Two in every ten tourists buys a Spanish property.
It is often the case that when tourists visit the Costa del Sol they end up wanting to stay, such is the magnetic power and beauty of this coast. However, how this translated into completed sales was something of a mystery; it was a ‘fact’ we all knew to be true, but we had no figures to support the claim. Now we do thanks to research undertaken by the Iberia Real Estate franchise. Its analysts studied foreign tourists at the principal places on Spain’s Costas during the months of July and August, and discovered that two out of every ten visitors planned to buy a second residence in Spain as a result of their holiday experience. The data relates to the current year and also shows that tourist numbers increased by 6% on the previous year, and this has had a buoyant effect on the real estate market as well as businesses supporting the tourism industry. German visitors are particularly interested in the coastal areas of Catalonia and the island of Mallorca, which has long been a second home to visitors from Germany. The Costa Levante, with Valencia as its capital, is also extremely popular with this group of investors. However, the study revealed that buyers who traditionally favour these areas are now looking further afield to Andalucía, Cantabria and Galicia. Iberia Real Estate also produced a handy profile of the typical buyer; men aged between 40 and 50 with a family. Buyers told the researchers that one of the main reasons for selecting Spain is the levels of terrorism in other Mediterranean countries with large holiday resorts, such as Turkey and Tunisia, and this year, unfortunately, the south of France has also fallen into this category. The foreign buyers also remarked that they had found banks were now more willing to lend money for purchases and at favourable rates, plus the property prices in Spain’s coastal regions were very attractive. The report also predicts that over the next two years we will see even more foreign visitors and not just during the busy summer period, but also during the other major holidays in Europe, such as Easter and Christmas. As real estate agents in the Marbella area, we’re delighted to say that business is indeed booming and Iberia Real Estate’s quoted growth figures of 30% this summer are an accurate reflection of what is happening on the Costa del Sol. A significant proportion of this growth is due to purchases by foreign buyers, indicating that the love for Spain lives on.
