Dana Ferguson (Reporter)
By Dana Ferguson
DESPITE a recession that has affected property sales throughout the country, holiday homes in Mijas are still in high demand.
Andrew Dodd, a sales manager at Homefinders, in La Cala de Mijas, estimates that sales in Mijas have seen a reasonable amount of growth in 2012.
“Mijas Costa and in particular the areas close to La Cala are bucking the trend when it comes to property sales,” he says.
Most of the buyers of holiday homes that are propping up the market are Scandinavian and British customers.
“I can’t get enough properties to sell around or close to La Cala,” he continues. “And ones with a sunny aspect, sea view and a decent price get snapped up very quickly.
“Now is definitely the time to be looking for a bargain and we are ready to help,” he said.
David Parker meanwhile, partner at MPA Homes just up the coast in Calypso, has also noted the increase in sales, in particular to Scandinavian clients.
This, he says, has been helped by a dramatic lowering of prices in the area.
“For some homes by up to 50% and prices are still falling,” he adds.
While Spanish clients are dwindling, the growth in the holiday home market has stayed strong. “There are some good deals out there and everybody’s looking for a bargain,” he continues.
Finally, if you are looking for a good reputable rentals agent, Sol Finders in Calahonda will take some beating.
Is this editorial or advertising??? Certainly unashamed ramping of the housing market. ‘I cant get enough properties to sell’ ! Come on-if you want more properties, go talk to the banks about repossessions- they have plenty. This is not journalism., its advertorial and should be paid for!
I think you’ll find the same is true of Olvera where I live.
There seem to be a small handful of these blanco towns which were not part of the big boom, so there are still old town houses here available at bargain prices. Another cheap one is Pruna where the flamenco guitar is king!
Steve, you are likely right about your comments, but there is a significant more presence of tourists and I do see quite a few people looking in the windows of estate agents which has not been seen for some time. I think the property between the sea and the coastal highway is really not a place for bargain hunting, as here in Spain it is all about location, location, location. Happy house and bargain hunting cause after the end of the year, taxes and IVT are increasing. Now is the time to buy.
Chris, Only history will show which of us is correct, but my bet is that house prices will go down some way again next year. Very high unemployment (even allowing for ‘working unemployed’); too many empty finished/nearly finished apartments; too many repossessions; too much pressure from The Bank of Spain, forcing banks to either carry property at much reduced valuations or clear it off the books; too many people happy to take up cheap long term rents because they believe the bottom hasn’t been reached yet. I can think of no reasons why property should start going up again in Spain. Can you? A lot of the Northern Europeans who love our climate are cash strapped themselves, and locals here complain that the vacationers st ay in apartments not hotels now, and shop in supermarkets instead of dining out-including taking picnics to the beach instead of using costly chiringuitos. Maybe it is different where you are.
Hi Guys I work in Real Estate and its true, this month we sold 3 large Villas, 2 townhouses and 1 Apartment all east of Marbella. La calaGolf especially is a great area. A Villa on La Cala Golf we sold for 900,000 € with an asking price of 1,250,000 €, A Villa in Elviria asking price of 650,000 € went for 560,000 €. There real are some good buys, I honestly see prices slowly rising.
The lucky people have bought the bargains at the moment Chris! Here’s to any improvement. I hear first hand there’s quite a bit of spring buying in Andalucia lately. Let’s hope for more positive things for Spain, rather than just an apocalypse etc.
Large parts of Mijas are illegal, so buyer beware. No estate agent, or indeed lawyer, can ascertain 100% the legality of a property. Ask three lawyers and you’ll get three different opinions. I would advise noone to buy in a country where so little is known about the legality of the biggest investment you’ll likely ever purchase.
No need to rush – there are 1 million+ unsold properties in Spain and 300,000+ illegal homes in Andalucia.
Before transferring and depositing money into a Spanish bank (for purpose of property purchase in Spain), a sensible investor would keep a watchful eye on Cyprus and the ‘banking apocalypse’ that they are experiencing over there. Look at the bigger picture in Cyprus, and then decide if you want to transfer your money to outside the UK.
Rent in Spain, DON’T buy!
Don’t use the word “apocalypse” M, or Mr P will get upset.
Mr Prat,
What experience in construction do you have – would the answer be none at all. No houses are a good buy in Spain because they are all crap built even the most expensive.
You also keep interchanging Spain with Andalucia – the two are not the same – can you grasp this simple fact.
Properties in the industrious north, never saw the prices falls as in the financially unimportant south.
For those who have properties on any of the Costas get used to the fact that there will be no housing revival for at least a decade if then. The only areas where sales are taking place is made with dirty money looking for a home.
That same dirty money will be looking at other places now outside of the EU – the template for southern Spain is being formed right now in Cyprus – the Russians are very angry and Cyprus will bear the brunt of that. How much Russian dirty money is locked into unsaleable property in Andalucia – food for thought.
I wondered what the “P” stood for lol.
WOW! Anyone got their eyes on Cyprus – all is clear now, the euro banking apocalypse is actually in its infancy. (Sorry Fred, but ‘P’ should now know).
And, who would dare transfer large sums of money to Spain now? The top nobs are moving it out, surely.
It’s true you know that, when a country is bankrupt that it can sell it’s assets; ships, gold, treasures, anything with it’s flag on it. But in the euro banking apocalypse, they can rob the people to underpin their banks – I think it’s called ‘tough luck’.