Why is Costa Blanca property so popular with British investors and holidaymakers?
The Valencia region is home to Spain’s greatest concentration of Brits. More than 100,000 are estimated to have bought Costa Blanca property, but they are not the only foreigners buying up Valencia villas and Benidorm or Alicante apartments. In some areas, nearly three-quarters of Costa Azahar and Costa Blanca property is owned by expats, most of them Brits and Germans, attracted by the varied coastline, 320 days of sunshine each year, and plenty of cheap flights from the UK. The wide range of Costa Azahar and Costa Blanca property must also be a great appeal.
What to see and do when living in a Costa Blanca property or renting a Valencia villa.
The resorts of the Costa Blanca require no introduction. They nearly all offer a full range of amenities and facilities, especially for watersports and tennis, while golf enthusiasts can usually find a selection of superb courses within striking distance of their Alicante apartment or Valencia villa. The nightlife is great, too. Benidorm, for example, claims to have more than 1000 restaurants and a few dozen nightclubs.
By contrast, resorts along the Costa Azahar (which takes its name from its orange blossom groves), tend to be rather more sedate and genteel. They may also lack some of the amenities of those in neighbouring Costa Blanca. Property buyers here are often Spanish, German and British retirees.
Away from the resorts, however, visitors staying in Costa Azahar and Costa Blanca property find sleepy historical villages and wonderful mountain scenery. Among the must-see sights of the Valencia region are the Caves of Canalobre some 15 miles from Alicante, the World Heritage rated cave paintings of Cova del Cavalls in Tirig, the pretty mountain village of Guadalest, the castles of Elda and Villena, and the ruins of Roman Sagunt.
The city of Valencia itself is always worth a visit, too. Buyers of Valencia villas and flats are attracted to Spain’s third largest city mainly for its outdoor lifestyle, energetic nightlife and exuberant festivals, especially Las Fallas (March). It has some impressive monuments and some good museums including the national ceramics collection. Its newest attraction (for buyers of Valencia villas as well as renters of apartments) is the Arts and Science Park, a wonderfully futuristic complex that contains a planetarium, an IMAX dome and the largest oceanarium in Europe. The city is also famous for giving the world Paella, a substantial dish of saffron-flavoured rice mixed with meats, seafood, vegetables and beans, and Horchata, a milky drink made from almonds and served ice cold in the summer.
In the region’s smaller city of Alicante, apartment and villa owners can visit the vast Moorish castle of Santa Barbara, which offers superb views of the city, and stroll the impressive palm-lined Esplanada de Espana.
The market for Costa Blanca property
There are two distinct regions in which to buy Costa Blanca property. South of Alicante, apartment blocks are generally high-rise and offer basic accommodation to folks whose every holiday need is satisfied by finding British pubs, fish and chip shops and Bingo halls beneath a sunny sky. Running northwards, the quality of Costa Blanca property is restored north of Benidorm (the most intensely developed of the resorts), and investors are more likely to include Spanish second homebuyers as northern Europeans.
Differences in prices tell their own story. In the posher northern third of Costa Blanca, property is considerably more expensive than in the southern section. The resort of Javea, for example, is within a national park. Here, a two-bedroomed apartment would typically sell for about €200,000 while a four-bed villa would be priced upwards of €550,000.
Head south of Alicante, apartments and villas of the same size in Torrevieja (known as Tory to the Brits who make up nearly 40% of the population) would set you back a more modest €100,000 and €245,000 respectively. Tory has some of the cheapest Costa Blanca property available but prices are increasing in line with steady demand fuelled by new golf courses and a new wave of property development.
In nearly all coastal locations along the Costa Blanca, property is easy to rent out during the summer, usually for short lets, but owners struggle to find tenants during the winter months.
Inland, the town of Elche is ticking all the right boxes for many Costa Blanca property investors. Hot on eco-tourism, cheaper than the resorts and with good train connections, Elche also has an international school for the children of relocators.
The market for Valencia villas and apartments on the Costa del Azahar
Continuing northwards from Costa Blanca, property investors in the Costa del Azahar find Valencia villas and smart lower-rise apartment complexes are more the order of the day.
While foreigners may be taking over in the Costa Blanca, property in Costa Azahar has tended to be the preserve of Spanish investors. However, a thriving market cannot remain secret too long! Valencia villas and apartments have experienced the most growth but still represent excellent value for money. A two-bed city centre apartment costs from €150,000 while a four-bed Valencia villa some 20 minutes outside the city would cost from €245,000. A city centre location would add another €100,000 to the cost of a Valencia villa.
Rental property is in demand all year round in this vibrant Spanish city. Long term flat lets, especially to students, are buoyant (and bring in about €450 a week for a two-bed apartment) but rented Valencia villas are also in demand for executives and tourists.
Along the coast itself, current hotspots are found in the more northerly resorts of Alcossebre, Peniscola and Vinaros.
Interest in Costa Azahar and Costa Brava property remains high.
In the twelve months to June 2006, prices of Valencia villas, Alicante apartments and all other kinds of Coast Azahar and Costa Blanca property increased by an average of 10%, according to the Spanish Ministry of Housing. The market for Valencia villas and flats, particularly has seen terrific interest (and healthy price increases) while along the already well-developed coast around Alicante, apartment and villa construction continues in response to high demand.
