Janet Anscombe was an academic before moving to Tenerife, where she has been closely involved with the property market for the past five years, providing honest and independent advice as well as in-depth knowledge of local markets for investors and individual purchasers of property, and guiding them ethically through Spanish bureaucracy and legalities to help them to fulfill their dream without it turning into a nightmare. We hope that this site will be helpful for anyone looking for up-to-date information about what is happening in Tenerife as well as a straightforward guide to buying property here.

Below on this page are regularly-updated current news stories that we think will be relevant and informative to all those interested in visiting or living in Tenerife. Please do express opinions or join in discussions on them by clicking on individual headlines and submitting comments. For information about the required formalities that property buyers and owners must complete, as well as the Notarial system and costs of buying and owning property in Tenerife, simply browse the links at the top of this page.

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Instituto Nacional de Empleo (INEM) - Unemployment office

In May, it could have just been a blip, but it has happened in June as well: for the first time for a very long while, unemployment has come down very slightly in the Canaries, and in Spain as a whole.  Figures show that nationally, unemployment dropped by 1.53%, leaving 3,564,889 people unemployed. Here in the Canaries, the drop was 0.54%, meaning 1,336 fewer people out of work over the last month, though specifically in Tenerife, it rose very slightly, by 0.07%, or 80 individuals. Overall, there are 248,325 in the islands looking for employment. Bad enough, but at least there are the very slightest and most tentative indications of a possible recovery.  El Dia

Fiesta of Virgen del Carmen in Puerto de la Cruz

Throughout Tenerife in July there is a series of Fiestas honouring the Virgen del Carmen (the Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel). The biggest celebration is always in Puerto de la Cruz, but most coastal towns and villages throughout the island honour the Virgin by carrying her statue to the sea and loading it into a boat so that she can sail around a harbour or bit of coastline  and bless local fishermen and their catches over the coming year. Inland, the Virgen del Carmen is honoured for protecting and preserving the fertilility of Tenerife’s volcanic soil and its agricultural productivity. Fiestas will usually last for a few days, often involving a long weekend of music, dancing, food, and the inevitable fireworks.   Canarias7 , webtenerife

Look for the sign REBAJAS, which means SALES

The Summer Sales start today and will run until 31 August. Retailers fear that due to the economic crisis, August will be a very slow month, and that most consumers will do their sales shopping in July. Big reductions can therefore be anticipated in the second half of the period.

Consumer advice organizations stress that shoppers should be very aware of their rights:

• items offered for sale must be the same as normally available, with the only difference being the lower price: price tickets must show the previous cost of the item as well as the sale amount;
• sale goods must also be in the condition they would have been previously, not damaged, and any attempt to pass off such goods should be refused or an official complaint lodged in the book that must by law be kept on the premises;
• with regard to refunds, although businesses aren’t obliged to offer them, they must do so if they offer them at other times of the year. If a voucher is offered instead, then it must not have an expiry date.

Canarias24Horas

Jóse Alberto González Reverón

The Caso Arona, a series of investigations into alleged urban planning irregularities in Arona, has finally had its sub judice legal status lifted by Nelson Díaz Frías, Judge of Arona #7 Court, who said that he felt the investigations of materials submitted by the Guardia Civil were now at such a stage that raising the judicial secrecy would not prejudice the case. Now it is known that the mayor of Arona, Jóse Alberto González Reverón, is accused of alleged embezzlement and corruption. Reveron will be in Court to give his evidence on 7 July.

In addition to the mayor, a series of councillors, officials, independent professionals and businessmen are also accused of similar charges. Those who will also find themselves face to face with the Judge are Félix Sierra Melo, Antonio Sosa, Clara María Pérez, María Gladys Tacoronte, Manuel Reverón, María Candelaria Padrón, Eliseo de la Rosa, Arsenio Zamora, Roberto de Luis and Zenón Rodríguez. They will give evidence in the days following Reverón’s appearance.

It was only a fortnight ago that I reported HERE on the arrest of the former mayor of San Miguel Ayuntamiento, again on charges of urbanistic corruption while in office. Maybe the hubristic abuse of power by some individuals in positions of authority is finally beginning to catch up with them.  Diario de Avisos

José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero and Paulino Rivero recently in Madrid

José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero has been in the Canaries for a further crisis meeting with Paulino Rivero, President of the Regional Canarian Government (original post yesterday, immediately below). Zapatero announced that during 2009 and 2010, €162 million is to be allocated to the Canaries by Central Government to revive the islands’ economy and its tourism. The Spanish PM also announced the creation of a working group to implement the Economic and Fiscal System (Régimen Económico y Fiscal – REF) “for the new vision of diversification in the islands’ economy”. Zapatero said that the measures went way beyond a mere fight against the crisis and unemployment.

With specific reference to tourism, Zapatero announced a 30% discount in airport landing taxes, a benefit amounting to €4 million. A further €100 million is also to be directed at the improvement of touristic establishments, with more to come when these works are completed. The PM calculated that more than 300 projects will benefit from the funds. A €10 million touristic promotional campaign will also be undertaken by the National Government, in association with the regional Authority.

The Canaries will also receive €9 million in 2010 for reindustrialization and the creation of a new industrial fabric in disadvantaged areas. There were also discussions about the implementation in the islands of the Iris Nova advanced communications network for the academic community and investigations in fibre optics, a development which is fundamental to acquire €1,000 million of EU investments in the Canarian Astrophysics Institute.

Zapatero also announced a co-Governmental meeting in July between Madrid and the Regional Parliament to evaluate the possibilities of increasing assistance for transport of merchandise between the Canaries and the peninsula. He further committed himself to projecting the Canaries internationally, and in terms of their connections with Africa as a “vector of the future” for the diversification of the islands’ economy.  Canarias24Horas

Original Post 28 June: Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero will be in the Canaries tomorrow for continued talks with Paulino Rivero, President of the Regional Government. Discussions have been going on for months into how best to help the Canaries deal with the economic crisis afflicting everyone, but which has seen the Canaries suffering worse than many. Sr Zapatero will be accompanied by Ministers for Industry, Employment, and Development, respectively Miguel Sebastián, Celestino Corbacho and José Blanco, who will meet their regional equivalents.

The Canarian Government is hoping that Zapatero will guarantee the €600 million the islands need for restructuring and investment in industry and tourism. Zapatero and Rivero last met a couple of months ago in Madrid, and one of the measures much mooted at the time was a huge reduction in airport taxes to help makes flights to Tenerife cheaper. That issue is expected to be fundamental to the discussions this time, as well as measures to help the impact of the recession in the Canaries, and the islands’ high level of unemployment, currently running at more than 26%.  Canarias24Horas