Often described as Spain’s answer to St Tropez, Marbella is a luxurious resort town situated on the southern coast of Spain. Home to many of Spain’s jet set society, Marbella has been the residence of choice for many seeking a holiday home in the sun for the past 20 years.

Once a simple fishing village, Marbella saw an extensive facelift under the popular yet controversial mayor, Jesus Gil, which set the tone for Marbella in the years to come. The considerable investment in the town brought about by Jesus Gil, undoubtedly paid dividends however and demand for property in Marbella increased considerably during the period.

On the back of this increase in demand for property in Marbella, prices for property in the town are considerably higher than the surrounding regions. Just a short stroll through the town and the popular harbour area demonstrates to visitors the wealth and affluence which is resident today in Marbella. Today the Marbella property market is characterised by the large and luxurious villas which can be found throughout the town and its suburbs.

There are a number of suburbs worth considering if you are looking at purchasing a property in Marbella. In particular, the quaint shops, bars and restaurants of the La Plaza de Los Naranjos (Orange Square) region, is a
hub of social activity during the day and night. Its small, and winding streets, provide the atmosphere of a small and authentic village, and whilst few villas will be found here, apartments do often appear for sale.

Four people looking to buy luxury property in Marbella, then often the first port of call would be the coastal region of Puerto Banus, just west of the main town. A place to sit and watch the world go by, Puerto Banus could easily be described as a millionaire’s playground. Stunning yachts, expensive sports cars and boutique shops can all be found in abundance throughout the Puerto Banus region, and at night the port area becomes a vibrant focal point, complete with bars, discos and restaurants.

In total there are over 26 km of coastline to explore within the region, and people seeking to purchase property in Marbella will not be short of choice. Indeed the recent economic turbulence of the past two years has had a considerable impact on the prices of property in Spain, and Marbella has been no exception to this. Although the prices of property in Marbella are still higher than the surrounding areas, they do now reflect value for money more than two years ago.

Situated on the beautiful Malaga coastline, the Costa Del Sol is one of Europe’s best known tourist destinations and is arguably one of the trendsetters for the overseas property market. For over 40 years people have been investing in property on the Costa Del Sol, as people seek to capitalise on the huge tourist industry throughout southern Spain.

Stretching for over 160 km, the Costa Del Sol is renowned throughout the world for its beautiful scenery and long sandy beaches. Today over 200,000 non-Spanish residents live on the Costa Del Sol making it one of the world’s most popular destinations for overseas property investors. The popularity of the Costa Del Sol property market is easily demonstrated by the number of new developments which have been built here over the course of the past 20 years. In excess of over half 1 million new properties have been built throughout the region during the period, although the global economic climate has brought these figures down considerably in recent times.

Despite the construction boom of the past 10 years, there is still a number of superb new developments to be found throughout the Costa Del Sol region. In particular a number of luxurious new golf resorts have been built in southern Spain, many of which have already proven commercially successful with investors and second home owners seeking to remove themselves from the more densely populated areas closer to the coast.

For people seeking to buy property in the Costa Del Sol, the good news is that the recent economic turmoil has created a more investor friendly climate in Spain’s real estate market. Previously high property prices are now being reduced to reflect more realistic property prices, and as such buyers are gradually returning to the market. In the blog, we will be covering the Spanish property market in more detail, looking at each of the regions, and cities within the Costa Del Sol and throughout southern Spain.

If you would like to find out more about our range of property for sale in Spain, why not take a look at our main website at www.offplanworld.TV, where we offer a wide range of Spanish real estate throughout the major destinations.