New builds leading the way for Costa del Sol property market

New builds leading the way for Costa del Sol Property Market

Estepona, Málaga and Marbella are leading the way as the Costa del Sol property market continues its resurgence.

The first quarter of 2018 say 1,614 new projects approved in the province of Málaga, 15.5% up on the same period of 2017 and the best data for Q1 in ten years, according to the Málaga College of Architects.

This renewed confidence from developers and financing banks can be taken as confirmation that the trend of rising real estate sales seen in the past few years is likely to continue, with a robust market seeing steady price gains. The low point for new development in the province came in 2014 when just 798 building licences were granted in the entire year. At the time there was still a large stock of empty new-builds from the pre-2008 building boom.

This has largely been cleared now, particularly in the most popular parts of Marbella and the New Golden Mile towards Estepona, where the demand for new build villas and apartments for sale is outstripping supply.

The municipalities with the largest number of home projects approved in the first quarter of 2018 were Málaga (482), Estepona (223), Marbella (172), Benahavís (140) and Casares (135). Significant figures also include Fuengirola (67), Rincon de la Victoria and Nerja (both with 65), Manilva (49) and Alhaurín de la Torre (49).

The dean of the College of Architects, Francisco Sarabia, speaking to La Opiníon de Málaga newspaper, said that the data is "positive" and that the college remains optimistic, particularly following the gains seen in the real estate market in recent times.

He added: "Sustained growth continues to be consolidated and we are confident that the trend will continue that way." He explained that it is the coastal districts that are driving the new-build property market, which he thinks should see some 6,000 projects approved by the end of 2018.

In the medium term, the architects believe that the goal for the province should be to grow each year and reach an annual volume of around 25,000 housing approvals in five years' time.

Of the total number of units approved in Q1, 388 were for single-family homes collectively worth around €70.8 million, and 1,224 are multi-family, with a budget of €134.6 million.

In terms of home completions, the first quarter of 2018 saw a rise of 80% in the number of residential units finished, compared to the same period in 2017. In total, 905 properties were completed between January and March.