Spain’s record-breaking tourist numbers in the first half of 2015 will be welcomed by British homeowners up and down the Costas, many of whom rely on holiday lets to help pay for the running costs of their property.
Homeowners and house-hunters in Spain received welcome news in July when new stats showed the number of foreign holidaymakers in the country rose by 4.2 per cent between January and June compared to the same period last year. At the same time, travel website TravelSupermarket.com reported that a third of all enquiries between Jan and the second week of June were for Spain, with Mallorca the most popular destination and five other Spanish destinations making the top 10, including Benidorm.
“The weak euro will have helped drive this hike,” said Elaine Ferguson, Head of the OverseasGuidesCompany.com Resource Centre, which helps people buy property abroad safely. “We know that a large percentage of our Spanish enquiries are for property with strong letting potential, so Spain’s bullish tourism figures will be reassuring for homeowners in hot spots such as the Costa Blanca and Costa del Sol.”
Meanwhile, the latest quarterly research by OverseasGuidesCompany.com show that Spain remains the most popular destination to buy foreign property, with its SpainBuyingGuide.com accounting for 32 per cent of all enquiries in the second quarter of 2015. Despite a slight cooling off compared to the first quarter – likely to be due to a period of uncertainty around the General Election and the implications of Grexit, Spanish enquiries were up a healthy 55 per cent compared to the same period in 2014. France is the UK’s second favourite destination, followed by Portugal, Italy and the US (Florida).
“Also encouraging are recent stats from Spain’s General Council of Notaries showing that home sales in Spain rose 8.4 per cent in May compared to the same month last year” added Ms Ferguson at OverseasGuidesCompany.com. “These sales were driven by resales (14.5 per cent increase), while new home sales fell 21 per cent, arguably held back by a lack of quality of new-build property in Spain.”
Further evidence that confidence is returning to the Spanish market came in July with the announcement that Taylor Wimpey Espana, an established developer, and La Cala Resort, the company behind the prestigious complex of three golf courses and hotels in Mijas, have signed a long-term partnership that will allow them to develop 48 apartments and 55 houses over the next five years, with a total estimated investment of €21 million. Work is due to begin as soon as January 2016.
The partnership seals La Cala Resort’s position in the Costa del Sol, not just as a golf destination but also as one of the most attractive places for international tourist to visit and reside. The three excellent 18-hole golf courses, the exclusive hotel and four-star spa and the prime location just 30 minutes from Malaga airport, provide the perfect setting for capturing the growing European demand for second homes on the Costa del Sol.
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