2017.
Ask most people and they will tell you that 2017 felt like a better, happier year than its predecessor. Though problems and challenges remain aplenty in the world, this year the feeling at grassroots level was said by many to be more positive. The same is true of the world economy, which though not booming is gathering pace.
At a recent conference in Frankfurt, chief economists of financial institutions such as Allianz Global Investors pointed out that the European and American economies have consolidated growth to the point where inflation is beginning to surpass the two per cent benchmark. This spells the beginning of gentle interest rate rises, beginning in the US and UK and slowly spreading to the EU.
An interest rate hike, however small, does not seem on the cards for 2018 in the Euro Zone, so we can continue to enjoy our historically low debt repayment charges for some time to come, but the noises made by global economists do reflect the fact that the world economy is on a much more solid footing than even two years ago.
In Marbella too, there was a consolidation of steady, solid growth, with a broadening offer of new-built modern homes and price increases that reflected the strength of demand. The latter comes in spite of the surprisingly small drop in sales to British homebuyers on the Costa del Sol, all of which has been more than absorbed by strong interest from Scandinavia, the Benelux countries, France, the Middle East and Morocco. It’s the continuation of a trend we saw developing in the second half of last year, though the new growth spurt of the German-speaking market is definitely a positive that came out of 2017.
On the whole we can look back on a successful year. Tourism in Spain reached new heights, yet again setting new records; the property sector continues to grow steadily and sustainably, though supply has ratcheted up to the point where it is beginning to meet demand, and new private ventures and public initiatives are continuing to raise levels.
We therefore look forward to 2018 with a positive perspective. Interest rate increases elsewhere won’t affect us for some time to come, if at all, prices and supply are growing and something to keep an eye on in the longer term, but on the whole buyers are getting exactly what they ask for and remain very happy to visit and buy in Marbella. Let’s keep quality and value standards high and Marbella will continue to prosper.
