Property in Spain
For family fun with a bucket and spade on the beach there’s really nowhere better than the Spanish costas. If you want to sit in a bar eating little plates of delicious food, you will love it. If you fancy early retirement in warm sunshine even in January, the occasional round of golf, the grandchildren just a couple of hours flying time away, yep, this is the place.
For all its economic problems in recent years, living and buying property in Spain is easy. It’s a modern country with first class health and education services and a modern infrastructure. You can get away without speaking Spanish if you don’t want to and you will easily find a welcoming expat community in any corner of the country.
Choosing where to buy your house in Spain might be your biggest problem. There are ten islands to choose from, the Balearics in the Mediterranean or the Canaries in the Atlantic.
Wherever you decide on, you will probably have a good choice of property. Spain is notorious for having built far too many houses and apartments in the boom years and being unable to sell them. In truth, the backlogs have been sold in the most popular locations, but you can still buy an apartment in an established resort from €50,000 or a country home for €150,000.
We could go on: Spain has a wonderful culture, cuisine and countryside. It has some of the world’s great cities, like Barcelona and Seville, and 5,000 kilometres of its famous costas.
Where to Buy Property in Spain
As always, location is key. For those seeking a property in more authentic Spain, there are hill-top white villages with farmers riding donkeys through them, Moorish wonders such as the Alhambra and the coolest of cities Barcelona and Madrid - and prices have already begun to rise in Marbella, hotpots in the Balearics, and the ever-popular Costa Blanca.
There are a number of property hotspots in Spain to consider right now - in fact, some of them never really cooled off, such as recession-proof Mallorca, still attracting the mega-rich and royalty, and ever fashionable Ibiza, drawing the children of the buyers who discovered it in the Sixties. You can get a two-bed apartment in Mallorca for around €300,000, although you’ll pay more in the charming city of Palma, that is reinventing itself as a more user-friendly version of Barcelona.
Of the mainland Costas, the current favourites are the Costa Blanca and Costa del Sol. The southern Costa Blanca has so many advantages for property hunters, including a plethora of golf courses near popular towns like Villamartin and Playa Flamenca, and just about the healthiest climate in Europe. Prices vary between the desirable areas and the overbuilt areas but are generally low – two bedroom apartments near the sea from €90,000 around Torrevieja.
In Cabo Roig, to take another popular resort, you might pay €115,000 for a spacious two-bed apartment with a sun terrace. Inland a little, in the village of Algorfa popular with expats, a comparable property will be nearer €70,000.
The northern Costa Blanca, less affected by development and with more building restrictions in place, draws buyers to towns including Moraira, Javea, Denia, Calpe and Benissa Costa. In upmarket Moraira, expect to pay €415,000 for a quality three-bed villa with a pool in a good location but in Benitachell you might get a four or five bedroom villa for €300,000.
Inland of these resorts, the Orba and Jalon valleys are increasing in popularity for buyers seeking a more tranquil location than the coastal resorts; and also more bang for their buck. In the Orba Valley you can get a three-bed villa with a pool for around €280,000.
Going south to the Costa del Sol, glitzy Marbella might said to be well and truly booming, with new developments back in vogue and great demand for holiday rentals. You can get an apartment on a complex for €180,000 but a spacious apartment in a good gated community in a sought-after location would be nearer €300,000. Popular areas include Estepona, San Pedro, Nueva Andalusia, Mijas Costa and Benahavis. The Anglo-friendly resort of Benalmadena is popular with tourists and expats and you can get a two-bed apartment there for around €180,000.
The nearby Costa Almeria, a stretch of unspoilt coastline between Murcia and Granada, is not as developed as the Costa del Sol, perhaps not as well-known by the British, yet its fans like the fact its villages retain much of their Spanish identity – it’s the “real Spain” still. Mojacar remains a popular spot, less than one hour’s drive from the airport, and a central location for getting around Almeria as well as a traditional holiday destination - ideal for families and couples in its own right. You have plenty of choice of one or two-bed apartments with a budget of €120,000; villas range from just over €235k.
