A long and sizzling summer has come to an end and it has been the most uplifting one in years. It is true that Marbella is always beautiful in the sunshine regardless of what the economic climate is like, but this year the mood was distinctly elevated among residents and visitors as they strolled along the waterfront paseo or enjoyed a refreshing drink and tapas at one of Marbella’s many chiringuitos, bars and restaurants – which were packed every day.
It is little wonder they were full, with tourism figures up by 7.3% on 2013, according to Spanish property market expert Mark Stücklin of Spanish Property Insight. A record 28 million people visited Spain in the first six months of 2014, and having seen the numbers flocking to the Marbella area during July and August we can only imagine that the number of visitors for the full year will be significantly higher too. Within this, Andalucía still ranks among the top three places to visit in Spain along with the Canary Islands and Catalonia.
Spain is also in the top 10 places to retire, according to the Global Retirement Index. Panama may currently be considered the number one destination for retirees worldwide, but when you consider the lengthy flights that Europeans have to take to get there, there’s no doubt that it’s main attraction is among Americans and that Spain remains an attractive place for Europeans to retire to. Plus, we have an excellent healthcare infrastructure here, which is important for all ages.
This increase in visitors has also translated into a strong revival in property sales and we’re delighted to note that Málaga is leading Spain in the number of sales. In April to June of this year the region had a 9.6% growth in sales, the majority of them in the resale market rather than new built homes. Some 13% of the sales were to foreign buyers led by the British and French.
We’d like to take this opportunity to remind English-speaking buyers that we offer a comprehensive legal support service for property buyers and have many years experience in helping our clients successfully complete real estate transfers. Not only will we take you through every step of the process, we will also communicate with you in clear English. You can read all about the process of buying a property in Spain in our handy free booklet, which you can download here.
Of course, we Marbellî are very fortunate: we may have left the summer behind, yet we can look forward to autumn and winter sun. We hope we can also look forward to a further rise in the good fortune that Marbella has been experiencing of late.