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The first article explains that almost half of the existing stock of new homes on the Costa del Sol has already been sold… and there are virtually no new properties under construction. To read this article, click on: Costa del Sol new homes glut halved in 2011

The second explains that, despite hard economic times, income from tourism in the Province of Málaga continues to increase… And as we all know, the market for real estate follows on the heels of quality tourism. Click on Costa del Sol welcomes more tourists to access this article.

As the Marbella area is not the same as the rest of Spain, you may like to read our Marbella Property Market Report 2012 for a better idea of the local real estate market situation.

Last December was the busiest December we have had in our history. January has proven to be the same.

Have a look at the articles, and reach your own conclusions!

Published in Diariosur.es – 16.01.12
PILAR MARTÍNEZ | MÁLAGA

The Costa del Sol is preparing to display at the International Exhibition for Tourism (FITUR) in Madrid, and it looks like they have done their homework well! The President of the Tourist Board, Elías Bendodo, presented the final figures for 2011 yesterday and outlined that the area has managed to close a complicated year, due to the economic situation, with a 3.5% increase in the number of tourist arrivals to bring the number of visitors up to over 9.1 million. Income generated from tourism has also been stable, reaching some 8,000 million euros. “It gives me great pleasure to be able to announce these figures at a time when it is important to grow, but also to do so to these levels. Tourism is now the main industry in the province”, said Bendodo.

Based on the report, the President of the Tourist Board also pointed out that all growth indicators have risen, including those for employment, but with the exception of those representing the average length of a visitor´s stay, which has fallen from 13 days to 9, and also the budget to be spent on the trip, which has fallen from 800 to 760 euros.

Tourism represents more than 13% of the province´s GDP, a fact which Bendodo uses to justify the huge display designed for the 32nd edition of Fitur, due to open next Wednesday. At this year´s exhibition, this tourist destination will be presented as one area, with only Málaga and Torremolinos having their own separate stand, and the products will be presented by activity type. The big change this year will be the presentation of the product under the initials MAR, which stand for the cultural tourism area made up of Málaga, Antequera and Ronda, to be made by the Secretary of State for Tourism, Isabel Borrego, and the Secretary of State for Equal Opportunities, Juan Manuel Moreno.

Developers in Malaga province (home to the Costa del Sol) sold 10,000 new homes in the course of 2011, almost half the stock of 25,000 new homes on the market at the start of the year, according to the Association of Builders and Developers of Málaga (ACP).

Lower house prices have helped boost sales, and a huge drop in housing starts over the last 3 years, most acute in popular tourist resorts like Marbella, means that the housing glut is shrinking fast.

Given the long lead times in the building industry, there could be an acute shortage of new housing a couple of years from now.

Shortages will be made worse if demand recovers to its normal level of around 22,000 new homes a year, based on the size of the population. Unemployment or fear of unemployment is keeping many potential buyers out of the market.

45pc of Malaga’s 200,000 unemployed are young adults who might be first time buyers looking to start a family if they could afford to.

“Much of the blame for this sorry state of affairs lies with politicians”, says José Prado, President of the ACP. “In recent years they’ve done nothing but earn a fortune from construction and made no effort to attract investors”.

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Enclosed: 262 m2   Terraces: 32 m2   Plot: 393 m2

PRICE: €630,000

MOVE QUICKLY AND SECURE A VIEWING AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!!

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SIERRA BLANCA Ref. 06826

The Market, The Crisis

Our clients often refer to “the market” or “the crisis” in Spain in general and relate it directly to the local real estate market in Marbella.

In our opinion, and from our perspective of having been through many peaks and lows in the market since we opened our office in 1970, it is misleading to equate the market in Marbella with the real estate market in Spain. This would be an oversimplification of the market factors at play here: as in many sub-markets, there are some factors which are comparable and many others which are not.

As you no doubt have read in the press, there are almost a million unsold, new properties in Spain due to the over-construction and speculation which took place up until 2008. These properties are located in almost every single town throughout the country. Of these unsold units, 90% are priced between €100,000 and €200,000, and often include apartments in poor locations with few local amenities; the typical “concrete jungle” of high-density building in coastal areas which become ghost towns in winter; or apartment blocks in unconsolidated areas where there will be future construction, noise and dust for years. This scenario bears little or no comparison with Marbella.

What makes Marbella different from the rest of Spain?

1. There are far fewer new properties for sale in Marbella: as a result of 24 years during which our Municipal General Plan was not renewed, there was a shortage of new land being zoned for construction, hence causing a freeze in building activity. The General Plan was only just renewed in the middle of 2010.

2. Marbella is, fortunately, a market that is not only a local market, and an active local market at that, but also a regional market, a national market, and especially an international market… four markets in one.

3. Marbella is known the world over as a “Quality Destination” and quality, consolidated markets have reacted far better to the general crisis in Spain and other countries in the sense that there has been less price reduction and more market movement. Quality destinations attract the more discerning tourists, and this summer has been the best year for five-star hotel occupancy in Marbella since 2007, as well as a record monthly number in August, of 7.64 million foreign tourists in Spain itself (Diario Sur 23.09.11). There is a proven correlation between the increasing number of tourists and increasing number of real estate sales in the same area.

LOS MONTEROS PLAYA Ref. 07062

4. As much as anything else, Marbella has become a really glamorous place to live again, with an efficient, honest local administration, and with a new General Plan providing a legal security for property owners that was missing in the last decade. Marbella provides not only the glamor (if one wants it), but represents one of the cleanest, most secure places to live on the Mediterranean Coast, with excellent health care available along with its fabulous climate and 12-month season.

