BUYING OR INVESTING IN THE REAL ESTATE MARKET IN GRAN CANARIA THE DIFFERENCE IS RELEVANT 

When I interface with people who contact me for information about the real estate market on the island of Gran Canaria, the first question I ask them is: do you buy for personal use or for investment?

For many the question may seem strange because a real estate purchase is often confused with a real estate investment, but the two differ and not a little!

If I buy a property and block a certain amount for this transaction and then use the house for myself, for my family, for my vacation, etc., I have not made an investment, I have made a purchase; it is different if I buy a property so that it generates income for me and does not remain a blocked amount that only generates expenses for me even though I use it.

This difference is not grasped even by “improvised or handyman” real estate agents because they don’t care if the person who comes to their office wants to buy to live there, to rent long term, for own vacation or for short rent….they only care about getting the commission…and everything else who cares!

This is why I tend to distinguish myself from the mass of agents real estate and indeed I do not identify with them at all, I call myself more of a Property Finder, a person who searches for properties suitable for the use that the potential buyer wants to make of it and not necessarily what I have available even if I do not think it is suitable for the use, or any property, in any area as long as it pays!

If in fact you want to buy to live then you will opt for residential areas, convenient to services, that do not have disproportionate prices per square meter having to be large enough anyway (unless you want to live in a hole) and not necessarily in financially liquid areas, avoiding purely tourist areas all the more so today in light of the events known to all that have led to fines being levied against those who reside in tourist areas and in complexes dedicated to tourism.

If, on the other hand, one wants to buy to rent long term therefore with a “secure” income ( having luck that the tenant pays) and without particular constraints regarding licenses, permits and local laws regarding tourist rentals, then one will have to opt for areas where there is demand for long term rentals and an excellent investment-return ratio, so I will avoid proposing 40 sqm holes at 180,000 euros because I will hardly rent at a high price and I will hardly get to amortize my investment in a short time. Instead, I will propose properties in Las Palmas, in Vecindario, Arinaga, Telde, etc., where the residency is high .

A note on Las Palmas: the city of Las Palmas as beautiful as it is and which I personally adore, attracts a “middle-poor” tourist, hardly in fact the Nordic, Finnish, Swedish, German etc.. with ample economic possibilities would rent for two months a property in the North where in winter the climate is quite different from the South…I would settle for young people, students, middle-aged couples, etc., who maybe stay in the North and then move by rental car to the beaches but my income will surely be lower without considering that in this period prices in Las Palmas are very high for properties of dubious value.

On the other hand, if finally, and this is my area of focus, you want to buy as an investment for the business of short term rentals, thus receiving tourists in your property with short-term vacation stays, I will have to necessarily search for a property in liquid and in-demand areas such as Puerto Rico, Campo Internacional, San Agustin, Playa del Inglès, avoiding Vecindario, Arinaga and vicinity where hardly the tourist of medium-high target would stay being purely in search of beaches and nightlife!

After all, if you buy and then entrust me with the management for short rent of your property, we have one interest in common : that the property yields! otherwise my work would be useless, you don’t earn you and reflexively I don’t earn!

But by liquid zones I mean areas where not just young or middle-aged people go but northern retirees who flee the cold and sky-high gas prices and stay here for one to three months spending exorbitant amounts of money for us but which for them is the norm or is less than they would spend staying at home in the freezing cold!

So to conclude, it is not enough to be a real estate agent to sell real estate the right way and it is not enough to want to buy a property on the island because I hear the islands are beautiful, you need to work with preparation and conscientiousness in your field and you need to Rely on SOMEONE COMPETENT who is not just aiming for the commission but has an interest in your investment being in line with your needs and being a good investment that will not make you regret choosing Gran Canaria to place your life savings and sweats! 

In one article I read that it must be the prospective buyer who has to do the math on the annuity ….!!!?? but what does a person who lives elsewhere and maybe is a lawyer, engineer, charcuterie maker or any other job know about the annuities that real estate generates here, liquid areas, etc.? YOU NEED TO TRUST but do it the right way to avoid shenanigans.

What does a person who doesn’t do this work, OR DOESN’T DO IT IN A SERIOUS WAY, know about Explotación Turistica, about VPOs, about Complexes with debts or Healthy Complexes, about good. or bad Comunidad, about good or bad Complexes even if placed 100 meters from each other….no property is the same as another and you cannot know its profitability unless you are an industry specialist with specific experience in the short rental business and not a guru handyman who sells everything to everyone like “Amazon” as unfortunately there are many here on the island!

In short you have to live here and operate here for years if you really want to sell in a conscientious way and propose a great service and safe from risk …then everyone of his money does what he wants but I have told you mine!