Are you aware that the deadline for the payment of the 2014’s IBI tax is September 12?

What is the I.B.I.?

The I.B.I. is the short name for Impuesto de Bienes Inmuebles that means a yearly tax applicable to all Spanish properties. The

I.B.I. is a local tax to be paid to the Council by the owners of the properties independent of the residential status.

Which entity is responsible for the management of the I.B.I.?

It is called the Patronato de Recaudación Provincial. It has offices in Marbella, San Pedro de Alcantara and Estepona. The addresses and contact numbers are the following:

       ‐ Main offices // www.prpmalaga.es Ph.: 902 152 000

       ‐ Estepona // C/ Luis Braille, 95. Puerto Deportivo Estepona, Edif. Puerto Sol. Ph.: 95 195 72 50
         Fax: 95 280 02 12

       ‐ San Pedro de Alcantara // Avda. P. Ruiz Picasso. Conjunto San Luis, local 12‐B.
         Ph.: 95 195 73 20  Fax: 95 278 03 57

       ‐ Marbella // Avda. Ricardo Soriano, 68. Ph.: 95 195 72 85 Fax: 95 195 74 36

How to pay it?

There are different ways:

• By taking the receipt the owner received by post to your bank to be charged on your account or to be paid in cash. If you did not receive the receipt, you are not exempted to pay. You should ask for one at the offices of the Patronato or call them to ask for an emailed copy.
• Directly at the offices of the Patronato. I would not recommend this one because the offices may be busy and you may have to wait for a while.
• Bank transfer: If you call the information number of the Patronato, they will tell you the bank account where to send the money and the reference code you have to use for the transfer.
• Direct debit: there are two options:
• The Patronato de Recaudacion will charge the amount directly on your bank account when due (usually some days or weeks earlier). To set up the procedure, you can go to the offices of the Patronato to give the authorization for that direct debit or do it by phone or even by internet on www.prpmalaga.es.
• The owners can also ask for a fractional payment without any interest charged. The set up is similar to the direct debit.

                  There are different options:

                                 Þ In two equal payments: April and October

                                 Þ In three equal payments: April, July and October.

                                 Þ In eleven equal payments: from January to November.

Since each particular case is different, it is fully recommended that you check your own details with your lawyer or tax advisor.

El stock de viviendas. Con más transacciones, ¿como esta cambiando?

Como explique la primera vez que trate el tema del stock de viviendas en venta, aunque el número de propiedades en venta no es exacto ya que los datos no son oficiales sino que están recopilados de la información de varias páginas webs y bases de datos de propiedades, lo que si obtengo es la tendencia que es en realidad lo que estoy buscando. Y, tengo que decir, que en este caso la tendencia me ha sorprendido. Hay más propiedades en venta en Marbella y Benahavís ahora que hace seis meses.

Cuando escribí mi articulo anterior sobre el inventario de propiedades en enero de este año con los datos de 2013, la tendencia era clara y dirigiéndonos en la dirección correcta: más transacciones inmobiliarias y menos stock de viviendas. Como comente en aquel momento, una reducción en el inventario de propiedades en venta al final empujaría a los precios al alza. Sin embargo, la tendencia ha cambiado en este 2014, hay más transacciones pero también hay más stock de propiedades en venta. En ciertos productos, como las villas en Marbella y Benahavís, el incremento en estos primeros seis meses ha sido significativo estando en el rango del 20%.

La razón para ello podría ser que, como hay una percepción en el mercado de que ya hemos dejado atrás los peores momentos, los propietarios que han estado esperando durante años para poner sus propiedades en el mercado han decidido hacerlo ya. Este aumento del stock lastraría la recuperación de los precios que aun no han empezado su camino al alza. Esto ve en línea con lo que dicen últimamente algunos informes de expertos del sector inmobiliario: ya hay signos de recuperación en el mercado pero esta va a ser lenta y moderada.

Inventory. Now that we have more transactions, how is it changing?

As I explained the first time that I published inventory or stock figures, the data is not official but taken from different real estate web pages and databases of properties. The number will never be exact but what I am really looking for is the tendency.

I have to say that the tendency observed surprised me. There are more properties in the market now than six months ago.

When I wrote my previous article on the stock of properties at the beginning of 2014 and with the data of 2013, the index seemed to go the right way: more transactions and less inventory. However this tendency has changed in 2014 where we are having even more transactions but the inventory is also going up. In some cases, like villas in Marbella and Benahavis, the up tendency is remarkable with increases in the range of 20% since the start of the year.

The reason for that may be that since there is a perception on the market that the we are starting to leave the worst moments of the crisis behind, and it is true that we are seeing signals of a change, the owners that have been waiting during the “bad” years to put their properties on the market have decided to come out now. Contrary to the conclusion of the article I wrote in January where I commented that less inventory would push the prices up, the conclusion now would be the opposite: more inventory means more where to choose from for potential buyers and a brake to the recovery of the prices. This goes in line with the different comments and analysis from real estate experts: we are seeing signals of recovery on the market and the price index will change its tendency soon but the recovery will be slow and moderate.