Recent market movement

Despite the bad economic news, there has been important market movement in the past several weeks. In the month of August 2011, usually a low month for property enquiries, Panorama had a historic record number of 178 new client enquiries from all sources. Also, we have received enquiries and made sales in the past several months from many people and previous clients who had sold their properties some years ago and who wish to come back to the “new” Marbella and buy again, taking advantage of the great opportunities there are in Marbella today.

Obviously some are deciding that the time is right to purchase here: the market appears to be getting a little stronger, but why, and especially with such overall dismal economic news? There are three basic possible reasons:

1. When the stock market goes down and a bear market is upon us like it is, many sell a good part of their portfolios and invest in property as a “safe haven”. With interest rates at historic lows, where else does one put one’s money?

2. Printing money, as governments have done in the past three years, always results in inflation. Not just right now, maybe not for a few years, but it will come in the not-too-distant future – all the professionals predict it. The best hedge against inflation is investment in well located, well bought real estate.

3. Some buyers have been waiting three years or more for prices to drop to their lowest levels and many have decided that the time is right to purchase now. This means that there is unquestionably a “pent-up” demand factor in the current market. We should not forget that the major reason for most people buying property in Marbella is the very special “life-style” that can be enjoyed here: there are clearly a lot more than purely monetary and investment considerations coming into play in purchasing a residence in an incredible area such as ours.

Where are the prices today?

As we all know, the speculative high prices throughout Spain and much of Europe peaked in 2006 and 2007 and then the “bubble” burst. Marbella is no exception to this. Actual selling prices have easily descended by 30% or more, especially in properties priced under €1,000,000. Imagine a property located in one of Marbella’s many great residential areas, priced in 2007 at between €500,000 and €800,000 – you can buy one today for somewhere between €300,000 and €500,000! And on the mountain side of the Golden Mile, between Marbella and Puerto Banús, there are apartments available from €250,000 up to several million Euros.

ANCON SIERRA Ref. 5813

The more expensive properties have also come down in price, but only much more recently. Sellers of these properties are finally accepting the fact that their properties are simply not worth, in today´s market, what they thought they were, and most are now adjusting their prices accordingly. Hence, many of the previous passive sellers have now become active sellers who simply want to “close and move on”. Even some of the higher priced, up-market properties over €3,000,000 have started to move, with somewhere between 25 and 30 having been sold so far this year, a sign not only of more flexibility in the asking prices but also a re-emergence in the marketplace of the high-end Spanish and international buyer clients.

CASCADA DE CAMOJAN Ref. 06230

In the under €2,000,000 price range there are also plenty of opportunities to purchase older properties for refurbishment. These properties are usually very keenly priced as the owners simply wish to move on and not invest further in the home, and they are usually a lot cheaper than buying a plot of land (if you can find a good one) and building on it.

NAGUELES Ref. 05679

Some properties are simply not being replaced

Because of the limited supply, we are beginning to notice that those properties being sold in the more exclusive, high-demand residential areas are not always being replaced with similar properties at similar prices. For example, last winter there were five or six sales of apartments in the highly sought-after apartment complex “Marina Puente Romano”, situated next to the Puente Romano Hotel, with real, after negotiation selling prices from €550,000 to €625,000, in the rear of the complex where the least expensive units are located. Right now we have nothing on our books in this price range in this particular development, and we have just received a new instruction at an asking price of €700,000. Why are the prices holding up there? Quality of location, limited supply, sellers who do not really need to sell and can hold out for a better price, and higher demand for these quality areas.

MARINA PUENTE ROMANO JARDIN ANDALUZ Ref. 06197

Unrealistic offers are not getting serious consideration from sellers

As a buyer, the key to a potentially effective negotiation is to offer a price (if you believe the property is worth it, based on your research and agent’s guidance) which will sound out the seller as to his bottom price but which, at the same time, will engage his interest and not be so low as to annoy him. A good agent is invaluable in this process.

We continually get “offers” from clients who view properties which might have already been reduced in their asking prices by around 30% or even more, with more room for negotiation, which are along the lines of “offer them half of their present asking price”. In fact, these are not really offers, nor have those trying to make this sort of offer really researched the market carefully, nor do we know of any who have succeeded. It is true that “cash is king” today, but real selling prices have not descended 65% from prior asking prices, as some would like to believe, nor will they ever reach these levels. Real selling prices have descended, however, close to levels of 8 to 10 years ago in many areas, less in the very prime areas where properties are not reproducible and where there are very few properties for sale.

In a Nutshell…

Despite recent activity, the essential truth of today’s market is that no property is selling which is not perceived by the buyer as a very good deal. Owners who are successful in selling are pricing their properties very aggressively, with a margin for negotiation. The good news is that there are a surprising number of buyers out there looking for the “special” property at a great price. And sales are being made in all price categories, every single day.

Big Investments are returning to Marbella

Highly illustrative of the renovated image and renewed popularity of Marbella is the tremendous vote of confidence given to the city by the recently announced €400+ million investment in an amazing port complex, to be made by a consortium headed by Sheikh Abdullah ben Nasser Al Thani of Qatar. This new facility will be located in the place of the current fishing port and marina of La Bajadilla, just below the USP clinic and within the Marbella city limits. It will be the most significant tourist facility of its kind built in the Mediterranean Basin in the last 40 years. The architects’ preliminary planning can be seen on the following link: http://jetcommunication.net/

Construction is said to begin in 2012 and the first phase should be operative within three to four years. This amazing, high tech port will comprise some 858 berths, two berths for cruise ships up to 175 meters in length, leisure, restaurant and shopping areas, a five-star hotel and underground parking for 450 cars. Good competition for Puerto Banús, and a magnificent addition to the splendor of our beautiful city!

