Marbella in driving seat of Spain's property market recovery

Marbella’s property market has picked up faster than any other Spanish region.

Data from Spain’s National Statistics Institute (INE) has revealed that the number of property transactions in Marbella increased by 28 per cent in 2014 – a higher rise than any other area of the country.

According to the Ministry of Development, the rate of transactions in Marbella last year was also 12 per cent higher than 2007, and growth in the market has been more rapid than even Madrid, Barcelona or any of the Balearic islands…

This data marks the third year in a row that Marbella’s property market has increased its number of real estate transactions, following a decline of around eight per cent in 2011.

According to INE, there were more than 3,990 residential property transactions in Marbella in 2014, up from 3,200 in 2013.

The data reveals that 2006 remains the peak year for property sales in Marbella, when nearly 4,500 residential real estate transactions were recorded in and around the resort.

Today, Marbella’s longstanding attractions remain as strong as ever, and as confidence returns to the wider property market – across the Costa del Sol and many other parts of Spain – it is only natural that Marbella leads the way.

The resort’s mix of luxurious villas, affordable apartments, stylish townhouses and glamorous penthouses ensures that it appeals to a wide variety of buyers, many of which hail from the UK, Ireland, Scandinavia and Germany.

And although the recent recession scared away many would-be buyers, tourists and visitors to the Costa del Sol, Marbella’s status as an internationally renowned resort shielded it somewhat from the depression, meaning the market had less ground to make up when the recovery began to take hold in late 2013.

Throw in the year-round warmth, the excellent infrastructure, the bars, clubs and restaurants of Puerto Banús and the exceptional family-friendly sports, leisure, education and healthcare facilities, and Marbella offers you the complete package – an ideal expat destination, retirement location or home from home for those lucky enough to be able to afford a holiday property in this most beautiful of resorts.

Taken as a whole, property transactions across the entire Costa del Sol region have increased by 89 per cent since 2008 – the year widely regarded as the slowest in recent decades in terms of property changing hands.