Laurence Dollimore
THE number of Brits buying their dream home on the Costa del Sol has doubled in the run-up to Brexit.
Estate agencies have reported a 100% year-on-year increase in purchases by UK buyers over the past 12 months.
The BBVA bank’s forecast that Spanish property prices will rise 5% this year has been a key reason.
“We’ve seen a sustained increase in British buyers on the Costa del Sol over the past year,” said Marc Pritchard, Sales and Marketing Director of Taylor Wimpey España.
“The exchange rate has a huge influence over such matters. We’ve also seen a 15% increase in the number of property reservations across mainland Spain and the Balearic Islands as a whole, with reservations now at their highest level for seven years.”
According to xe.com, the past 90 days have seen just 0.32% volatility in the GBP/EUR exchange rate, from a low of 1.12014 to a high of 1.15801. The result is an increase in British buyer confidence.
The figures coincide with the CEO of Costa del Sol Tourism, Jacobo Florido, announcing the ‘most important summer’ in the region’s history.
Both tourist numbers and income are projected to grow by 2% over the year – following a record-breaking 2017, when 12.5 million visitors arrived in the Costa del Sol, up 6.4% on the previous year.
An additional 80,000 visitors from the UK helped to bolster the figures.
It seems the costa’s stunning beaches and lifestyle offer have eclipsed buyers’ Brexit worries, leading to a surge in interest in Spanish second homes on the Costa del Sol.
“A number of factors are at play here,” added Pritchard, “On the one hand, we’ve seen a relatively stable GBP/EUR exchange rate over the last several months. At the same time, interest in the Costa del Sol in general is rising.
“Then there are the age-old attractions of the area’s pristine beaches and golf courses. All of this is excellent news for the local tourism sector.”