In addition, according to press reports, an agreement for a further project to establish an International Business School in Marbella has just been signed between the Mayoress and the company Nest Investments Ltd., headed by Jordanian Ghazi Abu Nahl (Diario Sur 11.10.2011)

Average number of property buyers in 2011

Big money is in good company. Many people are buying homes in Marbella every single day. So far in 2011, there has been an average of 214 property buyers in the Marbella area (including Benahavis) every single month this year, according to the Ministry of Public Works published statistics. (http://www.fomento.gob.es/)

Why choose Marbella?

I personally chose Marbella not only because it is a great place to live, to raise my children and to exercise my family profession but also because of the phenomenal mix of cultures that co-exist here. There are many alternative residential resort locations around the world, and Marbella is certainly not for everyone. However, the important questions one should reflect upon when considering buying a second or retirement home abroad today are:

• Does it offer a 12-month season, with a wide variety of year-round cultural, leisure and sporting activities, including a wide range of golf courses within easy reach? Or is it seasonal and totally dependent on its “high-season” climate?
• Does it provide a high level of public and private services, including hospitals and health care centres?
• Infrastructures: are there good national and international transport networks? Are electricity, gas, water supplies reliable and sanitation systems efficient?
• If you have children and are thinking of residing permanently, are there international schools at hand? Does the country have any prestigious universities?
• Is it safe? Can you walk or drive around at any time of the day or night without fear? Do police support and apply civil government laws and principles which protect nationals and foreigners in the same way?
• Is there political stability to ensure that civil rights are respected no matter who is in government? Is there respect for human rights, regardless of race, creed, or gender? Does it enjoy the protection of the European Union?
• Are there other towns and cities of cultural interest within a comfortable driving distance such as we have here in Marbella, for example: Gibraltar, Málaga, Seville, Granada, Córdoba, Puerto de Santa María, Ronda, the Andalusian white villages, and the total culture change of the incredible and beautiful country of Morocco, just a ferry ride away? And snow skiing in the winter, two and a half hours distance?
• Are there over 40 golf courses within a 45-minute drive?
• Are there frequent direct flights from other major cities in Europe? Do you have a long journey by secondary roads after you arrive at the airport?
• What is the social life like? Are there public events, concerts, glamorous gala nights, “buzz” if you feel like it?

Think about it. Marbella offers all the correct answers to the above questions, and offers much more besides. How many places in the world can match the Marbella of today with respect to the above criteria?

The present municipal government is getting increasingly acknowledged as competent and efficient, with excellent local services and infrastructure, new important investment and extreme care given to environmental issues compared with the past. All these factors are clear harbingers of a brilliant future for our city. It is clear that Marbella is no longer the town that it was in the early 70’s, but what city is? Evolution is inevitable and there will be good things accompanied by the not so good. On a balance, however, few would deny that Marbella remains today among the highest quality resort cities in Europe, and looks to remain so for some time to come.

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Mr. Antonio Belón Cantos, fellow member of the Rotary Club Marbella and renowned expert in town-planning matters, has informed us that the new cadastral value assigned to properties in Marbella can now be accessed by the public. This value is the base for the application of the Annual Property Tax (IBI), Property Purchase Costs, Municipal Added Value Tax (Plusvalía), inheritance tax and gift tax.

The average increase in the cadastral value has been 300%, reaching 400% in some cases: hence this URGENT note should you need further assistance from this expert who will be pleased to look after your interests.

On 20th September, the Treasury Department, through the cadastral office, sent out notifications with a code to enable accessing this new cadastral information for properties in Marbella. If you have not received this notification or if you have received it but not accessed it with the code, you still have time to claim against the new values. For claims, kindly forward all the documentation you already have directly to Antonio (contact details for Antonio are at the end of this letter) or send him an authorization together with a copy of your DNI/NIE/CIF and copy of the last IBI receipt of each property you own in Marbella. This will enable him to obtain the said information from the relevant office, check it for potential errors, of which he has found many, and then file the corresponding claim, should the case arise. The time limit for placing a claim is 30 days after receiving the notification and accessing the information.

The cost of this service will be between €150 and €250 per property excluding building and/or land assessment, plans, property visits or any other due diligence required and which may increase the cost, depending on each particular case involved.
Many claims already filed by Antonio´s office have already had successful outcomes.

In the case of this being to your interest, please do not hesitate to contact Antonio and his team directly (Antonio and his daughter speak English):

Mr. Antonio Belón Cantos
Address: Avda. del Mar, 6-1º-A, 29602 MARBELLA
Telephone: +34 952 77 42 49
Fax: +34 952 77 22 90
e-Mail: antonio@belon.es

Regards,
Christopher Clover
Managing Director – Panorama Properties

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Candela Montero | Málaga – Updated on Sunday 11/09/2011, elmundo.es

The unsold stock of homes left over by the building boom is starting to resurface like a new wave hitting the real estate market. However, it is a wave that is gently touching the sand, but not the sand on every shore. It is mainly in Marbella where the sale of these properties is picking up. The number of homes being sold is higher in the west of the Costa del Sol than in other parts of the Málaga coast, where “we are not noticing an increase,” explained José Prado, director of the building contractors association of Málaga.

Following approval in January 2010 of Marbella’s zoning plan PGOU, which considers the legalization of around 16,500 illegally built homes, some of the developments that had been on stand-by are hanging up their “for sale” signs again.

The central government has also tried to reactivate the real estate market by means of drawing up a decree last August which reduced VAT on new housing by 4%. This measure aims to encourage the construction sector but, according to Prado, it has not yet managed to increase sales. José Rivas Burgos, secretary general for the construction sector at the trade union UGT in Málaga, agrees with this assessment and adds that the socialist executive’s initiative is “shoddy” because it only benefits the banks and “ignores working men and women.”

