'Pensioners driven out of Spain': Daily Mail

(Daily Mail)

SPAIN (Daily Mail) Thousands of pensioners have seen their dream retirement plans shattered after being driven out of Spain when their finances reached breaking point. Fears over the collapse of the Spanish economy, its crumbling property market, falling incomes and 18 months of weak exchange rates have forced them to return to the UK. Property website Rightmove says the number of homes put up for sale soared by 10% in December - at a time of year when owners don't normally sell. Many had been struggling for months, hoping their finances would recover and enable them to stay overseas. But currency and property experts report many have finally given up.>

The situation has got so bad that pensioners desperate to stay in Spain have reportedly been selling their possessions in garage sales. There was a 50% rise in the number of people bringing money back to the UK over the past six months of 2010, compared with the same period in 2009.

Even removals firms are reporting one-way traffic of people moving back to the UK from Spain. The final nail in the coffin was the latest house price predictions for the coming year. Many Spanish homeowners had believed prices would stabilise after 18 months of falls. However, new figures from property website Idealista.com shows prices dropped by another 6% in 2010.

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