Country Guides Country Guide: Marbella

Date Published:

24/06/2008

The Marbella area is still held in high regard as "the" place to be in Spain- the glitterati, the yachts, the sun, the golf and the polo all adding to the demand.

Prices have risen according to demand, but many of the UK public haven't yet made themselves aware of just how much the average property is worth now. Costa del Sol real estate agents still have a handful of telephone enquiries each week from Mr Bloggs in Bristol wanting a four bedroom villa on the Costa del Sol for £100,000. If only, otherwise we'd all buy a couple.

Realistically the minimum you can spend is £120,000 for an entry level apartment in peripheral areas such as Calahonda, Riviera and Casares; but if you're looking for something a bit special in the thick of things like Marbella, Nueva Andalucia and Puerto Banús, you're looking more like £200,000 for an apartment with a brace of bedrooms and bathrooms. Even the most humble detached villa with private pool in this hotspot will set you back the best part of £1 million.

Prices don't rise without a reason and in the case of the Costa del Sol its popularity is unending. Apart from the obvious draws (sun, sea, sport) people are genuinely pleasantly surprised by the high quality of construction and finish as well as the generous proportions of Spanish property. It's pretty standard to have built in air-conditioning, Bosch or Siemens appliances and underfloor heating and far from unusual to have hydro-massage baths and intelligent domestic electronics including integral music systems and automatic irrigation.

Prices are still going up around 10% to 25% per annum but this now depends on the location of the property. In previous years you could pretty much purchase any property on the Costa del Sol and expect to make a good return on your investment. Now it is more important to take good advice and be a bit more particular about what you are buying. The market is saturated with two bedroom two bathroom properties, in fact it is reported that there are over 60,000 of them on the market right now, so it is essential to choose a home that offers something different or is in a good growth location. Currently the relatively underdeveloped area to the west of Marbella, from San Pedro towards Sotogrande, is a safer bet for achieving good capital growth, as is the purchase of undeveloped land set back from the coastal road, which is still comparatively cheap, for building your own property.

The views represented in this article are those of the author and not of Channel 4. The purpose of the article is to provide general information only and does not constitute financial, investment, legal or other advice.You should not rely on any information provided in this article and you should always seek out independent professional advice relevant to your own particular circumstances.

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