Fuengirola property Summer 2009

Original article: Costa del Sol property blog
The summer months are traditionally a quiet time in the Real Estates business on the Costa del Sol as many of the people who visit the area are primarily in holiday mode. Beach, sangria and nightlife are the main concerns with little thought given over to property purchases.

This years appears to be different though. Although no claim is being made in regards to record number of sales or any such nonsense, there has definitely been an increase in property requests and enquiries both via the website and through passing trade. This has both been for commercial businesses (restaurants, bars, offices, etc…) both freehold and leasehold throughout the Costa del Sol, and for residential property, mainly in Fuengirola and the surrounding areas (Mijas Costa and Benalmadena Costa).

Many of the current property searchers are cash buyers, or only require a small mortgage and are primarily looking at holiday homes mainly with the idea of using them during the holiday months, if they have children, or in low season if they have no children living with them.

As an interesting change many appear to have previously lived or rented long term within Fuengirola and know clearly what they are searching for.

Of course many are still looking for what they see as bargains, so are understandably looking for the best offer possible. But of these property hunters have healthy budgets and unlike last year, vendors are more open to listening to offers.

According to TINSA, a respected property valuation company, prices along the Mediterranean coast (Costa Blanca, Costa Tropical, Costa del Sol, etc…) are from July 2007 to July 2009, down 16.5%. But to clarify, this does not reflect current prices, simply the value that TINSA has given to the average square metre built. Current asking prices by owners are generally down but the figure varies greatly due to location, qualities, etc…

As a rule of thumb many estate agencies are quoting that prices are down anything from 20 to 50% down on asking prices. But again these are meaningless figures as in the past many agencies would quote a high sales price for a property simply to get the listing, or simply let the owner set the asking price. In both cases this simply helped flood the market with overpriced properties.

As it stands now, although prices in Fuengirola have held up reasonably well compared to many other areas, the average price per square metre in Fuengirola now stands at 2,250 euros per built square metre. But please note this is an average figure with higher quality, garage, pool, etc… raising the price.

The reason why Fuengirola has felt the property crisis to a lesser degree than certain other areas is due to the following. First it bypassed a lot of the property invest craze as there were fewer newly built properties and due to the fact that it is a well connected town with both road and rail lines leading out of the town. Although not a large town, with 8 kilometres worth of beaches, being quite flat as opposed to being on a slope as many areas/towns are and half-way between Marbella and Malaga, Fuengirola makes an excellent base for many tourist looking at a home. It is also very popular amongst the Spanish, who although speculated as much as the next person, were more in tune with average prices, etc… than many foreign buyers. The also chose to buy in towns as opposed to urbanisations in less accessible areas.

Regards
Andrew Belles
Fuengirola property