Dear Editor,
I was very pleased to read in last week’s edition that things finally appear to be picking up on the real estate market.
I wonder if it is more a case of so many estate agents having closed their doors so the few surviving agents have less competition. However, it is encouraging to hear that there is still demand from the UK and elsewhere.
I am one of the many vendors who has decided to take my property off the market and concentrate on generating a rental income for now.
We purchased our property in 2007 and when we placed it on the market in 2011 the agents we had appointed told us initially that to secure a sale we would have to take a loss in euros of around 20% but more recently this increased to 35%!
If however I take into account the difference in exchange rate, my loss would be a great deal less when converted back to sterling.
However, I for one am confident that the market will eventually bounce back, and although I would like to realise the capital I have invested in the Algarve, I would rather wait a few years and hopefully make a positive return on my investment.
I should add that the three agents I was dealing with all seemed to welcome the fact that I removed my “overpriced” property from the market.
By email – Name and address withheld on request