Rivas also states that although property sales are increasing and that the real estate market is picking up, the construction sector remains unaffected so that, in actual fact, building workers are not benefitting as new builds are practically nonexistent.
These statements are backed by Ricardo Arranz, president of the Federation of Developers and Residential Tourism, who feels that government measures to boost the market “are having practically no effect at all”, since the housing units being sold are generally re-sales, while this law only affects the purchase of newly built homes.

According to Arranz, this initiative only benefits the banks, who are now in control of the real estate market. Sales are being conducted through these lenders, who finance up to 100% of the purchase and who have reduced prices between 30% and 40%.
Banks have effectively replaced the developers who, for years, enjoyed a privileged position in the sale of property developments. Now, developers find it difficult to finance the homes, pushing buyers to negotiate directly with the banks.

In Marbella, not only are property sales increasing in the market in general but they are also on the rise in the luxury sector.

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Few people today who were not born in Marbella are aware of the enormous significance of Monsignor Rodrigo Bocanegra in the development of the town in the 50’s and 60’s, and the strength of character and accomplishments of this wonderful person to help Marbella become an outstanding place to live in those critical years.

He became the Parish Priest of Marbella at the very beginning of the era of tourism, and was renowned for his mix of traditional yet advanced social thinking.

Monsignor Rodrigo Bocanegra signing the construction contract of the Marbella Organ, ORGANO DEL SOL MAYOR, on December 29, 1971 in presence of organ builder Gabriel Blancafort (left) and Michael Reckling, promotor of the project (with drawing).

Don Rodrigo, from his arrival in the city in 1949 until his death in 1973, was the leading local figure in Marbella town, the man who united everyone to accomplish the tasks he set for himself. He was undoubtedly the major strength behind the different Mayors of Marbella during this period, who all counted on him for his support making him, in practical terms, the “Mayor behind the Mayor” for almost 25 years.

He was instrumental in trying to get financial help from the central government to build the fishing port of Marbella, and hence the livelihoods of its residents. Unfortunately, this financial help was originally turned down, but in the end, by his persistence, he achieved his goal and his efforts served as a catalyst for improvements of many other types afterwards.

Always for others, never for himself: Don Rodrigo was of the opinion that if the working classes were miserable and discontent, he would never fill his church and there would never be an atmosphere of peace within the town. As he was Confessor to María del Carmen Polo, General Francisco Franco´s wife, he decided to make use of this “direct line” and to use it to channel local petitions to “the top”. All this was done by a simple telephone call. He took to heart the local people´s interests and “fought” to maintain and improve their income and their housing (he created 250 social housing units). In this manner, and through his incredible charisma, the Monsignor was able to establish substantial financial help for Marbella which would otherwise have been treated as a small, unimportant fishing village of little or no consequence.

Monsignor Rodrigo Bocanegra with Doña María del Carmen Polo, wife of General Franco, in the Church of the Encarnation

Among the many good works he did, he created a basket making factory (esparto) to give jobs to humble women, social housing (mentioned above), a residence for senior citizens, many schools for children, the hotel Bellamar which was used to train young people in the different areas of the hotel business since tourism was starting to take off, a residence for young girls who came to Marbella to work in the hotels and restaurants, and he opened a social club next to the church for young people. Also, he was the key person for helping Jose Banús to get the necessary support in order to build the famous port which carries his name, he managed to get the financial support to build the Hotel Don Pepe and the Hotel Incosol, among others. He was also played a major part in most of the projects (public or private) in Marbella thanks to his huge influence and relationships with all the government ministers.

Monsignor Rodrigo Bocanegra with Don José Banús and Don Juan de Borbón, father of the current King Juan Carlos

The second social bridge that he built was that between the original inhabitants of Marbella and the “newcomers”. He was instrumental in creating a collaborative atmosphere between both and indeed those who are now known as the “founders” of Marbella pulled together to protect the town and its image. Low-rise buildings were certainly not imposed by either central or local governments at the time, but it was decided that it would be in the town´s, and its inhabitant´s, best interests to maintain the style and flavour of the original town as much as possible.

Thirdly, it was illegal to create and establish “associations” as vehicles for people to meet and take collective decisions. However, religious “Brotherhoods” were permitted and so Monsignor Bocanegra set up the Brotherhood of Santa Marta, in compliance with Canon Law, and it was this Brotherhood that allowed hoteliers and other society members to come together and to decide and agree on new initiatives for growth within Marbella.

The effects of Monsignor Rodrigo Bocanegra´s influence in the course of events at the time were indeed far-reaching, and it is no surprise that he was given the nickname “The Achiever” for he did indeed “achieve”: socio-economic well-being for the inhabitants of Marbella, social peace and harmony, and the unity of the local people with the “foreign” newcomers.

Monseñor Rodrigo Bocanegra driving round a golf course

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We are pleased to present a selection of 12 townhouses superbly located in the Andalusian-style village of Las Lomas Pueblo, which is part of Las Lomas del Marbella Club, Marbella’s most prestigious urbanization on the Golden Mile. Click on Las Lomas Pueblo, to see this selection.

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I met Bill Genske in fact before I moved to Spain, in 1972, when he visited our Washington office just after having bought the land and during the planning stage of his first houses. Bill and his wife Sylvia became close personal friends after we moved to Marbella in 1973, and Panorama was instrumental, over the years, in selling many of the homes that he built.

