Estate Agents
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!
As we come close to the relaunch of Property Base, here’s a summary of the portals we currently support (in no particular order) -
Kyero – www.kyero.com
Prime Location – www.primelocation.com
Think Spain – www.thinkspain.com
RightMove – www.rightmove.co.uk
Canary Property – www.canaryproperty.com
Freedom4Sale – www.freedom4sale.com
If you are an Estate Agent selling in the Canary Islands then we could save you time by automatically updating your listings with any of the above property portals.
If you are a property portal, please feel free to get in touch to be included in auto updates.
Cape Verde is named after Cap Vert (meaning Green Cape) in Senegal, the westernmost point of continental Africa. The Islands are located around 560 kilometres off the west coast of Senegal. They’re about one hour south of Spain’s Canary Islands.
Despite being an African country, Cape Verde has a culture, landscape and atmosphere quite unlike anything on the mainland. It’s also widely regarded as 2007’s most lucrative emerging markets.
Economic Boom
According to MacauHub, in 2006 Cape Verde’s economy grew by the highest rate in almost 10 years – 10.8%.
The Cape Verdean government had only expected a growth rate of between 6 and 7% so were pleasantly surprised. Tourism was of course largely responsible for this growth. Jose Maria Neves, Cape Verde’s prime minister calls it the “main engine” driving the economy.
With year round sunshine and a climate slightly hotter and more consistent than the Canary Islands, Cape Verde is a perfect beach holiday destination right throughout the year. It’s no wonder sun-starved Northern Europeans are keeping a keen eye on it.
The property market is booming – Investors and homebuyers are taking full advantage of the island’s excellent value for money properties.
Background
Cape Verde is an African country located off the west coast of Senegal. It consists of 10 main islands and about 8 islets.
This fascinating archipelago boasts some stark contrasts in landscape. It’s home to fierce volcanic landscapes, endless white sandy beaches, lush green forests and vast deserts.
In Cape Verde’s northern islands, Crioulo is the spoken dialect. In the south, they speak Krioulo. One of the recent issues facing the government is the amount of variations of these dialects that are spoken – sometimes up to nine within each individual island. Ever since their independence from Portugal in 1951, there’s been a call for one or possibly two standard languages.
For the moment though, visitors will hear a variation of colonial-era Portuguese with the occasional English or West African words thrown in.
Although Cape Verde is an African country, it’s distinctly different from any of the other countries on the mainland. Cape Verdeans have their own language(s), traditions and music (known as Morna). Most countries in Western Africa are a mixture of Islam and Animism. On Cape Verde, the majority are Catholic Mestizos.
Located so close to Europe, Cape Verdeans have a very broad-minded and European outlook on life.
Cape Verde is often called the “new Canary Islands” as they’re very similar in terms of both landscape and climate. And like the Canaries, there’s a vast degree of difference between each of the individual islands.
They’re also being called the new Canary Islands because agents and developers are selling them as the latest holiday hot spot and this year’s most lucrative investment location – which to a large extent, they are.
As of yet, Cape Verde remains untouched – a natural paradise with an easy way of life, low cost of living, high quality of life and some very affordable properties. Whether or not mass tourism and (perhaps) overdevelopment will happen here like in Spain is hard to say.
It’s hard to categorize Cape Verde. It’s a mixture of African, Brazilian and European yet at the same time it’s completely different from its neighbours. It’s a fascinating and at the same time bewildering country – staggering beautiful and full of exotic charm.
Property For Sale in Cape Verde
Prices are still very low, especially when compared to some of the more established tourist resorts like the Canary Islands, Spain and Portugal.
Here are a few examples of what you’re likely to find online…
Studio, Sal Island
Sale Type: Off Plan
Price: £ 47,894
Studio Apartment, Santa Maria Island
Type: Studio
Sale Type: Off Plan
Price: £ 45,449
Studio, Salinas Sand, Sal Island
Type: Apartment/Condo
Sale Type: Off Plan
Price: £ 46,413
Local price: Esc 7,557,243
Cape Verde’s Future
The hype is phenomenal. It’s been hailed as the “new Canaries”, “Barbados without the jet-lag” the “Caribbean on the cheap” and countless others.
Although mass tourism can bring with it various problems like overdevelopment and crime etc, most agree that the positive impact of tourism on Cape Verde will be largely beneficial.
Through tourism, this once impoverished third world country will see increased employment a better standard of living and should eventually become a much wealthier nation.
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
If you are looking to buy property for sale in Gran Canaria, using the online property search of Canary Homes Online will quickly match your criteria with several available properties. Maria from Canary Homes Online was quick to make her website www.canaryhomesonline.com user friendly and this has certainly been achieved.
