NH Hoteles to buy real estate in Spain

New York (Bloomberg) -- Hotelier NH Hoteles SA will consider buying real estate assets in Spain after prices started falling, ABC reported, citing comments by Chairman Gabriele Burgio.

The cost of acquiring a building to be used as a hotel in a city accounts for 20 percent to 30 percent of the asset's revenue, Burgio said in an interview with the Spanish newspaper. NH will take a decision on its real estate investments next spring, Burgio told ABC.

Alarm as Spain's once-booming property market loses steam

MADRID, Spain: The phones don't ring off the hook any more at Spanish real estate offices, once the beneficiaries of a sizzling property market. In fact, they hardly ring at all.

Sharply higher interest rates, a glut of homes and newly jittery banks have come together to stall the engine that has driven one of Europe's top-performing economies for more than a decade. And as the market slows, so has Spain's economic growth.

Spanish New Home Sales Fall 30% Aug-Oct

MADRID (Dow Jones)--New home sales in Spain have fallen 30% between August and October as one of the euro-zone's biggest housing booms comes to an end, according to G-14, an association of the country's 14 largest construction and real-estate firms.

In a meeting Wednesday with journalists, G-14 Chairman Pedro Perez Fernandez said new home sales slowed around 15% in the first half of the year.

Perez said 490,000 new homes should be sold in 2007, down from 600,000 in 2006.

A Look At The Spanish Press

A high profile investigation into bribery and corruption claims within the Real Estate sector has began to recognise the extent of the problems on Spanish terrain. The Guardia Civil commenced their mission to end foul play within the industry six months ago, following allegations of large-scale exploitation of the market throughout the ten-year property boom. A spokesman from the investigation unit revealed that public officials were the worst culprits, as they were frequently accepting monetary favours to approve and accelerate building permits. He added that the units have begun to establish a register of all 'illegally' built properties located across the country. Their findings have led to the opening of 100 separate cases, 57 arrests, and charges being brought against 126 people for various counts of bribery and embezzlement.