2018 Property Hot Spots on the Costa del Sol
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Peter Bowerman’s 25 years experience in real estate and investment are the backbone of his successful Costa del Sol, master real estate company “Overseas Dreams”. He gives us the latest hot property news on the Costa del Sol.
The Costa del Sol has long been a magnet for the rich and famous from all over the world and now it’s leading Spain’s recovery. The Coasts unique micro climate of around 330 blissful sunshine days a year are due to it being Europe’s most Southerly point and the stunning mountain range backdrop also protects the coast from any bad weather to the North. This also offers another anomaly in the winter, the unique opportunity to ski on the slopes and sunbathe on the beach, all in the same day. The Costa del Sol (Sunshine Coast) also differs from most hot climate countries, in that you don’t get America’s humidity or the searing heat of desert countries, nor do we have a host of poisonous insects or hostile wildlife as in Australasia. With the Costa Del Sol you simply get the perfect weather to enjoy a luxury lifestyle of your choosing.
Life on the Costa del Sol is now entering its peak season with the start of many of the coasts coolest beachside clubs & bar/restaurants opening parties. The climate is perfect for beach days and lounging around on super yachts. New boutique designer shops and classy restaurants are popping up all over the coast and the Costa del Sol is seeing a new lease of life with real estate moving quickly and prices continuing to steadily increase. But glitz and glamour is not all the coast offers, you can while away the days chilling in charming and affordable restaurants offering superb food and wine, both beachside and in the dramatic Andalucian countryside.
Marbella district planning laws are are still a headache at the moment, especially if you own, or are considering buying a property without its full license in place. There are still thousands of perfectly legal properties in Marbella so do not worry, just make sure you are careful and use a Master agent like ourselves that check that properties have a “nota simple" and "first occupation license" and that your lawyer checks that these are still valid. Some neighbouring areas have actually benefited from Marbella's turmoil, such as Mijas, Benahavis and Estepona regions, as many buyers are now targeting these areas for safe and hassle-free ownership. The builders are also targeting these areas as they do not have all the planning problems they have in Marbella, making development times much quicker with clean final licenses.
The Developers are back. With prices still around 35% lower than the boom days, we have been busy selling lots of bargain resales and bank owned un-sold developments hit by the recession. However, demand for brand new quality homes are back and the developers are only too happy to provide. We are currently working with a number of builders on projects, but as they are pointing out to us, they realise that the market is moving quickly and the apartments and villas they are designing now, will be worth a lot more by the time they are fully finished in 2 years. So if you are thinking about buying or building a new home we have some great off plan apartments and villa projects available, but suggest you jump in now, before prices go up too much. Our La Cala de Mijas Office is the hub of all the coasts newest off-plan developments, with all the plans, price lists and staff ready to show potential buyers over the building sites to get the best property and aspect.
Spanish Banks are finally back on board.
The banks are lending again and all the branch managers are vying for our business with regular visits to our offices with great new mortgage offerings. We actually have bank mangers visiting our offices most days to sit down with our buyers and discuss the best mortgage deals available and then fill in the applications with them. The interest rates are expected to stay exceptionally low for the next 4 years, with many clients taking advantage of 20 year fixed interest rates of around 2.8 % (plus the capital repayments), which has been unheard of before the resurgence of the Costa Del Sol property market.
Even after Brexit, the British are still currently the largest group of foreign buyers on the Costa Del Sol, followed by French, Belgians and Scandinavians. The usual suspects are always in high demand for property hunters, like Benalmadena, Marbella and the New Golden Mile between Puerto Banus and Estepona. However, there are 2 real property hot spots shooting up the sales board. We just cant get enough properties in the increasingly popular Nueva Andalucia Golf Valley and La Cala de Mijas beach town and surrounding areas.
Nueva Andalucia Golf Valley is in high demand, known for its classy restaurants and quality property, only a stone’s throw away from the bustling and glamorous Puerto Banus Marina, but much better value for money and far enough away not to be bothered by the influx of noisy tourists in the summer. Nueva Andalucia is high on our buyers wish list. We desperately need more 3 & 4 bed luxury villas in Nueva Andalucia area between € 800,000 to 1.2 million Euros and I have 3 clients waiting for a good refurbishment project to come on our books, that they can buy for around the €600k - 800k region dependent on the state of the build/property. We also have buyers waiting for luxury resale 2 & 3 bed apartments in the area between €200k - 450k.
La Cala de Mijas beach town is also in high demand. This hot spot is ideally located between Malaga and Marbella which is one of the reasons we moved our head office there a couple of years ago. This charming relaxed beach village has been transformed and is now fused with a rising number of classy restaurants along the beachfront and its beautiful wooden boardwalk. Clutching to the side of the coastline past Torrenueva and Miraflores all the way to Riviera del Sol, hosting Marbella quality venues like Elliott Wright’s popular Olivia’s restaurant by La Cala beach and the beautifully refurbished Oceano & Max Beach Restaurants along with many others.
El Faro, Riviera & Calahonda are also selling well, As demand for La Cala de Mijas soars, many buyers have been priced out of the market and now looking in neighbouring towns, but still within easy reach of everyones favourite new beach town. We simply can’t get enough reasonably priced properties for our buyers, so if you are thinking about selling in or around any of these areas please contact us asap, we already have buyers waiting to view sensibly priced properties.
Peter is one of the most published Costa del Sol property experts in both the UK & Spanish press, having spent most of his working life as a professional real estate agent and valuer. He is also the Managing Director of one of the most successful Master Estate Agencies on the Costa del Sol “Overseas Dreams” with registered offices in both Marbella and La Cala de Mijas.