BUYERS' GUIDE
Prices of property in Marbella continue to grow 10-20% annually and continuing demand from buyers will ensure this continues. Where else in Europe offers 320 days of sunshine, quality living at affordable prices, world-class golf courses, sophisticated couture and dining as well as cheap and cheerful? For full-time living, there are plenty of employment and business opportunities, international schools, satellite TV in many languages including the full Sky system, full English Sunday breakfast or lunch on the beach, produce from other countries, overseas newspapers the same morning and much more.
As we bought our own home here, so know how many agents fail to listen to their clients' requirements. We will do our best to find you the right property, whether for full-time living, a holiday home or an investment property. We listen to what you want, where it should be located and your budget. Our extensive networks of contacts give us access to thousands of resale and new properties so you do not need to spend hours wading through websites and adverts. We shall find a selection of properties for you and advise you on all aspects of making your decision.
As well as locating your ideal plot, we can introduce you to architects, surveyors, builders and project managers.
We can also source commercial properties whether established businesses or empty sites, freehold or leasehold. We also know of hotels and plots to build hotels.
From wild rustic plots to fully developed sites with stables, just contact us.
NEW DEVELOPMENTS
If you want an off-plan property, we subscribe to software with details of every new development on the Costa del Sol which is constantly updated to provide accurate information on prices, availability and completion.
Once we have found your property, we can arrange your Spanish mortgage and insurances; open a bank account; arrange money transfer through Travelex to save you time and money; introduce you to an English speaking lawyer in Marbella who charges just 0.8% + IVA for conveyancing then recommend other people for furnishings, interior design, cleaning, maintenance, rentals - in fact everything you need to make buying and owning a Spanish property a pleasure. See our useful links page for a few recommendations.
Inspection visits or apply pressure. In the small print of many inspection visit bookings, you will find that you are required to ensure availability of the deposit. Normally, accommodation is well away from towns so that you cannot visit other agents and often mobile reception is bad. Your 'appointed person' will not leave you alone and shows you the Spanish properties that earn the agent the highest commission, rather than what you want to see. We prefer you to be free to make an informed and comfortable choice. Happy customers tell their friends.
Historical Overview
Due to a variety of different factors, the Marbella property market has been growing at an impressive and steady rate during the last 4-5 years.
Some of the reasons for the continuing demand for property on the Costa del Sol are:
| - | Climate - over 320 days sunshine per year |
| - | Accessibility - average of 2 ½ hours flying time from UK |
| - | Malaga airport to double in capacity by 2007 |
| - | Millions of potential buyers from all over Europe , and beyond |
| - | All year round season |
| - | 47 golf courses, with a further 20 under construction |
| - | Facilities and amenities, such as world class shopping and tourist attractions |
| - | Sophisticated and cosmopolitan environment |
| - | Safe and secure |
| - | Genuine career and business opportunities, leading to migration of diverse population groups to the area - wide choice of international schools |
| - | California of Europe |
These are the pure ´lifestyle´ reasons for purchasing on the coast. When you add to the equation the great financial returns that have been achieved, Marbella adds up to a superb multi-faceted investment product.
Long Term Capital Growth
During the last 4 years, the Costa del Sol property market, as a whole, has been rising at between 15% - 20% per annum. Whilst it would be unrealistic to expect this rate of growth to be sustained, the very best areas of the coast should always be in high demand. Coupled with a limited supply of new stock in certain areas, the outlook should remain bright for long-term investment.
Buying Off Plan
Many people have heard about the phenomenon of buying property off-plan. All that this means is that you are securing the most favourable prices and terms by buying something that hasn´t been built yet. Demand for Marbella property has meant that most buyers end up having to wait for completion of their ídeal´ property, hence why queues often form outside the sales offices of the most eagerly anticipated new releases!
Developers will normally increase the prices of their units at certain stages of construction, and most notably once a show home is erected. It is not uncommon for some developers to increase prices by 10% if their weekly sales targets have been reached!
When reserving property off-plan, you have a number of options open to you - the beauty is that, unlike most investment products, you have between 18 months and 2 years (construction time) to decide which option to take. This allows the investment to track and reflect your own particular life needs, desires and changes.
Normally, developers will ask for a sum of money, normally between 25% - 50% of the purchase price within 1 month of reserving a property. Usually, there is then nothing to pay before completion in, say, 2 years time.
Option 1 - Keep and Rent
Many investors decide to retain the property on completion for their own personal use. Many also decide not to rent the property - some fall in love with the place and would rather other people didn´t enjoy it too!
However, if you choose to rent the property, you should be aiming to cover the cost of bills, maintenance, mortgage costs, and be left with sufficient surplus to enjoy a couple of visits to the property each year. Some investors have been seeing income returns of up to 10% on occupancy levels of 20-30 weeks per year. We always advise a mixed approach to marketing a rental investment. Very often the most receptive audience of potential clients will be those closest to you.family, friends and business associates. It is amazing how word spreads after someone has had a great holiday in a wonderful property!.
Remember that the rental season in Marbella runs for 12 months. Once the summer season is complete, there is an influx of golfers from all over Europe from September to May, and the Costa del Sol really is a golfer´s paradise. So one property´s high season may be the summer, whilst another´s may be the winter. We shall help you in choosing the perfect property to suit your rental and personal requirements.
Option 2 - Sell Before Completion
There are 2 distinct sets of buyers in the market - the speculative investors who will snap up the best units on the best developments at the lowest prices, before selling on their option to purchase to a lifestyle investor who would prefer to ´touch and feel´ the product and be set to occupy the property within a couple of months, rather than a couple of years! Obviously the secondary buyer will pay a premium to buy, but in effect, the premium is simply the asking price at the time.
Some clients have seen returns of 40% - 70% on an initial investment of as little as £40,000, just by securing a well located off-plan property and selling it before completion.
Nearly all of the costs payable at completion are avoided in this scenario.
As a footnote, we often find that our speculative investors become lifestyle buyers, falling in love with their chosen properties, and deciding to keep hold of them. And likewise, we also find that our lifestyle buyers are often attracted by the potentially rewarding returns enjoyed by the speculative investor. The options are open to everyone.