Canary Islands
Cárdenas Real Estate are an established Estate Agent in Gran Canaria and Ramon and the team are always striving to improve on their services to clients and investors alike. So with this in mind, they now have their introduction pages in 16 languages, making your search for property sales and rentals in Gran Canaria much easier by being in your own language.
With a huge database of property for sale and rent in Gran Canaria, including apartments, house & villa plots, apartment complexes & hotel and commercial properties, you will be spoil for choice. Contact the team at Cardenas at any one of their 3 real estate agencies located in Arguineguín, Puerto Rico and Playa de Mogán.
David Wood has recently launched a new website, dwood-property.com, that is a low cost fixed fee Estate Agency Network, bringing the cost to buyers, sellers, landlords and tenants alike, to a reasonable, affordable and realistic price. David is fully aware of what is needed and expected from all sectors of this marketplace and his property expertise and Estate Agents background put him in a good position to understand, not only the property side of things, but the all important financial issues that go with it and by starting with a fixed agency fee, he definitely knows what he´s talking about!
In 2000 the Spanish government deregulated the property market allowing basically anyone to set themselves up as a real estate agent.
Up until then, if you wanted to sell property, you had to be a member of one of Spain’s two professional real estate associations – API or GIPE.
Types of Real Estate Agents in Spain
Buying property in Spain is ordinarily a very straightforward and safe process. Nevertheless, there are a few sharks out there, so you have to be careful. Your biggest risk might come from your choice of estate agent, whose levels of competence and ethics can mean the difference between a happy and unhappy investment.
That’s not to say that they are all bad. On the contrary, there are many very highly trained, very competent and caring agents in the Spanish market. The challenge is choosing the right one for you.
Before choosing the type of agent you want, it’s a good idea to get an overview of the different types out there. There are a number of different agent set-ups, all quite distinct from each other.
Foreign Estate Agents
There are hundreds of foreign estate agents set up in Spain and on the Canary Islands – English, Irish, German, Dutch, and French etc…
Normally their target market will be buyers from their own home country. The Irish will try and sell to the Irish, the English to the English and the Germans to the Germans etc. It make sense really, you feel safer with what you’re familiar with.
In most cases, foreign agents will operate through English as their primary language, but will speak numerous other languages.
Since deregulation, no qualifications are required to set up as an agent and the barriers to entry are low. The result of this has been an influx of unprofessional and sometimes unscrupulous agents operating in the very touristy parts of Spain – like the Costa del Sol, Costa de Almeria, Costa Calida and Costa Blanca.
In some cases, they’ll try and charge outrageous commissions while at the same time offering a very low level of service.
Many are ex time-share and still use aggressive sales tactics, which sometimes extend to telling the clients half-truths; anything to close a quick sale.
Unfortunately, such organizations still exist in Spain and on the Canary islands. Thankfully though, these are in the minority – the majority being very professional, offering excellent levels of service.
Spanish Estate Agents
Most of the Spanish agents are affiliated with the API or GIPE professional associations. This indicates a very high level of training and professionalism. Sometimes though, these titles can be abused, making it hard to judge their genuine level of professionalism.
Spanish agents usually sell property within their local area. Some of the larger agents have chains and networks stretching all across the country.
Up until recently, most of the Spanish agents didn’t speak English. Nowadays however, there are more and more Spanish agents who speak English and various other European languages. They’re mostly in the popular coastal areas, like the Costa del Sol etc.
Estate Agents Based in the UK
The UK agents infiltrated the Spanish market after seeing the huge numbers of UK buyers looking for property in Spain. They were also lured into the market by the very generous commissions. The obvious advantage for the buyer is that you can do all the research with an English-speaking agent right on your own doorstep.
Inter-agency Networks
This is a convenient way of matching buyers and sellers with appropriate properties. Groups of foreign estate agencies come together and set up a network where they can share clients and properties as well as commissions.
It’s mutually beneficial for both agents. One might have a buyer looking for a certain property but not the correct property while the other might have the right property but not the buyer. Everyone wins!
The only problem is that although they are meant to split the commissions, what they often do is increase the commission. So, although you might get the property you’ve been looking for, you end up paying more.
With a little extra effort you could have probably found the property yourself – without paying the extra commission.
In Spain, you’ll often see the exact same property advertised at completely different prices from different estate agents. This is largely down to these agency networks. Here’s an example.
Initially set up on the Canary Islands, Montaña Roja have branched out to include neighbouring Morocco and the Cape Verde Islands. This year though (2007/8), their hottest development remains closer to home – Mirador de Lobos Golf in Corralejo, Northern Fuerteventura.
This top class development boasts private gardens, huge roof terraces, spacious rooms and even your own private golf course.
