subject: Marbella Property Leads The Turnaround [print this page] Figures recently released by TINSA, one of the leading surveyors in Spain, confirmed the feeling that the property market at least in certain areas is slowly turning a corner. While parts of the country still have a long way to go to recovery, the major cities and selected coastal areas such Mallorca and Marbella are leading the way with a slow but steady increase in sales transactions and prices. In June, the average house price in Mlaga province had risen from 302.500 in the previous quarter to 310.000.
On a national level the drop in property prices is slowing, having reached around 17 per cent when compared with 2007 peak levels, yet in Marbella that situation was already reached some months ago and prices have slowly started to grow again. The coastal areas have seen a peak-to-trough fall in property prices of over 20 per cent, but while Spanish consumers are still hesitant foreign buyers are beginning to return to Mallorca and Marbella. Many now come from Scandinavian countries, though the Netherlands, Switzerland and indeed the UK remain important markets.
While it is too soon to speak of an overall recovery, and the property market in some parts of Spain is still in dire straits, the overall indicators are looking better than they have done in over two years. Transactions processed at the property registry grew by seven per cent in the first quarter of the year, much of which is accounted for by primary housing purchases in Barcelona and Madrid, and by real estate sales in locations such as Marbella, where recent investments in infrastructure and communications have paid off and the demand for the local property and lifestyle remains robust.
Few doubt the resilience of this market in the longer term, but after tough years in 2008 and 2009 it is good to see that the Marbella area is bouncing back solidly in 2010, a fact which together with favourable prices will continue to entice more buyers back to the market.
