Three Signs Winter is Well and Truly Over in the Costa del Sol

The temperature is rising and everyone is out and about

Are there really people out there who still don’t understand the great climate that Spain has? It’s not much of a secret that the Spanish weather is delightful, but many people only know what Spain is like during the summer; when the skies are blue, the beaches are packed, and the sun tan lotion is constantly being applied.

What isn’t as well-known is the opinion of Spaniards and expats that the best times to visit Spain are actually the spring and the autumn. There are some obvious reasons for this if you were to think about it. These are the seasons when Spain can truly offer everything on a silver platter, but there’s none of the crowds, heat, or expenses that come with taking a trip in the summer.

It’s because of this that many Spaniards get excited when the winter settles down and spring kicks in. The Costa del Sol had a surprisingly sodden winter, but the time to celebrate the arrival of spring is now. Here are the three signs winter is well and truly over in the Costa del Sol.

The Beaches are Starting to Fill Up

As the temperature during the starts to reach between 16 and 24 Celsius during this part of the year, there’s a strong temptation to hit the beach. While the southwest winds are still bracing and tough to deal with, it’s hard to deny how inviting and warm a sheltered bit of sunshine can be. Not to mention it’s never too early to start working on your tan.

Don’t think about taking that dip in the Mediterranean Sea just yet though. Things are still very cold during the night, with temperatures dropping to below 10 Celsius, making the water colder than you think. You could find the air chased out of your lungs by the time you’re waist-deep. You can also expect those lengthened shadows cast by the setting sun to creep up on you, leaving you with a sudden chill that is a sharp contrast to the warm and inviting sunshine. Make sure you go prepared, but do go to the beach, as it will be pretty much all yours right now!

Everyone is Smiling

Spaniards are generally very happy people. Even expats from Northern Europe eventually become happy and cheery people by living in Spain. Even so, winter makes those on the Costa del Sol lose some of their cheer. At least until the weather warms up a little.

By the time February rolls around everyone is back and smiling as much as possible. The Spanish are smiling again whether they are on the bus, doing their shopping, waiting in traffic, getting served in a restaurant, or just making the rounds. Spaniards aren’t big fans of the cold. While some of them will still be fighting the elements until April, smiles are still fostered through the warmer temperatures, the extra sunlight, and the longer days. Embrace and enjoy that winter is over and that, from now on, you’re in for months of sunshine.

Spanish Property Prices Predicted to Rise Over Next Four Years

Spanish Property Prices Predicted to Rise Over Next Four Years

Great news as the recovery continues, and the Costa Del Sol

is the place to buy

Acuña & Asociados recently did a statistical analysis of the Spanish property market that forecasted steady rises in property prices through 2020, with an average increase of 5% occurring from 2018.

The report, which is the 20^th such annual assessment of the Spanish real estate market by the firm, suggests that average property prices will have increased by 2.3% between the start o the year and the end. The trend will then carry over into 2017 as average values increase by up to 5% by 2018, and could potentially rise even higher in 2019 and 2020.

Of course it’s not easy to predict how the Spanish property market will behave across four years, but if you take a look at 2014 you’ll see there is evidence of a trend. Since leaving the recession the property market in Spain has grown alongside the economy and job market.

Property prices in Spain tend to be cyclical, which would suggest that the upward trajectory currently being enjoyed could last few at least the next few years. Given the gradual nature of the recovery it’s less likely that the bubble will burst in 2020. Instead it’s likely that the prices could flatline, or just grow at a slower rate.

It’s impossible to say what will happen for sure, but the Acuña & Asociados experts have made their own educated guess and expect that there will be much more stability in the years between 2016 and 2020 than was seen in the years between 2008 and 2012.

The analysts also expect that this market development will lead to greater investment in new build property, as the stock of new housing in the most popular areas of Spain has become exhausted. Around 82,000 properties were built in 2016, and there is likely going to be more built over the next few years.

More data came from the property figures for October from Spain’s Notaries. The latest data suggests that the average price per square metre of property in October rose 1.5% over last October to €1,275. The average loan was also on the up, rising 0.9% to €125,138, which suggests that mortgage lenders are becoming more generous as the conditions continue to improve.

Official Data Shows Spanish Home Values up 4% Over Last Year

Official Data Shows Spanish Home Values up 4% Over Last Year





The statistics unit of the Spanish central government released their latest figures recently showing that the property industry is going from strength the strength as the average price for residential property in spain increased 4% over the past 12 months.

Buying property in the Costa del Sol is on the

increase and will continue to grow.

