Promoters who just a few years ago could sell new homes just by showing crude blueprints — they didn't even bother to build pilot houses or apartments — are now desperate, and sometimes give away a year's worth of mortgage payments, cars, trips and other freebies to lure buyers. So banks worried over the prospect of defaults are now much more miserly, ending the once-common practice of financing 100 percent or even more of a home purchase, and raising the threshold for what people need to earn in order to qualify for a loan. The problem is the banks have turned off the spigot,” said Jesus Duque, vice president of Alfa, a Spanish real estate chain with 600 offices around the country. The credit crunch has had no direct, major effect in Spain or an equivalent version because lending standards here are tougher than in America, real estate people say. read more

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