As prices fall, there are bargains to be had among golfing properties on the Costas
GOLF is the game on Spain’s Costa Del Sol, with more than 40 courses between Malaga and Gibraltar, many of them with upmarket housing around. Despite the cooling property market in Spain, British buyers are still finding that purchasing a property there not only gives them a chance to escape to the sunshine and play, but also offers a sound investment.
You can still get a lot of sun-drenched Spanish hacienda for your money away from the coast, but prices around Marbella – the Beverly Hills of Spain’s Costa Del Sol – have soared in recent years and are on a par with England. The slump in the UK property market has put the brakes on the local market, however. Property prices are now falling and there are bargains to be had, say agents.
You can pick up a front-line two-bedroom, two-bathroom resale flat overlooking the 18-hole Santa Maria Golf Course, between Calahonda and Marbella, for E216,000. The original price of the high specification 98 square metre apartment, built in 2003 with marble floors, a fully integrated kitchen and air-conditioning, was £193,000, according to estate agent European Villa Solutions. Similarly, a nearby three-bedroom townhouse with a plunge pool – on the market 18-months ago at E620,000 – has a price tag of E428,000.
Prices may not have bottomed out yet, but provided you can secure a good deal it could be worthwhile. Golf-based homes attract a year-round rental income; other advantages include cheaper green fees, 24-hour security and the knowledge that the view outside your window cannot be built on. It is a glamorous location, with good restaurants and scores of golf courses and you can play in the sun all year round. You can also swim in the Mediterranean, go windsurfing in Tarifa or skiing in the Sierra Nevada all in one day. Seville is a two-hour drive, Granada an hour.
Sales are holding up further west at Sotogrande, the elite 4,400-acre golfing estate, with its mimosa-fringed courses, a 20-minute drive from Gibraltar airport. Two new golf courses are being built at La Reserva de Sotogrande, including the championship 18-hole Cabell Robinson course, which is complete. Other courses include Valderama, Almenara and the Real Club de Golf. At Los Cortijos de La Reserva, a new development of luxury villas and townhouses is taking shape close to the new clubhouse. Two and three-bedroom townhouses with large gardens are selling from plan prices from E500,000 (£337,837).
Larger detached villas enjoying panoramic south-westerly views over the fairways to the sea, fetch from E900,000 to E1.4m (£608,108 to £945,945). Owners at La Reserva are entitled to discounted golf club membership.
Costa Calida
Buyers priced out of the Costa del Sol are moving to the Costa Calida, nearby Murcia San Javier airport, which will soon have golf courses wall-to-wall. The Costa Calida enjoys the warmest, driest weather on the Spanish mainland. It has an average temperature of 20C, 320 days sunshine a year, fewer than 40 days of rain a year and a sea temperature which rarely falls below 18C.
The La Manga Club has three 18-hole championship golf courses, a 25-minute drive from Murcia airport. Another 10 courses are being built in the area and others are planned. A new leaseback scheme has just been launched at La Manga Club, managed by the Hyatt International. Called Las Lomas Village, the development includes 171 traditional Spanish “pueblo” style townhouses and apartments, priced from E283,600 (£191,216) for a one-bedroom flat, through Pure International.
All the properties are offered fully furnished and equipped for letting. Owners are guaranteed an annual rental return of 4.5% net for five years and there are no service charges or outgoings. They may use their property throughout the year, subject to availability, but the cost will be deducted from their annual rental income.
Some attractive property buys are to be found along the southern reaches of the Costa Calida around the old harbour town of Mazarron. The coast is lined with sandy beaches and coves, largely undiscovered by the tourist hordes that flock to La Manga’s Mar Menor coast further north. South of Bolnuevo, towards Aguilas, you will find 30-miles of unspoilt beaches and the Cope-Calnegre National Park.
There are many new resorts proposed and in the planning stages in the Mazarron area, including El Pinar De San Gines at La Azohia, an unspoilt fishing village, surrounded by long sandy beaches and bordered by the Sierra Espuna National Park. Air-conditioned apartments with fully integrated kitchens and stunning sea views start at £150,000, through UK agent Headlands International. Facilities include landscaped communal gardens and swimming pools.
Hacienda del Alamo Golf Resort is the first to have an 18-hole championship golf course opened and playable, however. More than 500 villas have also been sold and completed. Hacienda Del Alamo has just been launched as “the new number one in Spain”, a tough title to live up to, but it has already been dubbed the new La Manga Club, which is just 20 minutes away.
A further 3,000 luxury villas are planned and 400 apartments already under construction. The contract for a second 18-hole golf course has just been signed. It is a 25-minute drive from the beaches of Mazarrron and is built on an unusually large plot. Land is cheaper away from the coast and Hacienda del Alamo offers properties up to l,500 square metres in size. The price of a detached three bedroom villa, with its own swimming pool, garage and garden, starts at E497,000 (£335,810).
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