The official figures look at many different kinds of monthly data, trends, and regional variations and they seem to show that just how the real estate market of 2016 has performed.



The data comes from information on deeds that were registered through the year, revealing that there was an increase of 3.5% of resale property values over last year, with new home builds being about 7.3% more expensive.



If taken on the quarterly basis then the figures represent an increase of 0.8% over the previous quarter, which is another encouraging sigh for the industry that these steady increases in property prices have become the norm now. It should also alleviate the fears of people on both ends of the spectrum; both the fear that prices are going up too much and that they have begun to stagnate.



The reality of the situation is far more reassuring and sober. There are still some stark regional differences, which is actually a good thing. While it’s true some prices fell a little in some regions, in particular Murcia, Castilla y León, and Communidad Valenciana, there were also increases in the more popular areas of Madrid, along with Catalunya, the Costa del Sol, and the Balearics. These increases show how much buyers value location and infrastructure.



The figures should offer people considering jumping on the property ladder in 2017 some encouragement as it’s expected that, as strong as 2016 was, 2017 will be even stronger to buy property in Spain and the Costa del Sol. 

Over Two Thirds of the Property Sold to Foreign Investors in Andalucía Are on Costa Del Sol

Over Two Thirds of the Property Sold to Foreign Investors in Andalucía Are on Costa Del Sol

The demand for the Costa del Sol keeps increasing

which good news for the whole region

A recent report from the Spanish Ministry of Development found that 7 out of the 10 Andalucía properties sold to foreign buyers during the first six months of the year were in Málaga.

A report published by the Spanish Ministry of Development showed that between January and July 2016, 70% of the properties in Andalucía sold to foreign buyers were in Málaga, which is the home of the Costa del Sol. This works out at 4,978 transactions, which is a 16.9% increase compared to this same period of time in 2015.

At the regional level there was a total increase in foreign purchasers in Andalucía of 18.9%, up from the 5,973 property transactions across the first six months of 2015 to a total of 7,105 sold in the same period for 2016.

The other Andalusian provinces are falling behind Malaga when it comes to properties sold to foreign buyers. Almería saw 797 real estate transactions registered, which was an increase of 33.7% for the first semester of 2015. Granada had an increase of 13.9% with 409 sales; Cádiz had an increase of 4.6% to 405 transactions; Sevilla had an increase of 47.1% to 262 transactions; Huelva had an increase of 23.5% for 126 transactions; Jaén saw an increase of 49% for 79 transactions; and Córdoba came in last place in terms of transactions with an increase of 16.6% for 49 transactions.

Brits Spend Over €74 million a Day In Spain During August

Brits Spend Over €74 million a Day In Spain During August

Tourist spending has been at an all time high.

Brits really dug deep into their pockets during August;spending money on drinks, food, shopping, and hotels.

If people still doubted that British were vital to the Spanish tourism industry then the recent statistics from the tourism ministry will remove those doubts. The latest data shows that British tourists accounted for 22.3% of the tourist spending in August.

This came to a grand total of €2.3 billion spent by Brits throughout Spain during August, or €74.6 million each day. This works out at around €116 per person, per day.

This data is a reflection of the strong tourism trends of Spain in 2016. All the indications are that Spain will see record visitor numbers in 2016. Though for the brits this is just a continuation of the decades-old trend. It just shows that Spain is still deep in the hearts of many UK holidaymakers.

The Spanish economy was boosted by an extra €334 million each day thanks to the tourism in August. As well as Brits the French and German tourists were spending their fair; making up roughly 14% of the tourism spend for August.

Brits spent an overall 3.5% more this August compared to last year, while German tourists spent around 0.2% more and French tourists spent a whopping 9.1% more.

The only downside to the news was that average spending per person was actually down a little compared to 2015. The average tourist spend was €116 per person, which is down 1.9% compared to last year when compared against the average time that people spent in the country.

Even though more people are coming to Spain they are spending slightly less over last summer. This is really only a tiny negative mark on what has otherwise been an incredibly positive Spanish summer season though.

Regions across all of Spain are celebrating as most places are reporting record highs in terms of tourism spending. Tourists have currently spent €53.3 billion so far this year in Spain, which is 7.1% higher than last year. A statistic to put everything into perspective is that Spanish tourists spent more in the year leading up to August than they did in all of 2012, and there’s still four months of 2016 left.

The Brits still make up the bulk of the spending in the first eight months of the year. Brits accounted for 21.1% of all spending; an increase of 11.8% over 2015.

Property Prices up In Over 30 Spanish Provinces

Property Prices up In Over 30 Spanish Provinces

Even after Brexit the Costa del Sol will always be in demand

The demand for Spanish property from both domestic and foreign buyers is on the up, with house prices rising with it for more than 30 of the 50 Spanish provinces.

