Andalucian property market a safe bet with double digit rises

Property purchase transactions and mortgage loan approvals continue to increase in Spanish regions favoured by British and other foreign expatriates. According to Spain's Statistical Office, the total number of mortgages in April increased by 34 per cent over the same period in 2017.

Andalucia recorded the second-highest number of loans after Madrid, with a total of 5,154 loans. Mortgage amounts across Spain also increased by over nine per cent, with an average of €123,256 loaned by Spanish financial institutions for property purchases last quarter.

Overall, property prices rarely hit double-digit growth outside of Madrid, even in regions where demand exceeds supply in popular coastal regions. However, house prices have now increased to double digits in coastal areas such as Malaga, Alicante, Ibiza and Mallorca, due to the substantial increase in foreign demand. British buyers are still the leading nationality of investors in Spanish property, despite the uncertainty of the ensuing Brexit.

In Andalucia specifically, Mijas is currently leading the market in terms of price rises on the Costa del Sol, rising by 13.4% between the third quarter in 2017 and 2018. Fuengirola saw price increases of 11.9% and Torremolinos of 10.9%. Property in Marbella, while it continues to have the highest price levels in the region (2,069 euros per square metre), stagnated in this last quarter, though the area has now almost reached pre-crisis levels already (an increase of 31.4% post-crisis).

Property experts expect growth to continue at a sustainable rate, but has a long way to go before it reaches the heights of the last boom period pre-2008.

For prospective expatriate investors in property in Spain, the current climate is one of certainty and growth. British buyers should aim to search for a suitable property by the beginning of 2019 in order to avoid the anticipated sterling/euro exchange rate crash when Britain leaves the EU next March.