Las Lomas Pueblo, (as the name might suggest) is located in and right at the beginning of the Urbanization Las Lomas del Marbella Club, in the middle of the Golden Mile, opposite the Hotel Puente Romano, above the Mosque and adjacent to the Palace Al Riyadh, belonging to Prince Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud. See our article on Las Lomas del Marbella Club by clicking here

The concept of Las Lomas Pueblo is that of a typical, original Andalusian village with winding streets and classic traditional village house façades and patios, wrought iron on the windows, wooden shutters inside, brick fireplaces and warm sun baked clay earth tiles on the floors, in most of the homes. Many of the houses were sold off-plan, where the owner designed the interior layout in accordance with his own criteria together with Bill Genske’s team, with the exteriors left untouched from Donald Grey’s design. It is not an estate where sea views are prominent: the strength of Las Lomas Pueblo is its outstanding exterior architecture and “original village” impression coupled with its great location.

Given the age of many of the homes in Las Lomas Pueblo, most of them have been refurbished in recent years. The community is very well run and the village immaculately maintained, with a heated community pool in the autumn and spring months, clubhouse, and administration office.

The wonderful position of Las Lomas Pueblo and its proximity to the beach, some 900 meters, and to Marbella Town and Puerto Banús, adds to its attraction to make it one of the most desirable residential areas of its type in Marbella.

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Whether modern or classical in style, all of these golf properties enjoy the “best of both worlds”. Enter via Golf Villas in and close to Marbella to view these properties.

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Beaches
Where along the coast you unfold your deck chair depends on where your preferences lay. If you’re really looking for the best beaches, the Costa de la Luz offers some of the longest, whitest, finest and most peaceful stretches of sandy beach anywhere in Europe. Add sunny weather, deep blue skies and the kind of rich light that bathes the world in a golden glow, and you’ve got your beachside paradise. Ok, it’s not tropical, but then again, the drier climate is actually more pleasant and less conducive to cloudy, soggy conditions, so the beaches of Bolonia, Matalascañas and Trafalgar, to name a few, are actually pretty good competition for the Bounty-ad type scene one would hope to encounter in the Caribbean, Indian Ocean or South Pacific.

About an hour and a half’s drive from Marbella, this is a rugged, peaceful but above all, beautiful part of the world, where large stretches of sand and dune continue undisturbed. In winter, the winds and waves coming off the Atlantic batter this coast, turning it into a melancholy scene often covered in mist, but in summer that famous light shines through and the world seems at ease with itself. The blue of the sky, sea green of the water and light tan colouring of the sand complete a picture illuminated by the warm rays of the sun. Here, even the sound of children playing or dogs barking blends in with the lulling soundtrack of breaking waves and passing seagulls. You may have to bring your own picnic or get into the car to find lunch, but the beauty is that this paradise is neither spoiled nor crowded.

Kite-surfing
Not far from this heaven of peace and wellbeing is Tarifa, Europe’s kite-surfing mecca, and the centre of a hippy-surfers’ culture that blends trendiness with a sincerely laid-back demeanour. As on the Costa de la Luz, of which this is the easternmost extension, the frequently powerful winds are the only blot on an otherwise temperate horizon, but in the case of Tarifa it is exactly the winds that have made the town. Known in the past as Spain’s ‘suicide capital’, the howling winds and knocking shutters now produce a seaward scramble that involves not only local kite-surfers, but also enthusiasts from across Europe. A popular weekend destination for residents on the Costa del Sol, Tarifa brings it all together, with pretty little boutique hotels, funky cafés and restaurants, a charming old town, marvellous views across the sea to Morocco, fine white beaches and a beach bum attitude that has produced a cult following.

In summer, Tarifa is in its element, when the surfing and sunbathing are augmented by beach parties, musical events, raves and good old-fashioned chilling. If you like to kite-surf, windsurf, body board or bronze on the beach—and if you like to do it with just a touch of style—then Tarifa is the place. On a diet of water sports, reggae music, ‘herbal’ tea and goodwill to all, you’ll have a summer with a difference.

Beach Clubs
For those who are into style and sophistication, of course, there is nowhere in Andalucía quite like Marbella. With a beach for every occasion, and a suitable restaurant, chiringuito or beach club always nearby, the sophisticated beachgoer knows exactly where to go to be where it’s at. From beachside cocktail parties, launches and private events to simple beach shacks, trendy sea-fronting nightclubs, posh restaurants and old favourites, the Marbella coastline offers it all. A variety of tastes and budgets are catered for, but if you really want to do it the Marbella way, you must be willing and able to party your way through the latest, hottest nightspots, spending the day on the beach recovering from the night’s exertions.

With waiter service, a refreshing blue sea and bronzing bodies around you it can’t exactly be described as a hardship, but come early enough and you’ll see joggers and yoga instructors rather than swimming children or tanning beauties. The stretch between Puerto Banús and Marbella is particularly noted for its trendy beaches and accompanying dining and nightspots, but in recent years they have been joined by high-profile beach clubs of the kind that created a sensation in such places as Florida and the Côte d’Azur. Here, shuttles take visitors to and from their yachts directly to the pool deck, restaurant and nightclub. If techno music is not your thing and a romantic beachside dinner accompanied by live music is more to your taste, there are beach clubs that bring style and setting together to great effect, proving that in Marbella it’s not what you do, but how you do it.

Scuba Diving
No coastal analysis could be complete without a look at scuba diving. The numbers and dedication of the people who practice this sport have grown so much that they are fast becoming a sub-market within the tourist industry. In fact, divers are to water what golfers are to dry land, but whereas Andalucía is a golfer’s paradise, it is not quite as famous for its diving. It’s hard to compete with the coral reefs of the Caribbean, the Red Sea or the Barrier Reef, but if you are in southern Spain there is no reason why you shouldn’t enjoy a bit of diving.

