No Train Strain For Spain?

Yesterday, amid great ceremony and under a spanking new roof which had replaced its dingy predecessor, the revamped St Pancras, recently re-opened by the Queen, began its role as the new London hub for the Eurostar and waved off the first of the new high-speed generation of trains as it hurtled towards Paris.

Reaching speeds of 186mph, the Tread Lightly - so named for its eco-friendly credentials - sped through the blurred Kent countryside, under the Channel and reached Paris in early afternoon, allowing its passengers to reach the French capital 20 minutes sooner than before.

This faster journey time has already been noted as a factor in the recent increase in property enquiries for the north France property, with financial services company HIFX reporting a 17 per cent increase in September and director Mark Bodega stating that "It is now increasingly feasible for buyers to have the best of both worlds, living permanently in what was a holiday home and commuting back to the UK when necessary."

But while France may benefit from increased property investment as a result of its faster rail link to Britain, some may wonder if there will be a knock-on effect on other markets. Could a boosted French market mean investors switching from Spain to its Gallic neighbour?

Definitely not, replied Les Calvert, director of overseas property investment firm Property-Abroad. Describing France as a "very different market", he said: "Worries about the Eurostar for the Spanish property market are not something we've really ever come across. People who want to buy in France don't necessarily want to buy in Spain and vice versa."

This, of course, is not a new sentiment, with many before having said that France has a different kind of appeal. Last month, Ben Sanders of property portal French-property.com said that France drew people interested in "culture" plus history and wine, while others went to Spain for "sunshine".

While this view may be viewed by some as an oversimplification, it is stating the obvious to say the reasons someone might want to commute from France to London are different to those for someone to enjoy a holiday property on the Costas. Therefore, the key for Spain remains the maintenance of the dynamics which have driven so much growth and popularity in the market in recent years.

Mr Calvert stated that talk of a decline in the property market was very much exaggerated, saying: "For all the hype about the slowdown of the market in Spain, it still accounts for more than double of any other country that we sell."

Thus, it would seem, property in Spain is not about to become derailed, nor disappear down some long dark tunnel.