Comments on: How bad will things get in Spain?

By: bill (Legazpi)

bill (Legazpi) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 14:51:00 +0000

According to the following article, the Spanish banks are soon going to start selling off many more of these houses they own. This might put more downward pressure on the property market:

http://www.abc.es/20091013/economia-banca/banca-espanola-tendra-digerir-20091013.html

By: bill (Legazpi)

bill (Legazpi) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 14:50:40 +0000

Just noticed some comments here…

@Tom – ideally I think you need a good mix of flexible freelancers and stable permies within the job market. However Spain currently has a mixture of stable permies who add a lot of value to a company and stale permies stuck in boring jobs, but who daren’t leave their company and move on.

@Pippa – I didn’t say Spain would leave the euro, I simply said that Spain will not not come out of recession at the same time as Germany and France, and that the Spanish economy will be further damaged by having inappropriate interest rates.

By: Rai

Rai — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 13:09:34 +0000

@Tom: you forgot to add: “…when the economy dips, but which still leaves them free to outperform their peers, and which promotes innovation in the field in general.”
Flexibility in the market tends to improve its ability to advance towards accepting new technologies more quickly – a vital part of IT.

By: Pippa

Pippa — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 17:39:25 +0000

@Bill: I hope your hat is from an edible material.
Spain will not leave the euro. In addition to the economic reasons, there is the recent Spanish history: Spain has been trying to be very European for the last 30 years and is not going to leave the euro system in a hurry.

By: James Baker

James Baker — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 17:23:18 +0000

Did you see the Telegraph has weighed in with their piece this week about Spain “tipping into recession”? I published an article in August warning people against believing talk of a recovery in the property market and I think it has been borne out by events:
http://ezinearticles.com/?10-Reasons-Spanish-Property-Prices-Will-Stay-Depressed&id=2865061

By: Tom

Tom — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 14:17:02 +0000

@Bill – looking at what you’ve described from another angle, you could say: IT pros in Spain find it easier to get a permanent contract and stay in one job than in the UK, where many people are forced to freelance, meaning little job security when the economy dips….

By: Bill (Legazpi)

Bill (Legazpi) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 15:31:06 +0000

@MrMark

I work in IT in Madrid, and earn about two thirds of what I would earn in London as a full time employee. Of course it depends on the exchange rate, but generally When I take into account the lower living costs in Madrid, etc there isn’t that much difference in the overall standard of living. So I agree that Madrid can be attractive to IT workers from the UK who wish to try something different.

However where the Uk has a clear advantage for both employers and employees is in the freelance market. In the UK it is quite common for IT workers to go freelance, which not only allows them to earn considerably more money, but also provides them with a bit more flexibility. Companies also like freelancers because they tend to offer the appropriate skills for the job at hand, without demanding the same level of job security as permanent employees do.

It’s a situation the next Spanish government should really look into improving. At the moment it is possible to become freelance (autonomo) in Spain, however the process is very bureaucratic and the employment culture in Spain doesn’t seem to promote it. There’s no freelance market. For various reasons, the Spanish job culture tends to value job security over flexibility. I’ve worked with some really talented and professional Spanish developers who, given the chance, would make fine freelancers, offering really good services to Spanish companies and being rewarded appropriately. However the current system makes it more beneficial for them if they just stay with the same company, regardless of whether their skills are still needed.

By: Tom

Tom — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 08:07:21 +0000

@Dan – not all Spanish companies are slashing wages, you know. In many cases, €30K is far less than someone doing similar work would expect in the UK or France… but it’s not that rare a thing here. The problem industries (those linked to speculative construction, for example) are suffering major repercussions in this recession. Other industries are seeing a slight downturn. Respectable Spanish companies in that second category are still hiring and still paying their staff a decent wage.

By: Johnny

Johnny — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 16:29:08 +0000

another reason why people might not buy is that renting is now a great option.
We arrived here in southern spain in feb this year and rented a fine house with three bedrooms, lovely views from the teracce right in the middle of a pueblo blanco in sight of the sea.

all this for €6000 a year! Anda! Bills such as Endesa, telefonica make up about €100 per month.

I keep thinking, “Why do I need to BUY anything?”

I originally rented for a year with a view to buying somewhere. Now I have rolled it over for another year at the same price and the landlord is dancing down the calle.
He’s happy, I’m happy.

All I gotta do now is get a job……..

By: moscow

moscow — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 15:54:00 +0000

@Bill, in the long-term I am optimistic. I do realise that changing the ‘enchufe’ culture could take decades, if ever. But the reforms will come, perhaps, not all at once, but bit by bit. I am not a fan of the PP – I dislike the whiff of reactionary conservatism the party exudes – but right now, even someone as happless as Rajoy is a better option than ZP. I am hoping for early elections.

I do believe that would Spain step out of the Euro, not only would reform not happen, the country could slide backwards and become something like Argentina. And that was my last word on this issue.