Further improvements to the Costa del Sol's infrastructure to drive investments upwards in 2018

A wealth of reports have emerged since the start of the new year with positive data regarding the Spanish property market in 2017. Forecasts for the year ahead conclude that the outlook for 2018 in Andalucía is undeniably rosy, particularly with further improvements to the region’s infrastructure to help withstand demand and attract further investments.

A new train line running from Malaga airport to Marbella and Estepona is expected to be launched within a 10 year period, as Spain’s economy continues to grow and more capital is being freed up to invest in its infrastructure.

The latest draft plan for land on the Costa del Sol proposes that a light railway should run alongside the present A-7 dual carriageway. The draft document is a planning blueprint for the next 20 years and was presented last week at a conference in Ojén, attended by the region government’s minister for the Environment and Land Regulation, José Fiscal.

Propositions included in the document regarded mobility, with suggestion to make the AP-7 toll free all along the Costa del Sol, in order to encourage more drivers to opt out of using the coastal highway. It also details plan to build new access points to the highway to allow a direction connection in Benahavís, Istán, the Costa del Sol hospital (Marbella), Elviria (Marbella), La Cala de Mijas and Fuengirola.

It also suggests that a tram, or light railway, should run alongside the present A-7 dual carriageway, which would become a metropolitan boulevard for slow traffic.

Mijas town hall is also set to launch three roadwork projects valued at a total of more than €1.5 million, and announced plans for a new bridge across the A-7 in Las Lagunas, at an estimated cost of €400,000. Officials last week opened the bids for the contracts on the projects, with the winning companies to be announced soon.

In a recent report published by market analysts of Price Waterhouse Coopers and the Urban Land Institute, 'Tendencies in the European Property Market in 2018', Spain will likely see similar sales and price rises in 2018 as last year. Underpinning these expectations is the growth of the national economy, and an increase in demand for residential property in Spain. Further, prices are yet to reach peak levels, making Spain a very lucrative market for investors in residential property.