This price increase has been seen and enjoyed mostly in the Costa del Sol but it’s taken a little longer for the rest of the country to catch up.

It’s only natural that the Costa del Sol would see all of the attention as it is the healthiest holiday and property market in the country. The rest of the country catches up to Costa del Sol eventually and now it looks like it has. Property valuation firm Tinsa released new data showing that average property prices are on the up for over half of the country.

Spanish provinces are a little smaller than the Autonomous Regions such as Catalonia and Andalucía and so they offer a better insight into how things are. The province of Málaga for example covers the Costa del Sol so it’s seen the best recovery figures. Even so the smaller provinces are beginning to report increases of their own.

The data from Tinsa shows that Spanish property prices have risen an average of 0.8% in the past 12 months, with higher increases of up to 6% seen in regions around Marbella. When broken down the Tinsa data shows that 30 of the 50 Spanish provinces have reported a rise in average house prices since the second quarter of 2015.

The sharpest rise came out of La Rioja, one of the hardest hit y the post-boom slump. The rises are evidence that the region is slowly recovering. La Rioja is one of the places along the Mediterranean coast so it was only natural the region would recover eventually. Every province along the coastline except for Murcia saw prices increase year-over-year.

The data also showed that the price recovery has stretched and is now reaching the more domestically-driven markets away from the more popular regions like Madrid, Barcelona, Málaga and the Canaries. Places like Extremadura, Castilla La-Mancha and Castilla y León are reporting their own property price increases.

The data from Tinsa is extrapolated over the entire past 12-month period. So the data builds on the recent data out of the EU showing that property prices in spain were up over 4% in the previous quarter.

Spanish Property Prices Up At Highest Rate In Over Eight Years

Spanish Property Prices Up At Highest Rate In Over Eight Years

Spanish property prices were up 6.3% leading up to March 2016. Spain may have experienced some frantic campaigning in the lead-up to the general election last week, but the political situation caused by the December general election seems to not have affected the revival of the property market.

This was further evidenced after the national statistics unit published data showing that not only is the market growing, but property prices are also up by 6.3% in the 12 months leading to the 31^st of March 2016. This is the eighth year in a row that prices have risen following the six year year-by-year fall in prices since 2007.

It’s made better news because this rise is being seen in every Spanish region. 6.3% is only the nationwide average with some areas, such as Madrid, seeing higher rises. Madrid saw the highest rises of 9.7%, the Balearics saw a rise of 8.8%, Catalunya saw a rise of 8.6% and the Canaries saw a rise of 5.9%.

Prices were up 1.5% over the rise seen in the previous quarter. The regional variations were as varied as the regional variations in overall price rise. Prices in Madrid were up 2.9% over the last quarter with a rise of 2.1% in the Canaries, a rise of 1.5% in both the Balearics and Galicia. However there was a 0.2% drop in property prices in La Rioja and a 0.4% drop in Castilla-La Mancha.
One of the biggest rises was properties for sale in the Costa del Sol as it continues its recovery.

Over Three Quarters of the Spanish Homes Sold to Brits Were Resales

Over Three Quarters of the Spanish Homes Sold to Brits Were Resales

While it is still early days for 2016 it looks like three trends hinted at by the end of 2015 are coming true.

The first, and the most encouraging, trend is that the Spanish property market is recovering. It looks like both house prices and the number of properties being sold is on the rise.

Costa del Sol will always be a firm favourite place to buy property 

The second trend is that buying resales properties especially in the Costa del Sol are outpacing new properties. Second hand homes are being sold at a much faster rate than new properties. The third trend that is likely linked to the other two is that British buyers are coming back.

Brits were the buyers in one fifth of homes sold to foreigners in 2015. Data has emerged from the Spanish Ministry of Public Works that reveals that 76% of the properties that were resales were bought by British nationals.

At one point British buyers were all over the new properties being built in Spain. After the economy began tumbled during the past decade this interest went down. Now that the economy is more confident the British buyers are coming back and the property market in general is recovering.

The data shows that while there is still some interest in the new build market, especially among Scandinavian and Belgian buyers, the interest is still mostly in the resale market. Just over 69,000 homes were sold in 2015 to foreign investors. This was rise of 13% over 2014.

The reason that people are buying Spanish property has also changed a little since the market started to fall a decade ago. These days most people purchasing a house are interested in a holiday home rather than seeking to rent it out and make an income.

As a result of this shift the renting market in Spain has fallen each month for the past 35 months.