Quite possibly!
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