Iona Napier
LAST year was the best year in living memory for most of Estepona’s restaurateurs and bar owners – and that’s including the boom years.
The long, balmy season saw tourists and locals spilling out into the streets well into October and enjoying the town’s authentic Spanish charm.
Real estate agent Adam Neale, of Terra Meridiana, has seen his chosen home go from strength to strength since settling there in 2004.
And the expert puts the influx of visitors in to the centre of Estepona largely down to the recent regeneration project.
“Ever since the mayor decided to transform the streets of the old town with hundreds of colourful pots of geraniums, we have seen a market emerging out of practically nowhere,” he told the Olive Press.
“There are large amounts of Scandinavians, French, British, Germans and of course Spanish buying in the old town of Estepona.”
Neale adds that the recent interest in old town properties includes a movement of Spanish families returning from their poolside urbanisations due to grandparents and extended family staying put in the town centre.
“While there’s a lot of demand for properties in the old town you’ve got to be brave as 95% of them are in need of renovation and many have paperwork and ownership issues ,” he admits.
But the fact remains that Estepona is the latest hot destination on the Costa del Sol, with a gourmet market opening up in the Mercado de Abastos and whispers on the wind that in half a decade’s time it could become ‘the new Marbella’.
If that’s a scary thought then don’t fear, as Neale quickly puts pay to these rumours.
“I think Estepona is going to boom but it will always attract a different crowd to Marbella,” he continues.
“Many are escaping from Marbella and enjoy the quiet of a local village, where there still remains a sense that you are living in Spain¨
Visit www.terrameridiana.com for more information.
