subject: Signs Of Recovery In Marbella Property Sales [print this page] . Was December just a blip or had a new corner been turned and was the Spanish real estate sector beginning to find its way back to recovery?
Though the full results for the first quarter are not out yet, the first two months of the year have produced exactly what most people have been hoping for, namely an 18.7% increase in property sales in comparison with the same period in 2009. This would seem to confirm that the Spanish property market has indeed passed its low-point and has begun the gradual road to recovery.
Within the broader Spanish market the Marbella area seems to be one of the top performers, and one of the first to record positive growth. According to figures released by the National Institute of Statistics (INE), Malaga comes fifth overall in property sales volumes, behind the likes of Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia and Alicante, but amongst these areas it stands out for the international demand for its real estate and lifestyle options.
Incredible news
During recent talks with local and foreign businesspeople, Marbellas mayor Angela Muoz explained how the market was recovering and how it would receive further positive impulses from the coming into effect of the towns new town plan. The latter, which legalises 16,000 properties that have been in limbo for years, will allow these homes to come back into the market, and above all it will give guidelines to developers and new confidence to the local market as a whole.
The most astonishing bit of news to have come out of these meetings, however, was that first quarter sales in Marbella reached 2499 an increase of more than 200% over the same period last year! While most of us expected an increase, even a reasonably significant one, this was a figure that has caused quite a stir both locally and abroad. The source is said to be the Marbella tax office, according to which 2499 homes were sold in the first three months of this year, compared to 802 in 2009 but also 1263 in 2008 and 1602 in 2007.
Indeed, if they are correct these figures point to the best first quarter in many years, long before the local property market started to slow down. While many have questioned the accuracy of these astonishing figures, says Michael Liggan of Altavista Property Spain, the excitement around them has concealed the true message namely that, regardless of whether the market grew by 20% or 200% compared to last year, it now seems that recovery has really set in. Its an analysis supported by the Instituto de Prctica Empresarial, a specialist business school for the real estate sector, which forecasts an overall 15% growth in the region for 2010. One way or another, the Marbella property market seems to be regaining its confidence.
