Now is the time to invest in the Costa del Sol

Forget Bulgaria, Morocco, Brazil, The Dominican Republic and all the other exotic places being touted as the places to invest in property. The Costa del Sol currently offers real value for money and genuine potential for capital growth in the medium term.

Spain has always been, and will continue to be, one of the most popular holiday and retirement locations in view of the political stability of the country and ease of access being a mere 2 to 2 ½ hour flight from many cities in Europe. In fact it has been easier and quicker to get to the Costa del Sol from the U.K. than from some other parts of Spain.

However, this is now about to change as new High Speed Rail links, due to commence by the end of this year, bring the cities of Madrid and Barcelona within easy reach of Malaga City, the gateway to the Costa del Sol, and will offer a genuine alternative to flying.

Starting on the 23rd December the AVE High Speed train will cover the journey from Madrid to Malaga in 2.5 hours and the link from Madrid to Barcelona which begins on the 21st December will mean that you will be able to travel to Malaga from Barcelona in 6 hours, including a one hour stop over in Madrid. This will be vast improvement on the current journey time of around 13.5 hours.

Adrian Head of New Ventures Spain said “ we are already experiencing increased interest in properties from residents of these two major Spanish Cities as well as from Cordoba which will also benefit from the new rail links.” Adrian added “although the train times are still longer than flight times by the time you consider the hours spent in airports for security checks, baggage collection on arrival and flight delays, the train is probably not any slower and will allow more luggage to be carried as well. And there are other factors. The rail link from Malaga along the Costa del Sol currently ends at Fuengirola. It is intended that this will be extended to Estepona providing easy access to all the resorts throughout the Costa del Sol either for visitors arriving by train to Malaga or flying to the airport where there is already a railway station.”

Prices in the Costa del Sol have been falling and bargains are to be had. Adrian says “ we can offer two bedroom apartments with two bathrooms on a complex with parking and community pools for as little as 175,000 euros (around 120,000 pounds) and we were recently offered a villa in a prime location valued at 1.9 million euros for just over 1million euros. These sorts of properties will not be around for long and with increased capacity at Malaga airport and new routes opening up, including direct flights to Moscow all year round starting at the end of October, we expect renewed interest from here as well.”

The message is clear. If you want to invest in a safe proven market the Costa del Sol cannot be ignored but don’t leave it too late or you may miss the boat or should that be the train!

Article written by Prestige Homes & Holidays

2008 Property Hotspots – Singapore and Bulgaria

The latest Knight Frank Global Price Index reveals that growth in residential property markets around the world is slowing. On an un-weighted basis prices globally rose by 8.2% per annum to Q3 2007 compared to 9.6% 12 months earlier. Rising interest rates have been a major factor in slowing house price growth, together with the tightening of lending criteria seen in many European countries.

The latest release of the Knight Frank Global house price index shows considerable changes from those seen in recent quarters, where the pattern of strong growth in Baltic markets was becoming almost routine. Latvia has been firmly knocked off the top spot by the recent EU newcomer – Bulgaria. Despite numerous concerns over the level of oversupply in a number of locations within Bulgaria – notably the winter ski resort of Bansko and selected coastal resort locations – Bulgaria has supplanted the previously top performing Baltic hotspot at the top of the Knight Frank league. Else where in Europe, German prices have continued to fall, where they Scandinavian market has remained robust.

US Property Bargains

The US housing market is in a slump, no one would question that, but a slump offers bargains as well as disasters. What was an un-affordable property just a year or so ago, may well now be within reach and many real estate investors are on a bargain hunt at the moment.

The slump is likely to continue for the next year or so at least, so don’t expect a quick “flip,’ at the moment. But for those with patience and the cash to weather the storm, the US domestic market is looking like a good long term investment. So where are the bargains to be had?

Some areas are holding up better than others and certain parts of the country have seen a much slower downturn in prices. New York, Manhattan, is still seeing record prices in the luxury condo sector for instance and some new developments in Chicago and Philly are still managing to sell out in the pre-building phase.

Others have not been so lucky. Florida for instance is seeing the highest levels of foreclosures in history. Look to Florida for a bargain or two. The only problem with Florida is the market there is likely to be slowest to recover so it will have to be sat on for some time. Even then it is unlikely to rebound to the sort of levels seen just a few years ago when flippers and overzealous real estate agents managed to push prices up to unrealistic levels. Much of California urban development suffers the same problem.

Our recommendations? Charlottesville, VA; Austin and Houston, TX; and Durham, NC. These markets have seen less recent damage, but are all forecast to grow at reasonable levels in the short to mid term. Foreclosures in most areas can also offer substantial savings, but, once again, don’t expect to be able to flip it for a quick profit.