Murcia’s construction companies believe that the Region now “depends less” on the British market than many of the other sectors, as growth continues to be “constant and moderate” despite the threat of Brexit.
Yet one of the most common subjects for discussion in Murcia by such companies since the ‘yes’ to ‘Brexit’ vote in the United Kingdom referendum is still: What consequences will there be for the region’s construction industry following the British vote to leave the European Union?
A few months after the vote the answers are beginning to appear the most recent statement coming from the Association of Real Estate Developers of the Region of Murcia (APIRM) which, far from showing any alarm, has said that the consequences for the construction industry appear to be far less than was first thought.
The president of the promoters, José Hernández, told the Spanish press that until the end of last year, during the three months that the threat of ‘Brexit’ was able to be accurately measured, “there has been no significant effect to the sale of houses to Britons, neither up nor down.”
According to Hernández, the effects of the United Kingdom to leave the European Union will not be so extreme in the Region of Murcia because, “although the British customer plays an important role among foreigners who buy housing in the Region, 50% or 60% – the Region does not have the same dependence on international clients that other provinces have.”
He said that, “In 2015, 43% of all the homes that were sold in Alicante went to foreigners; In Murcia the figure was only 17%, where the growth has been more moderate, but constant.”
This moderate optimism of the region’s real estate developers is based on the official data that the association itself manages. He says that he also expects that Britons will continue to buy in the area because of their love of golf. “The high season for golf is from October to May so, for the moment, there are no big negative effects. Britons are the main customers who buy and sell housing in resorts linked to this sport, which is most positive, “Hernández said.
