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The main drawback of many of the real estate portals and
websites listed on this page is the lack of an English-language
version. But, after all, if you are thinking of moving to
Spain you are going to have to learn some Spanish sooner or
later, so why not get the dictionary out now? That aside,
most of them are slick, professional portals which will at
least give you an idea of the Spanish property market and
could help you find your ideal home in Spain.
Note that Spaniards have the custom of describing house sizes
in terms of surface area, the number of square metres. For
those who find this difficult to visualize: 30 m2 is a bachelor
pad (not enough room to swing a cat, if that is the sort of
thing you do in your spare time); 50 m2 is a small flat for
a couple, possibly with a small child; 90-100 m2 is a comfortable
size for a family of three or four; and 150 m2 would be going
on for palatial. I am speaking from a Brit's point of view,
of course: Americans may think bigger.
Articles and Links Pages
LRAU
Links page dedicated to the so-called "Valencia Land
Grab Laws."
Elsewhere on the Net
Agencies
Casaweb
Many of the sites on this page claim to be "the original"
or "first" site dedicated to Spanish real estate.
In Casaweb's case, it could possibly be true, as it has been
around since 1996. Unfortunately, it shows, but the site is
definitely worth digging around in.
Expocasa
Not quite my favourite, because of a preponderance of
information from property developers. But dreamers should
click "Casas con Encanto" for some possibilities
more exotic than most people will be looking for, including
palaces, manor houses and, of course, authentic castles in
Spain.
FotoCasa
As the name suggests, this is the website of a classifieds
magazine which runs ads with photos. By no means all the ads
on the site carry photos, but many of those that do include
360º panoramics, which could have been invented just
for this purpose. Like the printed magazine, this site is
especially interesting if you want to avoid intermediaries,
i.e., estate agents.
Globaliza
As good and professional a site as most on this page. One
of the most interesting possibilities it offers is to be notified
when new properties corresponding to your search criteria
go on sale (others offer the same feature, though it is easier
on this site).
Infoinmueble
Instead of making you spend ages applying filters to your
searches, this portal returns a large number of results and
breaks them down for you, which makes it fast and comfortable
to use.
Inmopolis
Available in English! And for the most part, good, clear,
comprehensible English, which must earn it points. The pop-up
maps are either helpful or a nuisance, depending on your point
of view, its database is not as large as some other sites,
and you have to click too many times to get to the information
you want, but overall it is a pleasure to use.
La
Urbis
Easy to use, but far too many results from too few estate
agencies.
New
Habitat
Another portal available in English, and comfortable and enjoyable
to use. Unfortunately, its database is, at the time of checking,
practically empty.
Portae
The site as a whole is not available in English, but the property
search function is. The Java makes it slooow at times,
and there are far too many results returned from property
developers for my liking, but perhaps I am being too radical:
at least that means there are photos of the buildings. Because
the site is owned by an electricity utility, it offers the
very interesting possibility of processing your electricity,
water, gas and telephone connections for you, so everything
will have been turned on when you move in.
Transpisa
The website of a Madrid estate agency. The search engine works
well, but only provides a minimum of information and the possibility
of asking for more information or a telephone call, which
you will not want to do if you are as allergic to estate agents
as I am (when they are working, that is, some of my best friends
are estate agents).
Tu Casa
Possibly the first of the portal-style property sites to get
off the ground. Lots of flashing ads and scrolling texts make
it a little tiring, but it has one of the most complete real
estate databases, though the information is sometimes offered
stingily.
Urbaniza
Another veteran site with a large database providing not quite
enough information. Curiously, the only site on this page
which lets you search for a shared flat.
Vivendum
If this site had an English-language version, I might label
it a "Best of the Net." It is the most comfortable
to use and returns full, if concise, information on the properties
you search for.
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