Maspalomas has an annual football tournament that attracts the European football, this year on 9 January the first game will take place at 8.30pm between FC Twente of Holland  and Lausanne of Switzerland at the San Fernando stadium. The next day matches up Brondby of Denmark with Aalesunds of Norway, the two winners will meet in a grand final on 12 January at 9pm, after a third place decider at 6.30pm.

Many people who invest in a new property in Gran Canaria are drawn by the outdoor life and sporting and active ways to relax. Some take advantage of the sea while others enjoy walking and hiking, there are plenty of challenging trails across the island. Cardenas Real Estate know island life well and can point you in the right direction to enjoy your favourite past time.

Cycling is another way to explore Gran Canaria, some explore in a slow relaxing way but top professional teams are attracted by the chance to pit themselves against nature. Team Saxo Bank from Denmark are saddling up for a January visit, this professional team includes three of the country’s top young prospects who are aiming to impress the national team selectors at time trials and road racing.

So whether you choose Gran Canaria for the beaches, the sun, or the keenly priced properties, it’s good to know there is a rich heritage of sport to enjoy as you discover the wonders of the island.

This time we had our Christmas Dinner at the restaurant Compostela in San Fernando. It was a wonderful dinner and we had a great time together.

Thanks to all the team!

It is a great pity, but this time our number “12529″ has not been prized. Anyway we hope you will keep our calendar as a little useful remembrance of the island. We wish you much luck, health and love for you and all your family and friends.

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Carolina García Chagrin and all the Cárdenas Team.

Lotería de Navidad

Lo sentimos pero esta vez nuestro número “12529″ no ha sido premiado. De todos modos esperamos que guarde nuestro calendario como un pequeño y útil recuerdo de Gran Canaria. Le deseamos mucha suerte, salud y amor para Vd. y toda su familia y amigos.

¡FELIZ NAVIDAD Y FELIZ AÑO NUEVO!
Carolina García Chagrin y todo el equipo de Cárdenas.

Julelotteri

Vi beklager, men denne gang er vaart nummer “12529″ ikke blitt trukket. Likevel håper vi, De beholder vår kalender som et lille brukbart minne fra øyen.
Vi ønsker Dem hell, sunnhet og kjælige hilsner Dem, deres familie og venner.

GLEDELIG JUL OG GODT NYTT ÅR
Carolina García Chagrin og hele Cárdenas Team.

Weihnachtslotterie

Leider hat unsere Nummer “12529″ kein Preisgeld bekommen. Trotzdem hoffen wir, dass Sie unser Kalender als ein kleines nützliches Erinnerungsstück von Gran Canaria behalten. Wir wünschen Ihnen, Ihrer Familie und Freunden sehr viel Glück, Gesundheit und Liebe.

FROHE WEIHNACHTEN UND EIN FRÖHLICHES NEUES JAHR!
Carolina Garcí­a Chagrin und das ganze Cárdenas Team.

Our Christmas Tree

Juana and Pilar setting up our Christmas Tree, THANK YOU ))

(from left to right: Axel, Ignacio Castillo, Theresa, Ramon, Carolina, Leonor, Gilberto, Oliver)

We think that continuous training and courses are absolutely necessary in order to maintain a high level of quality service.  In order to be good professionals continuous training is necessary in the Real Estate Industry. The Real Estate Market is continuously changing in many fields such as service, marketing, laws, taxation, amongst others and we need to be up-to-date in order to maintain a high standard of client service today as well as tomorrow.

We at Cardenas Real Estate do not sell houses, we deal with people and their individual needs, and our wish is to help them as much as possible, providing an individual professional service.

We welcome in our team Gilberto Gil (1st from left), Juana Vega (2nd from left), Cristina Caruso (1st from right) and Yvonne Weerts (2nd from right).

Gilberto speaks fluently English, Spanish, Norwegian and Swedish and joins our property consultant team.

Yvonnes speaks fluently English, Spanish, Norwegian, German and Dutch and Cristina fluently English, Spanish, Norwegian, Swedish and Italian. Both of them  are in charge of the rentals and will be happy helping you to find a great place for your long term stay in Gran Canaria.

Juana joins our administration department for a even better service.

We can now perfectly assist and advise our customers in English, Spanish, Norwegian, German, French, Swedish, Dutch, Italian, Russian or Hungarian.

