Hot Property?  No Thank You

The reasons why people buy property on Tenerife are generally directly, or indirectly, attributable to our sub-tropical climate.  The weather has had a big part to play in the development and prosperity of this island, and it looks like it is going to be an even more important factor in the future.  The surprising reason for this is climate change brought about by global warming.

There are many predictions for the new world weather map which range from the dire to the simply unpleasant.  Most agree that as the ice caps melt, rising sea levels will have the awful effect of flooding many low lying areas and islands.  Increased extreme weather events, the seasons becoming unpredictable … meteorologists the world over concur that the world is changing, but what does this mean in specific terms?

Well, we’re here to talk about property, so let’s take a look from that angle.  Melting ice caps will affect the Gulf Stream which warms up Northern Europe.  As a result, the UK will become bitterly cold, as will much of continental Europe.  Portugal and large parts of mainland Spain will become desert.  It is conservatively predicted that climate change will lead to the migration of 150 million people.  These people are going to have to go somewhere, so where will the most clement weather be?

Australia will be a sun blasted oven.  Much of America and Asia will roast too, except the parts buffeted by massive storms and torrential rain.  These drenched areas will become fertile grounds for the spread of diseases.  Africa, which always seems to get a raw deal, will be as inhospitable as the various deserts link up to form a giant dust bowl.  Popular locations for foreign property buyers in the Middle East, such as Dubai, may be almost inhabitable.  So in the new world of extremes the options are to soak, freeze or fry. Demand from property buyers looking for a decent climate to live in will be huge.  Supply will be very limited.

In order to avoid the continental extremes of climate, the only solution is an island.  Islands too far from the equator, though, will be buffeted by storms and the cold of a potential new ice age.  The ideal place to live will be somewhere near the equator.  Somewhere like Tenerife.  No kidding.

Victor Quintero, director of the meteorological centre in Santa Cruz, predicts that we are going to continue to enjoy a climate with very few fluctuations.  He says that rainfall will go up, but nowhere near the levels predicted elsewhere, and we will certainly not see huge swings from great heat to freezing cold as will happen in the rest of the continent.

This might seem alarmist, but we can all see the signs of climate change.  Even in Tenerife, we have seen a rare tropical storm in recent years.  But that is nothing compared to the droughts, hurricanes, tsunamis and extremes of freak temperature that have been seen elsewhere.  Even over the next decade the weather will bring more and more property buyers to Tenerife, in search of a decent place to live. 

This underlying trend is largely unrecognised or ignored by most property experts.  Estate Agents tend to be only concerned with making their next sale, rather than advising clients on the whole picture.  But the logic is undeniable.  If you are looking to buy a property in the near future, by all means consider mainland Spain, Bulgaria, France, Dubai, the USA or even Australia … but don’t say we didn’t warn you.