The part of the coast that is best suited to diving is the Costa Tropical, situated about an hour and a half’s drive east of Marbella, but markedly different in character due to massive cliffs that plunge from great heights headlong into the sea. Small coves with pretty, sandy beaches and water that is both warm and aquamarine in colour create the right conditions for a diving expedition. The clarity of the water combines with the variety of things to see, from schools of fish and banks of anemones to a liberal distribution of shipwrecks. With all those Spanish Galleons down there, it would be hard to imagine there isn’t still some bullion waiting to be discovered, but these days the wrecks serve mostly as homes to a wide variety of sea creatures.

Open nature
Finally, if open nature—or for that matter, naturism—is your interest and you like to get as far away from the crowds as possible, go to the far eastern corner of the Andalusian coastline, and you will be amazed how peaceful it suddenly becomes. No cars, radios, televisions, computer games…just birds and wind. Within the sanctuary of a national park lays the practically surreal landscape of Cabo de Gata, in the province of Almería. Untouched by most tourists, save nudists, hippies and nature lovers, the Cabo de Gata offers an opportunity to get to grips with an altogether different kind of coast. There are no waiters or stylish restaurants here, not even snack bars, but surrounded by the beauty of nature and the ability to let all the everyday things go, it—like all the other sections of the coast—offers its own rewards.

© Michel Cruz

The Coastline of Andalucía by and copyright of Michel Cruz, for more information visit his web site at www.freelancewriter4u.com.

Images used in this article are copyright of Carlos Cáceres Lavergne . If you would like to purchase or see more images, please visit his web site www.carloscaceres.net.

Tourism was long vital to the local economy, not only as the main source of wealth and employment, but also as the force that lifted this once forgotten and impoverished region out of its isolation and into the modern age. It wasn’t that long ago that tourism replaced subsistence farming and fishing in places such as Marbella, Torremolinos and Sabinillas, and, drawing a parallel with Southern Italy, had it not been for tourism, large numbers of Andalusians may well have had to leave the region and seek employment in the factories of Northern Spain and Northern Europe. Fortunately, this was not necessary, and the tourism boom of the 1960s and 1970s helped create wealth and development to such an extent that it has now been superseded by other sectors, most notably residential development, as the driving force of the local economy. Have we travelled full circle to the point where tourism is in decline on the Costa del Sol, the very place it helped to create, or will tourism continue to play an important role in the years to come?

One thing is certain, tourism has come a long way on the Costa del Sol. Today, we know such places as Torremolinos and Fuengirola as high-volume, low-cost destinations that to some extent have become synonymous with the lesser aspects of tourism, but there was a time when Marbella was little more than a small fishing village and the palm-lined boulevards of Torremolinos was the place to be. Famous hotels, such as Pez Espada, played host to the likes of Jean Cocteau and Salvador Dali, while Deborah Kerr, Sean Connery and James Hunt owned properties overlooking this untamed corner of the Mediterranean. There is even an anecdote of Frank Sinatra being kicked out of the Pez Espada because he was drunk…

Those were the halcyon days, you might say, which came under threat as soon as high-rise apart hotels, tourist shops and snack bars offering English breakfast started mushrooming along the boulevards. As the mass scene hit Torremolinos and Fuengirola, the jet-set simply moved to Marbella, which became a true glam resort in its own right. Since then, the Costa del Sol and the tourist industry have been through quite a few cycles, including up and down swings, but by the early 1990s Andalucía appeared to have reinvented itself as an attractive tourist package. “We didn’t re-brand ourselves as such,” says Lynn Mitchell, International Marketing Director of the Patronato de Turismo de Málaga. “We continued to refer to such powerful iconic attributes as sun, sea and Spanish culture, but presented them in a new, fresh way, emphasising the increasing diversity and sophistication of Andalucía, and the Costa del Sol in particular, as a first-class destination.”

Gone were references to the old-style package holidays that filled the beaches. High-quality, luxury resort hotels, glamorous Puerto Banús and the fantastic climate and facilities for golf were the main drawing cards for the new boom that followed, and in addition to such classic establishments as the Marbella Club Hotel and Hotel Los Monteros, the past few years have seen the construction of many luxurious four and five-star resort hotels. With a large number of fine hotels featuring everything from suites and business centres to spas and top-class restaurants, visitors to the Costa del Sol are spoiled for choice. The offer of first-class hotels is certainly there, all with excellent facilities and fine golf courses, shopping and entertainment nearby, yet circumstances both local and international have taken the steam out of the rapid growth that the industry experienced for almost a decade. The effects of international political instability are well-documented, as is the economic slowdown experienced in much of the industrialized world, but for the Costa del Sol the reality has been one in which occupancy rates and profitability have come under pressure.

“We cannot be complacent” says Lynn “in the face of increasing competition from newly emerging destinations such as Croatia, Bulgaria, Dubai and others. The Costa del Sol is endowed with great natural and climatic advantages, including quick and easy access to the main centres in Europe, but we realise that this is not the only sunny, beautiful place within reach. Likewise, we enjoy a leading position in terms of infrastructure, facilities and services offered, but there can never be complacency in an industry that is developing as rapidly as this one.” With this, Lynn refers not only to new resort destinations, but also to the rapidly-evolving nature of the industry itself, a situation which is driven by the increasingly complex consumption patterns of travellers. “It used to be rather straightforward and predictable, with people booking en masse and well in advance through travel agents. That made planning so much easier, but now average stays are dropping, destinations are becoming more diversified, people are travelling more often and for shorter periods, and they are making last-minute bookings via the Internet.” Indeed, low-cost carriers and surfing for deals on the Internet have changed the face of the industry.