For more information, click on the following links…
Mirador de Lobos
Montaña Roja
Alternatively use traditional methods, just give them give them a call, or even drop by (if you’re already here)…
Montaña Roja
Gestión Inmobiliaria Montaña Roja. S.L.
C/. Nuestra Sra del Carmen, 40
35660 Corralejo
Fuerteventura, Canary Islands, Spain
Sales Office New Developments
Phone: 00 34 928 537 301
Phone: 00 34 928 866 337
The internet has become one of the best ways to find properties for sale in the Canary Islands. Most real estate agents have their own website and advertise all their latest properties online.
There’s also a growing number of information sites who, along with displaying the latest properties, provide information on the whole buying process, including; legal advice; mortgage information; buyer’s guide’s; property and investment articles; and market information etc – basically everything property related.
Casa Quest was set up in 2003 by Dr Paul Johnson, a retired British medical practitioner and Sorted Sites (http://www.sortedsites.com/), leading local web development agency, in an attempt to make buying and selling property in the Canary Islands easier. It’s an information site primarily aimed at anyone looking to buy or sell property in Lanzarote, Tenerife, Fuerteventura or Gran Canaria.
As well as displaying a vast array of properties from some of the most well established estate agents in the Canary Islands, Casa quest also provides local information about the individual islands.
Lanzarote (Canary Islands)
Lanzarote is situated just 70 miles off the coast of Africa. It’s the most easterly of the Canary Islands and the fourth largest island in the archipelago.
Volcanic in origin, lanzarote has a spectacular red, “Martian” landscape. The name Lanzarote literally means, “coloured hills” because of this intense volcanic colour. The original name, used by the indigenous population was “Titeroygatra”.
This is where they shot the classic sci-fi epic Planet of the Apes with Charlton Heston.
Like most of the other Canary Islands, Lanzarote has a perfect year round climate with warm temperatures, a dry climate and hardly any rain. Average temperatures range from 24° C in August to 17° in January.
Water temperatures range from a comfortable 17°C to a cosy 24°C at the surface, making it ideal for water-sports all throughout the year.
Lanzarote’s Volcanic Past
The most recent eruptions occurred during the 18th and 19th centuries. Most of the island’s dramatic landscape was formed by “Montañas del Fuego” flooding the island with lava. The island is basically a huge volcanic structure created out of successive volcanic eruptions.
Lanzarote is home to the “Atlantida Tunnel” – the longest volcanic tunnel in the world and one of the island’s most stunning features. It’s 7kms long and includes the La Cueva de los Verdes and Jameos del Agua.
It’s also home to the Timanfaya national park, which is the clearest exponent of the volcanic origins of Lanzarote. Its spectacular reds and blacks form a surreal lunar landscape that will take your breath away. Timanfaya was declared a national park in 1974.
Lanzarote’s Beaches & Watersports
Although it’s hard to imagine such a barren landscape having anything in the way of nice beaches, it actually does. Lanzarote has miles and miles of fine white sandy beaches that contrast sharply with the interior landscape. Two of the best beaches are Playa Blanca and Papagayo.
Lanzarote is ideal for windsurfing, kitesurfing and yachting. It gets consistent wind conditions all year round. Beneath the wind and waves lies a fascinating underwater world with many top class dive sites. Other popular sports here include wave surfing and parasailing, to name but a few…
Lanzarote is visually stunning – with bright red volcanos, clear blue skies, endless fine white sandy beaches and warm emerald waters.
Property for sale in the Canary Islands (Lanzarote)
Here’s just a few example of what you’ll find online…
01 Bed Apartment in Costa Teguise
A choice of very spacious Studios, 1,2 and 3 bedroom Villa Apartments on this 5 star luxury resort set on its own private lagoon beachfront.
Price: €105.000 EUR
3 Bed Villa in Costa Teguise
A very spacious and luxurious beachfront 3 Bed Villa on this 5 star luxury resort set on its own private lagoon beachfront.
Price: €479.000 EUR
Looking for a property in Lanzarote
On Casa Quest you can search for that dream home based on location, budget, property type, number of bedrooms etc. You can also fill in a form and send it off letting them know what you are looking for and they’ll ask a selection of leading estate agents to find a property matching your requirements.
Alternatively you can just click on the property type below each island picture – simple and fast.
When you are looking to buy property in the Canary Islands, whether that´s Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura, Lanzarote, El Hierro, La Gomera and La Palma, you need to be able to search with the minimum of fuss and achieve the best results for your criteria. That´s where a Property Portal like www.canaryproperty.com and their feedback blog site www.canarypropertyforsale.com come into the fore. The easy to use search facility on this portal makes buying a property in the Canary Islands as easy as ABC!
To advertise on Canary Property contact Gary on info@canaryproperty.com