Find out more about our team here:

http://www.cardenas-grancanaria.com/en/about/our-team.asp

http://www.cardenas-grancanaria.info/category/our-team

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cardenasrealestate/sets/72157623293103955/

Though the property market in the Southwest and South of Gran Canaria has an important foreign demand, hungry for sun and with a good financing, still it is not alien to the financial and economic crisis that is now shaking us.

The oversupply is considerable: a large number of private persons are obliged to sell their apartments due to economic necessity, but there is as well disinvestment in old tourist resorts, which are being reconverted for residential or tourist residential purposes.

There has been a decreasing price tendency since 2008 (20% to 50% according to the location), and though the decreasing tendency has stopped and we might possibly have reached the bottom, there is no indication that the prices start increasing again significantly, neither in the short term nor in the medium term.

In the light of the local scene and the enormous uncertainty that the global economy brings about day after day, it is quite logical for the buyers to be extremely cautious about purchasing, they want to make sure that the price is the right one, because no one wants to make an investment today and not be able to get back the money in the future.

Nowadays moreover, with the enormous and immediate spreading of information through the Internet, the major response to a property for sale is obtained when it is first advertised on the market: if success is not attained at that moment – and for that the price is a basic factor - it is more difficult to put it straight later by lowering the price, because the effect will never be the same as if it had been advertised from the start at a correct and attractive price for the market.

Having said that, the next question obviously is: What is the ideal selling price? At Cárdenas we will make free of charge a market study based on the data, which as the leading real estate agency in Arguineguín-Mogán we have of the offering prices and the effective selling prices of apartments and flats in the whole area with similar characteristics and situation as your property. Our aim at making that market study is to find out the right price in order to sell the property within a reasonable time (2-6 months), without having to reconsider the price or to negotiate a price reduction; the said study will be made by the consultant that has visited you together with the manager, which means it is the result of the work of a team of several persons.  Accordingly too, we guarantee you that we will defend the price established in accordance with our market study in front of possible would-be buyers seeking to negotiate a price reduction, being able to explain them that the price has been determined according to objective market criteria, therefore they cannot expect to obtain any relevant price reduction.

Quite frequently after making a market study we have experienced that other agencies tell the seller they can sell it at a higher price. Of course, it is human to choose whoever tells you they can obtain a higher price, but you should not be guided only by that: consider as well if the other valuation is based on objective criteria and if the agency has the sufficient experience and professional capacity. Some agencies with little experience often try to get the selling order at all cost even telling their clients that they can obtain a price that is far from realistic.

Finally a piece of advice that might be useful is to imagine yourself in the place of the buyer and try to judge honestly if the price you are thinking is the right one, by asking yourself the following question: Would I pay that kind of price myself for my property if I was looking for something to buy nowadays?

By Carolina García Chagrin

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Artículo original en español

Conocer y fijar el precio de venta correcto:

la decisión más importante para vender su casa con éxito en tiempos de crisis

A pesar de que el mercado inmobiliario en el suroeste y sur de Gran Canaria cuenta con una importante demanda extranjera, hambrienta de sol y con buena financiación, por supuesto no es ajeno a la crisis financiera y económica que nos está sacudiendo.

Hay una considerable sobreoferta: muchos particulares se ven obligados a vender sus apartamentos por necesidad económica, además se produce una desinversión en complejos turísticos antiguos, que se convierten al uso residencial/ residencial turístico.

Los precios han evolucionado a la baja desde 2008 (entre un 20% y un 50% según la ubicación), y aunque la evolución se haya estabilizado y posiblemente hayamos “tocado fondo”, no hay indicios de que los precios vayan a volver a subir significativamente, ni a corto ni a medio plazo.

Ante este panorama local, y la gran incertidumbre con que se nos presenta día a día la economía global, es lógico que los compradores sean muy cautelosos a la hora de comprar, necesitan asegurarse de que el precio es adecuado, pues nadie quiere realizar una inversión hoy, y no recuperarla el día de mañana.

Además hoy en día, con la inmensa y rápida difusión de la información a través de Internet, la mayor respuesta a una propiedad en venta se obtiene cuando se publica por primera vez en el mercado: si no se logra tener éxito en ese momento, y para ello el precio es un factor fundamental, más tarde es difícil “rectificar” bajando el precio, ya que no se obtendrá el mismo efecto que si se hubiese publicado de entrada a un precio correcto y atractivo para el mercado.