“It makes it so much harder to predict and plan, but on the other hand the new technologies provide us with excellent information as to what our visitors like, want and demand. From this we can deduce the things we need to work on to keep our pole position in international tourism and we also pick up on unsatisfied niche markets and new products that can be developed to satisfy them.” Golf has added a highly valuable winter market to the familiar formula of sun, sea, luxury resorts and water sports activities, which focus on the summer months, effectively helping to create more of a balanced, year-round season. “This is a very important factor for the tourist industry, as is the development of complimentary market segments such as winter sports in the Sierra Nevada, cultural tourism in cities such as Granada and Córdoba, and rural tourism in the villages and countryside of the interior. Even though many of those destinations are not in the province of Málaga, we work together to promote Andalucía as one destination that offers a world of variety and diversity within a relatively small area.”

With increased competition from other areas and price pressure coming from the drive to cost parity within the euro zone, it is important that the region continues to focus on the quality of its offer. “That’s true. The Costa del Sol is no longer a place you go to because it’s so cheap. Other destinations have taken over that role, but with our uniquely convenient geographical location, coupled with a very high standard of service and facilities, we have to continue to move upwards to maintain a high quality/price ratio.” Vital in this is continued investment in the infrastructure, a factor which facilitated the development of tourism here and continues to be of great importance. “Self-evaluation and being critical of our standards of service puts the emphasis not only on providing a high level of vocational training through our hotel schools, but also includes exchange initiatives in which local students go abroad for work experience and to develop their language skills in situ.”

“After almost a decade of rapid development, the international tourist trade is going through a period of transition and adaptation out of which I believe it will emerge stronger and better equipped to meet the requirements of its customers. As for the Costa del Sol, we are working hard to continue to develop the standards of facilities and service offered, as well as developing important sub-markets such as golf, incentive and conference visits, rural tourism, ecotourism, winter sports and city breaks. The latter is especially important at the moment, as we are building on the culture, setting and Picasso heritage of Málaga to realise its potential as an exciting city destination. If we succeed in building on our already strong position in these fields, the Costa del Sol can continue to enjoy growth from three sources: the international market, the domestic Spanish market and the growing resident community itself.”

© Michel Cruz

Tourism on the Costa del Sol by and copyright of Michel Cruz, for more information visit his web site at www.freelancewriter4u.com.

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The concept of racial purity, even if such a thing was ever desirable, has long since been discarded as unrealistic. As Europeans we live on a continent, which, in spite of a broader sense of cultural identity and concept of racial affinity, consists of a myriad of nations and regions, each with their own traditions and mythology about their origins. Given this diversity within our own continent, and the fact that we border two large landmasses, it is only logical to assume that all but the most isolated and remote communities could not withstand being swept into the great tidal wave of migrations that have occurred since the earliest of times.

To say that we are of ‘mixed’ background is not to detract from our national or regional identity, for it is not so much the purity of race as the precise mix of ingredients that determines our national character. Seen in this way, the people of Europe offer a fascinating living link to a distant past, yet nowhere is this as vivid as in the contact zones on the edges of the continent, where many centuries of interaction between different peoples has produced a veritable ethnic mosaic.

It takes just a stroll on the streets of Andalucía to realise that this is one of those fascinating contact zones, an area enriched by the heady mix of cultures, traditions and genes yet bound by a common sense of identity. Sure, you would expect to see all manner of humanity in as popular a tourist destination as the Costa del Sol, but the variety I am describing here refers to the local population itself. Foreigners may have their preconceptions about what Spaniards, and Andalusians in particular, look like, but in reality a crowded street could reveal the typical characteristics of Celts, Semites, Romans and Iberians, to name a few. The status of Andalucía as a magnet to people from far and wide is not a new one, and it finds itself reflected in the faces of everyday Andalusians.

The commonly held picture of an Andalusian as being a swarthy European of Mediterranean extraction may be generally true, but it does not do justice to the more exotic fair, ginger or dark looks of other Andalusians. If soaps and computer games had existed in classical times, the population of southern Spain may indeed have inherited the straight-forward Mediterranean looks of their original ancestors, the Iberians, but a combination of greed, wanderlust and hunger has brought wave upon wave of ‘immigrants’ to these shores since the beginning of recorded times. The earliest of these, Celts from Central and Western Europe, had already assimilated with the Iberians to form the so-called Celtiberian tribes by the time the first merchants started arriving from the far side of the Mediterranean. Bringing their culture, their quarrelsome character and their pale complexions to the Iberian Peninsula, they enriched the area with their artistic ability and metalworking skills, and laid the foundations for a Celtic spirit that still resonates strongly in the northern regions of Portugal and Spain. In spite of their affinity with the moist, green lands of northern Spain, however, the villages of Andalucía, too, are strewn with evidence of Celtic settlement.

Iberia really arose from the slumber of a backwater with the arrival of Phoenician and Carthaginian traders, who introduced the locals to their advanced culture. The impact of this interaction was to be so strong that it would lead to the flowering of a highly sophisticated indigenous state known as Tartessus. These Semitic people, related to the Arabs who would later sweep over much of the region, were soon followed by fellow-Semite Hebrews, seeking refuge after the great Jewish Diaspora. Together with the later Greeks they provide an eastern Mediterranean strain that, for all its importance, was to be overshadowed by the Roman contribution to the Iberian gene pool.

Keen settlers of lands across their empire, the resident Roman soldiers, administrators and merchants had largely merged with the locals to form the beginnings of the Spanish nation and provided it with its language by the 5th century AD, when the largest displacement of people Europe had ever seen was about to begin. Like a ripple effect in a pond, the uneasy stirrings of Mongol tribes far away across the Eurasian landmass had a domino effect that was to signal the end of the Roman Empire and change a continent for good. The Mongols displaced Turkic tribes westwards, who in turn pushed Slavs into Germanic lands where the disorder and population pressure caused a mass-movement that broke the defences of the Roman Empire and sent hordes of warlike Germanic tribes spilling into Southern Europe. There they swept all before them and established warrior kingdoms that competed with one another.

