Investment in Catalonia: guide to buying Costa Dorado and Costa Brava property
Catalonia, with its two wonderful costas and beautiful rural interior, has many, many plus points for investors and visitors. Sure, Costa Brava property does not come cheap but it is still just possible to find a bargain apartment or villa. Costa Brava is also home to one of Europe´s top short-term rental markets and an extremely popular destination for weekend breaks: Barcelona. Heading south is Catalonia´s Costa Dorado, a lovely stretch of sandy beaches and coves but a relatively overlooked property market.
Days out from your apartment or villa in Costa Brava or Dorado.
The location of Catalonia, just across the French border, is hard to beat in terms of lifestyle and accessibility. The Pyrennees are on the doorstep, so it perfectly feasible to head off from your apartment or villa on Costa Brava for a day´s hill walking, some serious mountain biking or superb skiing. For some people, this great outdoors is more important than the sand and sea, and a significant number of British buyers are now buying rural Costa Brava property.
As anyone who has ever taken a weekend break in Barcelona knows, the regional capital is crammed with interest. Apart from the harmonious old quarter, a bustling fishing village, nine Michelin-starred restaurants and Gaudi´s weird-but-brilliant architectural legacy, the city has outstanding parks and an entire hill, Montjuic, dedicated to leisure and cultural pursuits. And then there is the promise of a stroll down Las Ramblas, without which a weekend break in Barcelona would not be complete. No wonder the city has such international appeal. And no wonder Costa Brava property with Barcelona postcodes carry such serious premiums!
However, Barcelona and the great outdoors is not all Catalonia has to offer buyers of apartments and villas in Costa Brava and Dorado. There are numerous attractions sprinkled across the region which anyone staying in Costa Brava property should explore. These include the huge Roman amphitheatre perched above the sea at Tarragona, the Teatro-Museo Dali (Spain´s second most visited museum) in Figueres, the ever-photogenic Girona, and the rather less culturally challenging theme park of Port Aventura.
Culture and food in Catalonia
In terms of everyday culture, Catalonia is quite distinct from its neighbours. All visitors, whether buying a villa in Costa Brava, renting an apartment in Costa Dorado or enjoying a weekend break in Barcelona are sure to hear the local Catalan language, as well as Spanish. Locals are also fiercely proud of their cuisine with its fish and shellfish stew specialities and classic sauces. They are also keen on fiestas. Visitors staying in Costa Brava property are likely to see the regional dance, the Sardana, performed in the streets while on the Costa Dorado, the speciality is the building of a human castle. This is formed by men standing on one anothers´ shoulders - sometimes up to seven storeys high!
The Costa Dorado and Costa Brava property market
In the far north, Catalonia´s Pyrennean mountains tumble all the way to the blue sea, so some Costa Brava property can be found on rugged or forested headlands and rocky coves rather than, more predictably, on sandy beaches. This topography also gives the coast its name (Brava means wild or savage).
Certainly the nightlife in famous Lloret de Mar can be a bit wild at the height of summer when pubs show British football matches on big screens and clubs pump up the volume until sunrise. With nearby Girona airport newly extended and receiving budget flights from the UK, this tourist town is booming and developers are working to keep up with demand from Costa Brava property investors. Prices are rising quickly and short term rental potential, especially for apartments, is excellent.
Other investment hotspots for apartments and villas on Costa Brava are the up and coming resorts of Begur and L´Estartit, both of which are benefitting from Girona´s airport development, and Girona itself. Like most Costa Brava property, flats and houses in these towns have seen large price increases in the last couple of years, and the rental markets are proving lucrative.
Going southwards, the costa below Barcelona earns its name by virtue of its beautiful swathes of fine golden sand (Dorado means gold). It may be relatively unknown to Brits, but thousands of holiday homes here are owned by Spaniards and Catalans. Surprisingly, prices do not alter a great deal between coastal and inland locations in this region.
North of Tarragosa, where the Dorado beaches join up with the Costa Brava, property prices begin to feel the Barcelona effect. It is a well developed area, already quite intensely populated, and the all-year resort of Sitges is one of its most popular, both with the gay scene and property investors. New developments are being built to satisfy strong demand from both buyers and holidaymaking tenants.
Elsewhere in the southern half of Catalonia, renovation projects with several acres of olive groves can be bought for €160,000 while the almost touched Ebro Valley (a haven for sports lovers and bird watchers) still offers bargains for Brits wanting to relocate. Neither of these markets offer buy-to-let potential, however.
Barcelona is Spain´s most expensive property region
Any investors looking to buy an apartment or villa in Costa Brava´s capital, Barcelona, needs deep pockets. Prices are not just higher than most Costa Brava property; they are higher than property prices anywhere else in Spain. The popularity of weekend breaks in Barcelona is not the only driver, although tourist demand is significant and can bring in rents of over €1,000 for apartments in good locations. Student rentals also add to this hugely strong market, and demand is expected to continue.
