Fab time to buy Barcelona property - exchange rate hits 12-week high

334. Excellent news if you intend to buy a property in Barcelona! Whether you’ve got your eye on a 70 m² flat with 3 bedrooms near Avenida Diagonal for €320,000, or a 230m2 detached house in Comarruga for €595,000, it’s now cheaper to buy, because the pound to euro exchange rate has hit a 12-week high.

To be specific, sterling has reached 1.1832 against the common currency recently, its strongest since September 12th. What this means is, when you transfer money to your Spanish bank account, you’ll receive thousands of euros extra, making your ideal Barcelona property more affordable!
What’s more, looking forward, Barcelona property could become even less costly, if the pound strengthens further versus the euro. The GBP/EUR exchange rate could continue to climb, because this weekend Italy will hold a referendum, in which it’s thought that Italians will convincingly vote ‘no’ to prime minister Matteo Renzi’s proposals to reform the constitution.
If Italians do so, Mr. Renzi has promised to resign, which would immediately plunge Italy into political chaos. This could drag down the common currency this weekend, thus cutting the cost of buying a fabulous Barcelona property! In addition, the pound to euro exchange rate could also fly higher, cutting the cost of purchasing a property in Barcelona, because Brexit looks set to impact the UK far less than previously thought. To be specific, this week the OECD upgraded its economic growth forecast for the UK for 2017 by +0.2% to 1.2%. This is like admitting that the UK will grow solidly next year, even as it leaves the EU!
Moreover, UK Chancellor Philip Hammond has promised to invest an extra £122 billion in UK infrastructure over the next 5 years too, thereby boosting sterling, and making Barcelona property less costly!
Lastly, buying a property in Barcelona could also fall in price next year, as the pound rises versus the euro, because there’s a new legal challenge to keep the UK in the EU’s Single Market. This week, pressure group British Influence argued that the vote for Brexit doesn’t give the UK government a mandate to exit the Single Market, because this wasn’t on the ballot paper.
If British Influence wins its legal challenge, this would significantly lift the odds that the UK stays in the Single Market, boosting Britain’s GDP outlook. In turn, this could lift the pound, making Barcelona property less costly!
With all this in mind, it’s an outstanding time to buy a property in Barcelona, as the pound has hit a 12-week high versus the euro, and may continue to climb.
Article contributed By Peter Lavelle at foreign exchange broker Pure FX http://www.purefx.co.uk