By the eve of the Muslim invasion of the Iberian Peninsula, in 711 AD, the Visigoths, Suevi and Vandals had started to integrate with the local population, but another mass-migration was about to disturb the balance once more. Like the Germanic warlords, the Arab rulers of Andalucía may not have been as numerous as their power would suggest, but it is clear that, together with Berbers from North Africa, they did make an impact not only on many elements of Andalusian culture but also on its ethnic composition. When, after seven centuries of fighting, the Christians drove the Muslims from their last vestige in Granada, they attempted to secure the region by expelling Moors, Berbers and Jews from Spain. In what would today be called ethnic cleansing, they replaced the former conquerors with immigrants from northern Spain but overlooked the Gypsies who had moved into the country during the Middle Ages.

In spite of the fact that these dark-skinned nomads escaped expulsion, they would never quite assimilate, unlike those descendants of the Moors who converted to Christianity and melted into the mainstream. If this long and often bloody journey has shaped the Spanish people, both physically and culturally, and explains how it is possible to spot blond, swarthy, pale, ginger, aquiline-nosed and exotically dark Andalusians within a single glance, our own times seem set to usher in a whole new chapter in the population make up of this fascinating region.

© Michel Cruz

The Ethnic Diversity of Andalucía by and copyright of Michel Cruz, for more information visit his web site at www.freelancewriter4u.com.

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4 bedrooms
3 bathrooms
Built m2: 360
Plot m2: 820

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Published in laopiniondemalaga.es 19.04.2011

JOSÉ VICENTE RODRÍGUEZ. MÁLAGA The price of both new builds and resale homes in Málaga continues to drop at a fast rate as a result of extremely low demand, and is now back to pre-2005 levels, that is to say, before the real estate bubble began to inflate. According to figures released by the Public Works Ministry, the price of homes at the end of the first quarter of 2011 was 1,826 euros per square meter: 22.3% less than the all-time high of 2,348 euro exactly three years ago, in early 2008. This difference of over 522 euros per square meter is equivalent to a reduction of over 41,000 euros for an average 80-square-meter apartment. What’s more, the rate of falling prices has not slowed down in recent years: in 2010 alone the drop was 8%.

In Málaga, the fall in prices since 2008 is notably superior to the Spanish average (15.4 %), and is also the highest in the country on a provincial level, including Madrid which stands at 21.5%. However, in the country’s capital the actual difference in prices was greater, falling from 3.004 euros to 2.360 per square meter.

Estepona and Marbella in freefall

The sharpest price drops in the west of the coast were recorded in Estepona, with prices falling nearly 40%, and in Marbella by 28.6%. The most notable case is that of Estepona, where the square meter, which once registered a maximum of 2,939 euros, fell to 1,767 euros. That 1,200-euro difference makes the average home up to 96,000 euros cheaper. In Marbella, with a 28.6% drop, the square meter fell by 800 euros and now stands at 2,023 euros. In other coastal municipalities, including Málaga city, prices fell between 24% and 29%. Further inland, towns like Ronda, Antequera or Alhaurín de la Torre recorded price reductions of under 20%.

Newly built homes experienced the greatest plunge in prices since 2008 – according to the Public Works Ministry, those units under two years old fell from highs of 2,545 euros per square meter in late 2010 to 1,933 euros (-24.1%). That 612 euro difference means that an average home now costs nearly 49,000 euros less than in 2008.

But, what about figures for the first quarter of 2011? A ministry spokesperson explained that the number of valuations carried out on new homes in Málaga in the first quarter was so low (just 53) that it was impossible to update the figure, although presumably it has gone down. Only Estepona, Málaga and Vélez had a minimum of 10 valuations. In Rincón, Ronda and Antequera there were none in these three months. The Association of Building Contractors and Developers of Málaga (ACP) said that until excess stock is sold, very few new homes will be put up on the market.

In the resale market, the trend is similar. Apartments that used to cost nearly 2,250 euros per square meter in 2008 are now going for 1,734 euros (in this case, the figure is for the first quarter of 2011). This represents nearly a 23% reduction, or 41.200 euros for the average home.

In Spain, the price of unsubsidized housing fell faster in the first quarter of 2011, hitting 1,777 euros per square meter, similar to pre-2005 figures.

Prices at 2002 levels?

Experts agree that prices must continue to fall in 2011 in order to shake off the “inflation” resulting from the real estate bubble. In Málaga, this additional reduction should be somewhere between 5% and 10%, placing the overall drop to more than 30% in relation to 2008 highs. Building Contractors, however, reject that possibility and claim that prices have bottomed out and are now at mortgage-level prices. What’s more, a few days ago they even said that if sales picked up– a very unlikely event– prices would begin to rise.

Other experts like Fernando Encinar, head of research at the real estate portal idealista.com, support the price drop theory and note that the price of a square meter could descend to 2002 levels in Madrid, Barcelona and coastal areas like Málaga. Julio Gil, co-director of the course for master’s degree in real estate business of the university UNED, thinks it is necessary to reinstate initiatives that will stimulate demand, such as tax deductions for those purchasing their main residence, which the Government eliminated on December 31 for people with incomes above 24,000 euros.

On the other hand, José Antonio Pérez, a professor at the business school Instituto de Práctica Empresarial (IPE), said that figures proved that the re-adjustment stage has been completed and that prices are even beginning to rise in tourist areas.