Final Sales At The Luxury ‘La Zagaleta’ Development

23 February 2015 – El Mundo

An agreement has been reached between the complex owner and investors to launch new properties.

Property prices in this development range between €1 million and €16 million.

Potential buyers enjoy the minimum legal IBI rate in this precious enclave.

“Few residential developments offer such a high level of exclusivity in Spain”.

Luxury, exclusivity and virtually airtight privacy. Those are the characteristics of the homes in La Zagaleta, a genuine Marbellan development only a few buyers can afford, which has successfully avoided the punches thrown by the crisis. Today, the supply of newly built properties has been exhausted and so to gain access to the urbanisation, buyers have to resort to the resale market for the contemporary properties.

However, to satisfy the booming demand for La Zagaleta, new investors have arrived in the precious residential complex and they have reached an agreement with the owners of the urbanisation to market and promote more than twenty plots. “We are designing a strategic plan that will allow us to jointly launch five or six high-end villas in 2016”, announced Sergio Azcona, Press Director at La Zagaleta.

This agreement paints a very encouraging picture for the enclave, since it will ensure a constant supply in the area and will maintain the highest standards of quality. “This is good news for the market, which is experiencing a relative scarcity of new, high-end properties and whose supply mainly comprises traditional, older houses, which normally need refurbishing”, added Stephen Lahiri, Director of Lucas Fox’s office in Marbella. The real estate company has recently completed two of the most significant sales in the area for €7 million and €12 million, respectively.

“Few urbanisations offer such a high level of exclusivity in Spain”, said Lahiri. The properties in La Zagaleta meet the highest standards in terms of construction, architecture and security, which is extremely appealing and therefore results in high demand. For the most part, the price of the houses marketed by Lucas Fox comfortably exceeds one million euros and sometimes can reach up to €16 million. As well as these characteristics, the low construction density over the 900-hectare plot is another appealing feature, which means that the homes are surrounded by lush vegetation and enjoy views of the Mediterranean, Gibraltar and Africa.

“We have two 18-hole golf courses and we offer a personalised service with a team of 120 multilingual professionals who meet the needs of clients 24 hours a day”, said Azcona.

Buyers are aged between 40 and 50

The local real estate companies have noted an increase in the number of requests (for properties) in the Marbella area, where the volume of transactions is again close to its 2007 levels. Moreover, there has been a change in the demographic: buyers are generally younger than they were at the start of the Noughties, with the average age now ranging between 40 and 50 years.

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“In terms of the method of payment for the properties, given the current difficulties involved in financing a real estate transaction, more and more clients are choosing to buy without taking out a mortgage”, said Lahiri. Therefore “it is no surprise that prices have returned to more realistic figures as buyers return (to the market)”. “Above all”, he adds “in areas considered to be the best in Europe for living and owning a luxury property”.

Favourable Tax (Conditions)

The potential buyers in La Zagaleta cannot ignore the great appeal of the tax rate, since in this urbanisation – just like in many other towns in the area – the Property Ownership Tax (Impuesto sobre Bienes Inmuebles or IBI) rate is at its legal minimum, something which “along with its special location has meant that (the development) has barely suffered during the crisis”, concludes Azcona, who states that “the indicators suggest that values, and therefore prices, are going to be updated in the short and medium term”.

Original story: El Mundo (by Pablo Ramos)

Translation: Carmel Drake