Unaffordable Barcelona is now much cheaper

The first time buyersTB's who are entering the Spanish market could be able to buy a home at a relatively low price, according to reports.

According to Spanish estate agent, Aguirre Newman, new-build homes in Barcelona are taking 10 times longer to sell than a year ago. A recent research reveals that now it takes an average of 27 months to sell a new development in Barcelona and 28 months to sell in the wider metropolitan area. Therefore, prices of apartments in a new residential unit in a urban development in Barcelona are actually in decline and decreased by 1.5% over the past year, while new build home prices in Barcelona's Old Town Gothic Quarter has fallen by as much as 17% during the same period.

According to Homes Overseas magazine, these slump in house prices has impacted on the demand for investment property in Spain, the publication believes that this could work in the favor of people who are buying a home for personal use. This means that overseas property buyers could find now a good time to grab a residence in Barcelona which may previously have been unaffordable, as they are being sold at reduced prices.

This comes after the news that The Spanish government remains upbeat about the country's property market, the nation's housing minister Beatriz Corredor has stated that the property sector recovery will begin in the second half of 2009.