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Marbella Property Prices

News date: Sunday, 11th of July, 2004

Those who fear that Marbella is losing its cachet and its quality as a result of the building spurt should listen to Andrew Mancais of Hamptons Fielding International. “There is a strong and steady demand for properties at €750.000,” he says.  “More importantly, these are end-user buyers who are purchasing because they either intend to live with their families in Marbella or spend regular prolonged holidays here. They are not investors looking to make a profit by early re-sale.”

“Our figures show a slowdown in both demand and sales on the Costa del Sol for the last quarter of 2003,” says Mancais, “but 2004 is seeing much stronger demand from the UK in particular and the numbers are rising again.” Other property people agree with Mancais that the increase of end-user buyers and the dropping off of investor-speculators is a healthy sign for the property market. “More and more people are coming to the Costa del Sol to make their homes here,” says Adrian Van Loon of Merweval properties in Sotogrande.  “They are interested in schools for their children and ease of communication with their working base in London or wherever it may be.” “We are seeing fewer speculators who want to buy off-plan and re-sell the property for a quick profit even before it is finished,” says Leonardo Cromstedt of the Eralia group, developing properties around Benahavís. “A growing percentage of our buyers intend to inhabit the property themselves, and this has a stabilising effect on the market.”

“The only real problem I see in the market,” says Andrew Mancais, “is the over-supply of properties under €300.000. Many of these were originally purchased off-plan by investors hoping to realise a profit by immediate re-sale as they approached completion. Now there may be as many as 3,000 of these apartments all coming onto the market around Nueva Andalucía in particular, just as we are having a slowdown.” This means that many of the investors will find themselves in a bind. Those who are over-extended and unable to make the final payments will have to reduce their prices, and their profits, in order to sell quickly.

However, jumps of more than 20 per cent are still being seen in the western areas of the coast, like the Casares-Manilva area, where development is booming. Hamptons Fielding are also predicting that UK buyers, drawn by Spain’s low interest rates and driven by the UK housing boom, which shows no signs of slowing down, will continue to come to Marbella.