09 June 2011
Posted in Property Info

According to a recent report, Golf del Sur property and Amarilla Golf property rose by 270% in the past decade as people's desire to find a place in the sun or on a golf course created a huge surge in demand. What started out as a large number of pensioners searching for a sunny retirement home free from all the problems of their own countries or families wanting a holiday home, turned into a frenzy of investors. Many thousands of Brits now own or co-own a property in Costa San Miguel (Golf del Sur, Amarilla Golf and Residential San Blas).

The upshot was that as soon as property investors arrived to purchase apartments, houses and villas for holiday rentals, then the developers moved in. Since 2000 a large number of new homes were built every month in our local area.

For a while, everyone looked like a winner. Property and mortgages were cheap. The euro was worth 66p and interest rates were around 3%.

Hundreds of property investors made money by buying property in Costa San Miguel off-plan and then selling them at much higher prices, even before they had been finished.

The property developers made huge sums of money, and the local authorities and businesses were extremely happy with the increased revenue from the hundreds of extra visitors each year.

However during the years 2008, 2009 and 2010, the good times fizzled out and the Euro had risen to almost parity with the pound, making both property and Euro mortgages more expensive. Property developers and builders alike went bankrupt and we saw a decline in investors. An example of the rising costs is that in the summer of 2007 a property costing a €150,000 would be the equivalent of £102,000 by May 2008 it would have set you back £121,000. As a direct result of this the British buyer became extremely cautious and they became somewhat scared to take a gamble.

Since the beginning of 2011 this trend has started to reverse albeit slowly and we are now seeing a gradual return of investors as well as retirees to purchase Golf del Sur property and Amarilla Golf property, there are also a number of people who returned to the UK for one reason or another now coming back to live here as things get better. With the pound moving between about 1.11 and 1.18 people are getting a better handle on managing their affairs and therefore stability is returning to our corner of paradise.

We are of course by no means over this recession but as general life stabilizes in our enclave so we see the seeds of recovery in the property market beginning to take shape, confidence is returning and slowly week by week we see more prospective purchasers taking a chance by purchasing property as an investment. We are also seeing more residents buying and selling property as they move either up or down the property ladder. Mortgages as previously reported are now back in vogue with the banks and reports indicate that they are on the increase now.

This all bodes well for Golf del Sur property and Amarilla Golf property and the future is starting to look brighter than it has in the past 3 years as there appears to be light at the end of the tunnel. Although not substantial we do envisage an increase in the movement of property during the next year, with a gradual increase in the following years.

As we go forward we thought that we would remind prospective purchasers and sellers of just a few do´s and don´ts when purchasing or selling your property here.

Do's and Don'ts

• Don't try to second-guess the currency or property markets. Fix your exchange rate with currency experts and invest for the long-term.
• Do haggle. There are some great buying opportunities at the moment in Golf del Sur.
• Don't cut corners. Get proper advice and mortgage help.
• Do consider transferring euros to sterling at the moment as the exchange rate is very favorable.
• Don't use experts recommended by friends or casual acquaintances. Use your estate agent - that is what they are here for, or get independent advice from professional bodies.
• Do consider renting your property out to other nationalities.
• Don't forget about taxes and other fees, which will add about 10% to the cost of your home.

This post was prepared by specialist property experts from Homes and Away. Working for over a decade with clients in Golf del Sur