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Why the Costa del Sol?
The appeal of the Costa del Sol extends beyond the world class beaches and it's record number of days of sunshine, through to the diversity that the Andalucian area itself has to offer. Wether you are looking for a relaxing time or to enjoy the more than 70 golf courses, the area is rich in qualities that make it a destination that people return to time after time. The Costa del Sol, known as the ‘California of Europe’ and the ‘Golf Capital of Europe’, it is one of the most aspirational areas of Spain.
Because it is the southernmost tip of Spain it enjoys the best climate – with an all year round season. To the tourist this makes the Costa del Sol an ideal target location for a break - last year over eight million tourists visited the region. To the investor, this equates to the best opportunity to earn rental income from the most affluent tourists. Whilst many areas in Spain are currently experiencing capital growth on a fluctuating basis, the Costa del Sol has consistently experienced growth in both capital and rental returns. The Costa del Sol is familiar to many people as the primary destination when the package holiday boom took off in the 1950’s. Since that time, and certainly up to the 1980’s, the region suffered huge and rapid development with many areas south of Malaga airport becoming heavily (overly) built up. Examples of this are Torremelinos, Benalmadena, Fuengirola and Marbella . In Torremelinos, 95% of the ground is developed.
More recently, the local and national governments have realised the potential of the region and have managed investment and development much more closely to avoid the mistakes of previous decades. Strict planning guidelines restrict heights to 3 floors and only 5%-10% of the land can be put to residential use.
Easier Access
The N340 motorway has now opened up the much less developed Estepona region - past Marbella and down to Gibraltar . What was previously a 4 hour trip can now be comfortably achieved in 55 minutes. The port at Estepona has just been given permission to allow cruise liners bringing more tourism into the area. Magic Hills, a theme park is proposed to be built at Manilva just outside Estepona. There are 75 flights per day from the UK to Malaga , many operated by the low cost airlines. Gibraltar airport, 20 minutes from Estepona, is now increasingly being used by the low cost airlines providing an attractive alternative to Malaga airport.
Local government is powerful in Spain . The Andalucia region has more accommodating property law with regard to the investor when compared to the other local governments. For example, the phenomenon of ‘land-grab’, recently publicised by the Sunday Times, is not legal practice in Andalucia. Taking this point further, there is a high degree of maturity and experience with regard to property development, purchases and sales.