Dicho esto, por supuesto la pregunta es ¿cuál es el precio de venta óptimo? En Cárdenas realizaremos gratuitamente un estudio de mercado basado en los datos que, como agencia líder en Arguineguín-Mogán, tenemos de los precios de oferta, y de venta efectiva, de apartamentos en todo el municipio, en ubicaciones y con características comparables a la su propiedad. Al realizar dicho estudio de mercado, nuestro objetivo será encontrar el precio adecuado para vender el inmueble en un plazo razonable (2-6 meses), sin necesidad de volver a revisar el precio ni negociar el mismo a la baja, y lo elaborará el comercial que le ha visitado conjuntamente con la dirección, es decir, que es fruto de una labor de equipo de varias personas. Asimismo, siendo consecuentes con ello, le garantizamos que vamos a defender el precio fijado conforme  a nuestro estudio de mercado, frente a los posibles interesados que quieran negociar el mismo a la baja, haciéndoles ver que el precio ya ha sido fijado con criterios de mercado y que sobre ello no puede esperar obtener un descuento significativo.

A menudo hemos hecho la experiencia de que, tras haber realizado un estudio de mercado, otras agencias dicen al vendedor que creen que pueden venderlo en un precio superior. Por supuesto, es humano elegir a quien le dice un precio mayor, pero no se guíe Vd. sólo por esto: juzgue también si dicha valoración está basada en criterios objetivos y si la agencia tiene la suficiente experiencia y capacitación profesional. Algunas agencias con poca experiencia, con frecuencia tratarán de conseguir la gestión de venta diciéndoles a sus clientes que pueden pedir un precio poco realista.

Finalmente, un consejo que puede resultar útil para ponerse en el lugar del comprador y juzgar, honestamente, si el precio de venta que Vd. tiene en mente es adecuado, es preguntarse a sí mismo ¿pagaría yo este precio por mi propiedad si estuviese buscando algo para  comprar, en los tiempos actuales?

Por Carolina García Chagrin

We trust this measure will help to pusth the market of main residence, quite stagnant because of lack of bank finance.

Source: http://www.canarias7.es/articulo.cfm?id=227080

Gran Canaria is widely known as the European capital of windsurf and Pozo Izquierdo is the most radical place to practice this sport.  Many famous windsurfers live in Gran Canaria and surf in Pozo Izquierdo and we are very proud of Gran Canarian born twins Daida and Iballa Ruano who have been crowned World Champions on various occasions.   Better known is the veteran Björn Dunkerbeck who has been crowned World Champion a massive 35 times and has broken the world speed sailing record on seven occasions, his career dates back to 1986 and his passion for the sport began in Playa del Ingles and spread further up the east coast until he found what was once the deserted beach of Pozo Izquierdo.  Or the young Philip Köster, actual champion of the 2010 contest in Pozo. Other well known Windsurfers who live here are Darío Ojeda, Marcos Pérez, Vidar & Orjan Jensen, Jonas Ceballos, … (there are many so sorry for not putting them all).

Another radical and attractive contest is the Red Bull Air Rocket which is going to be celebrated on one day between the 24th and the 31st of June giving 2 days notice in advance being the contest day published on http://www.redbull.es/rockets. The highest jump and best trick will be prized. Jumps up to 8 meters and more will be normal. Watch this video of a high jump of Philip Köster in Pozo Izquierdo.

But not only radical windsurfers are welcomed, Gran Canaria attracts many windsurfers the whole year. The Club Mistral in Bahía Feliz in the South offer great conditions for all levels and other locations near Pozo offer as well great flat water conditions if the conditions in Pozo are too strong. Shops and schools in Pozo as Hullon or Cutre offer great material and windsurfing school for all levels.

The elections were a victory for the centre-right opposition Popular Party (PP), which won its best result in local elections since Spain returned to democracy in 1978. The governing Socialist Party (PSOE) suffered severe losses in every region and lost nearly all the largest cities of Spain.

Both our municipality Mogán and the neighbour town of San Bartolomé de Tirajana gave the absolute majority to the Popular Party too, which will not depend on any other party to form the local government. It might now be possible to approve the new PGOU (General Plan for Urban Organisation), which has long been postponed in both towns due to the lack of a sufficient majority and the impossibility to reach an agreement between the different parties. The approval of that legal instrument is absolutely necessary for the further development of the south of Gran Canaria.