Spanish Property Investment Advice 

Brought to you each week by our property expert, Iain Maitland.

Posted on 14 July 2006

Costa del Sol and Costa de la Luz Hotspots

If you are looking for hotspots on the Costa del Sol, check out Antequera, Campillos, Pizarra, Coín and Cártama. According to a new report from property consultants Salvago, prices here are rising at some 20 per cent a year, which is considerably higher than on the coast itself. There, we have been seeing some price rises of close to 16 per cent for the year, although prices have been slipping a little in the past month or two. The average per square metre price of an apartment on the coast is now at 2,574 euros, down from 2,620 euros three months ago. The Costa de Sol is, at long last, seeing more sensible pricing patterns.

The corruption in Marbella, where developers have long been given the go-ahead in return for hefty backhanders, has been described this week as being off the richter scale. Yet the ongoing crackdown is likely to see a positive outcome for anyone now looking to buy into Spain. The high profile of this corruption in the media means that, at last, some buyers will do the due diligence they should have been doing. Also, we are likely to see a more transparent market developing across the country. There is also talk that fewer developments will now get the go-ahead than before. With the current 12 million visitors to the Costas expected to rise to some 20 million in the next five years, that increasing demand and restricted supply should see prices moving upwards for some time.

If you are looking elsewhere for hotspots, you should pay a visit to Costa de la Luz which runs some 400 kilomotres from Tarifa to the edge of Portugal. I have tipped Huelva before but the whole coast offers potential from where I am sitting. The coast strikes a balance between some of the wilder coastlines and the more overdeveloped ones. It has controlled residential development and infrastructure and facilities that are keeping pace with these rather than lagging behind as has been happening elsewhere. The Costa Esuri golf resort seems to have appeared almost overnight and is the shape of things to come on this coastline which is increasingly attractive to golfers. I know many successful property investors who used to follow the low-cost airlines to spot upcoming hotspots but who are now looking to see where the next golf developments are going to be. That's where they are now investing. You won’t go far wrong on this coastline.

All for now

Iain Maitland

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