The Costa del Sol is a place where the sun shines more than 320 days a year, where the remnants of Roman, Moorish and Christian rule clash, and is full of luxury resorts – such as Marbella – that are world-famous. Could there be a better location in Europe to buy a rental property?
Excellent living conditions
The World Health Organisation has recognised Spain as the country where people live the longest in the world. This is due to several factors, which include healthy Mediterranean cuisine (with fish and seafood leading the way), more than 320 days of sunshine a year or a high level of medical care.
However, Spanish Andalusia and the Costa del Sol offer much more – for example, excellent educational facilities. Within Marbella itself, there are several schools, educating children and young people according to international standards and varied forms of learning. There are also a number of excellent language schools that will help those who choose to live here – whether permanently or for a few months – to quickly learn Spanish and acclimatise to their new location.
When it comes to living comfort, let’s not forget the sporting and recreational sphere either. The Costa del Sol and Marbella are world-famous for their perfect golfing infrastructure, as well as weather conditions perfect for water sports. In less than 60 minutes we can get from Marbella to Tarifa, which is considered a surfer’s paradise.
Tourist traffic
Spain is undoubtedly one of the most popular tourist destinations in Europe. Over the last six years, it has been visited by more than 370 million tourists! This figure would probably be much higher, but it should be remembered that 2020-2021 is a period of significant travel restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
An important tourist destination in Spain is Andalusia, which annually ranks among the TOP 5 regions in terms of the number of visitors to the Iberian Peninsula. In the peak years of 2016-2019, 15% of the visitors to Spain (around 12 million per year) headed specifically to Andalusia. Thus, together with the Balearic Islands (13 million), the Canary Islands (13 million) and Catalonia (19 million), it is the most important tourist region in Spain, being the only one to exceed the 10 million annual visitor barrier.
Source: Instituto Nacional de EstadÃstica
Strong property market
When considering buying property in Spain, it is worth knowing that the Andalusian market represents one of the strongest links in this sector in the entire Iberian Peninsula. In recent years, it has boasted a number of successes, unattainable in the rest of Spain. Andalusia has held the title of Spanish leader in terms of the number of property purchase/sale transactions for several years.
Andalusia is also the only region to surpass the 100,000 transaction threshold in 2021. This emphatically demonstrates that Andalusian real estate is a tasty morsel for investors from Spain and elsewhere. Properties on the Costa del Sol not only guarantee a high rental potential (and therefore a high return on investment), but also a good chance of selling a house or flat at a profit just a few years after purchase.
The local property market is constantly booming because, compared to island territories – such as the Balearic and Canary Islands – it has huge scope for the continued expansion of accommodation – both hotel and private. Its strength and potential is recognised by international brands, which have decided to build new luxury hotels on the Costa del Sol to further enhance the city and the region.
Support of local authorities
One should also bear in mind the actions of the local authorities, which are making every effort to attract new investors. Over the past several months, they have decided to reduce and standardise the transfer tax (for secondary market properties), to introduce a 100% discount on property tax (even when it exceeds €700,000) and have announced the abolition of the water tax in 2023. This will make Andalusia the second region in the country with the lowest number of taxes, which should attract even more investors interested in buying property in Marbella, Estepona or Malaga.
