A Place in the Sun

Hot Properties in Spain

Property in Spain

Each year, a steady stream of new people find a reason to buy a home in Spain. From the climate to the ease of access and the diversity of the country, there’s the Mediterranean culture, the history, gastronomy and of course the ease of buying property.

Buying a home in many parts of Spain still remains relatively affordable and whilst still a popular place to retire to, it’s now also a top choice of place to run a business remotely from as 2023 saw enthusiastic take-up of the new digital nomad visa.

For those who wish to spend more than 90 days there at a time, getting a visa is by no means easy, yet many buyers have now managed the process successfully and it is not perceived to be not quite the obstacle that it was three years ago.

So yet again Spain reigns supreme in our annual 10 Best Places to Buy Abroad index, with 2024’s average budget for property searches in Spain £154,608. The British are the biggest national group of tourists in Spain, contributing over 15 million visitors every year.

Spanish tourism is expected to have exceeded pre-pandemic levels in 2023, with around 66.4m visitors in the first eight months of the year.

The volume of flights to Spain is also why it’s so popular with plenty of options from regional airports by low-cost airlines, a fast-improving high- speed train network (the latest one to launch in November 2023 was Asturias to Madrid in 3.5 hrs) and superb infrastructure.

In the latest full half-year of data, the British bought more properties for sale in Spain than anyone else, even though their market share has declined a little. Russians, Ukrainian and American buyers have increased.

In A Place in the Sun’s Top Ten Best Places to Buy Abroad 2024 the most favoured locations for property enquiries are Torrevieja, Camposol, Villamartin, Estepona and Marbella. Murcia getting in the top five is a sign of its growing popularity – prices tend to be lower than the Costa Blanca.

The cost of living in Spain with annual low taxation makes it also very appealing to those seeking an easier and more affordable way of life. Local property taxes are a fraction of the UK’s council tax rates, and public transport is cheaper too.

Plenty of places outside the big Spanish cities still offer a menu del dia for €10-15, and yet in the UK inflation remains firmly above what it should be: the latest Consumer Prices Index reveals that the cost of food in the UK has risen 27 per cent in the two years to November 2023. Another reason that Spain seems so tempting!

 

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