Spanish Properties from £38,100
Spanish Properties from £38,100
Spain has pioneered the trend to own overseas property and is still the UK nation’s favourite destination for a place in the sun. The market is cooling but there are plenty of opportunities to be had away from the traditional hotspots, in the lesser- known costas and inland amongst the olive groves.
There are still more British people buying in Spain than in any other overseas destination. The short travel time from the UK - thanks to the opening up regional airports at both ends combined with the reliable climate, Mediterranean scenery and laid-back lifestyle continue to draw property buyers from the UK, as well as other European nations.
That said, foreigners’ spend of 1.96 billion euros on Spanish property in the first five months of 2006 was 13.2 per cent down year-on- year. Fears of a dangerously over-heated market have abated, but the market is definitely slowing. Spanish property inflation rates have fallen for six consecutive quarters, from 17.2 per cent at the end of 2004 to 10.8 per cent at the end of June 2006, reports Spanish Property Insight.
If this trend towards a ‘soft landing’ for the property market continues, as predicted, then real property price increases in Spain will be close to zero in a year or so. The Costa del Sol and Costa Blanca remain the principal buying areas. The former enjoyed the best summer in five years this year with a nine per cent increase in tourism; this will boost the confidence of property-owners in the rental market. Much of the new development on the Costa del Sol has shifted west of the Golden Mile to the area around Estepona and Duquesa. More affordable property on the Costa del Sol coast can now be found slightly inland, in the budding Axarquia and Antequera regions, or further east around Granada and the Sierra Nevada and Alpujarra mountains.
Other parts of Spain experiencing a mini-explosion are Murcia, where a handful of golf resort developers including Polaris, 3 Molinos and La Serena, are building huge self-contained resorts, the Costa Almeria, notably around Roquetas de Mar and Vera, and the Costa de la Luz including the Spanish Algarve around Ayamonte, known for its gorgeous beaches. Catalonia in the north is popular amongst property buyers looking for a private, tranquil bolt-hole and as usual, for the real bargains head inland a few kilometres.
Source: Real Estate in Spain
