Foreign buyers boost costa del sol market

Photo: Barbara Walsh

Foreign buyers are clamouring for property on the Costa del Sol. New figures reveal that demand and prices have both increased for homes in the sun-soaked area, which is popular among overseas house-hunters.

A new report from the IPE highlights the Costa del Sol region as one of the most sought-after parts of the country, with prices already up 10 per cent this year. The Costa now accounts for 5 per cent of IPE sales nationwide, with the market in Malaga expected to climb to 20 per cent of the country's overall market.

The growth has been attributed to foreign demand, which data from Tinsa appears to support. Indeed, the valuation firm's latest figures show that Spanish house prices fell by a national average of 2 per cent in July 2015, but that values climbed in the popular coastal areas. The Mediterranean coastal market saw values rise 2.8 per cent in July, bucking the overall trend.

The link may not be as strong as it first appears, however, as the Tinsa figures also show that prices in the Balearic and Canary Islands have fallen 4.8 per cent year-on-year, despite the fact that they are famously in-demand among foreign investors.

It remains certain, though, that foreign demand remains crucial to driving activity within Spain's recovering market. Indeed, data from the National Insitute of Statistics shows that the market expanded 17 per cent in June 2015 year-on-year, with sales rising to 27,493. June marked the 10th month of annual growth in a row, with hotspots Barcelona (up 17 per cent), Las Palmas in the Canary Islands (13 per cent) and Madrid (12 per cent) leading the way. Completing the top five? Malaga, home to the Costa del Sol, where sales have risen 11 per cent in the past year.

The figures arrive as a survey from travel site Staysure reveals that the Costa del Sol is the sixth most popular destination among British holidaymakers.

Marc Pritchard, Sales and Marketing Director of Spanish homebuilder Taylor Wimpey España, comments: "When it comes to travelling overseas, most holidaymakers have a fixed idea of where they want to go and so a home from home in their favourite spot makes absolute sense."