Britain Exporting Its Bubble

A reader posted two links that show nobody wants to get left out of a bubble. "According to figures released by the Bank of Spain, the financial debt of Spanish households hit a record high last year, a direct result it is suggested, of Spaniards being forced to take on ever bigger mortgages to keep pace with the rising tide of the Spanish property boom."

"At a increase of 17.5% in a year the rise in debt equates almost exactly to the rise in property prices in Spain generally, and is three times the rate it was back in 1996, the start of the current property boom."

A Bulgarian site has this poll result. "In fewer than 10 years, one in eight of the population, will be retiring abroad, according to a report by Alliance & Leicester International. By 2020, one in five older people will be living outside the UK."

"Increasingly British buyers are buying property in Spain. Until recently second home buying by non-residents was largely confined to coastal strips but this is not so any more and inland property prices are rising in line with holiday properties."

"Spanish householders are benefiting from the increased equity but the growth trails that of debt by over 9% and the Bank of Spain has repeatedly warned consumers to rein in spending and debt levels."