Could anyone list some web sites I could use to get an idea of the selection and prices of real estate in and around Madrid. Ones with photos I would be especially appreciative of.

Thanks

Hi!

Here you have some links to Real Estate Agencies:

Tecnocasa

Servihabitat

Fotocasa

Carrefour Inmboliaria

Don Piso (Ferrovial)

Casas Bien Hechas (Ferrovial)

Ofician Multicasa (Ferrovial)

El Corte Inglés Inmobiliaria

Metrovacesa

Vallehermoso

Colonial

Urbis

Prycoinsa

Larcovi

Realia

If you need to translate some web pages try using
Systran

Good luck!

Ps: You can always check newspapers such as El Mundo , El País , La Razón , 20 Minutos Madrid , ABC , Cinco Días , Madrid News , Metro - Madrid , Think Spain , etc.

Some clues:

- Inmobiliaria : Real Estate
- Apartamento : Flat, Apartment
- Ático : Penthouse
- Chalet : Detached House
- Chalet Pareado : Semi-Detached House
- Chalet Adosado : Terraced House
- Duplex : Flat on two floors
- Triplex : Flat on three floors
- Casa Rural : Country House
- Venta : For Sale
- Finca : Property or Ranch

Amleth, you forgot the most popular one:

Idealista

It's the most visited "flat-related" website in Spain.

Antonio, Idealista.com is the one I use when I'm curious about prices and want to see photos of flats/pisos.

Saludos, MadridMan

Real estate prices are out of control in Spain. It is getting harder and harder to buy a first house.

Tell me about it. We just bought a new Flat/condo and I was shocked by the prices (and we got a deal).

If you're thinking about buying a newly constructed flat here's a hint: The market is so hot here that they are building them FAST & Cheap for the most part, so look carefully if you are buying new (cheap meaning thin walls and cutting corners with quality which can happen anywhere in a sellers market).

Generally we found that buildings that were built 15 to 20 years ago are much better in size and quality (lots of factors here I know...but generally speaking)

If you have anyone has questions about the whole experience feel free to E-mail me.
(north_66@yahoo.ca)

Thanks for the sites, I will review them. I know the prices have gone crazy within Madrid and that is why I am also investigating that if by moving to the out laying areas, Alcares de Henares for example, I might get more for my money.

Your thoughts?

Spanadian, I agree- I've seen some recently-built homes and I was not impressed -just really rush jobs, tiles not set correctly, poor paint jobs, caulking smeared around. I've been looking for something and hopefully will take the plunge soon. It's amazing how quickly things sell despite the crazy prices.

Nevado--I've seen exactly the same things. As a matter of fact I don't have to go far to see them. The 1 year old apartment we are renting...is everything you described (and worse).

Old Gringo--I tried to reply to your private messege but your profile won't accept private messeges.

I should have clarified that we didn't buy the flat in Madrid, we bought it in Albacete so I'm not sure if this will be of any use to you but maybe it could be useful to compare.

Albacete is a rapidly growing city of around 150-200,000 people. It's not a tourist city (although the museum is quite good) but it's a fantastic city to live in. We paid 189,000€ for an 18 year old flat, 115-120 meters squared, with 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, two terraces, a garage & storeroom. It's in an excellent location overlooking a park & the build quality is very high. We got a deal.

Although we can make do for as long as is necessary, the flat really needs a new kitchen, two new bathrooms, paint, plaster and other incidentals (new glass in the doors, door handles, hot water tank, etc). The thing is we bought it for the size, the quality, & the location (everything else we can change). It's going to be a lot of work and $$$$ but we like the idea that we can shape it into what we want over time. Buying a newer, smaller, cheaper quality flat (for around the same price) two years before we even get to see it physically...did not appeal to me in the least.

There may be exceptions (at much higher prices) but new buildings just don't seem to be as well made. For example, I can clearly hear the guy in the next apartment snoring every night (sometimes it wakes me up)and this flat is new (one year old flat in Ocaña). The thought of someone buying this flat & living in it for a long, long time makes me sad.

Others might be able to give you a better idea of how much a similar flat would cost in Madrid but you're probably looking at close to double.

Hope this helps.

Thank you very much for your reply. It was very helpful.

My wife is Spanish so I am some what familiar with the wage scales in Spain. I am amazed that given the wage scales in Spain that any normal person can afford to buy a flat in Madrid.

I don't know if there is any validitiy to this, but someone in Spain in the banking industry told me that when Spain converted to the Euro, alot of funds in Pesetas that had been hidden for tax purposes were injected into the economy. In order to continue to keep these funds off the books a lot of it went into real estate. This supposedly started the upward spiral of prices. Once the public saw the market heating up this drew in a lot more investors, legitamate and otherwise.

If this is true then, I'm told, what we are seeing is an artificial bubble of price inflation which should burst sometime after it becomes very much cheaper to rent than make a mortgage payment.

All will be revealed in the fullness of time.

I think you have the story straight. What is sad is that now citizens are being punished for lax laws. I know one family that got into 5 pisos with hidden money- just think of the quantity of pisos that have been financed this way. I've been looking/watching for 5 years now and still have old magazines with what now seem ridiculously low prices - if I had only known (or had the foresight to do something about it). Unfortunately, I didn't have a necessity to own and somehow let the opportunity slip away. I'm trying to get something just so I'm not pushed out of every real estate market (Spain, US, wherever). If prices continue to rise, I'll be forced to rent forever (not that that is bad, but I can't imagine affording it in my golden years).
I feel sorry for Spaniards who don't come from money or someone to help them out. Getting a house without an aval basically forces you to go with a sobre plano (and then you have the quality issues). My sister-in-law's contractor walked out on the project- they were left with a cement plot and no money. They spent a long time getting through the mess and more money than anticipated.