Tag: British buyers

Taylor Wimpey España Invests €68M in Several Developments on the Costa del Sol

30 October 2018 – Eje Prime

Taylor Wimpey España is going for gold on the Costa del Sol. The Spanish subsidiary of the British real estate group, which specialises in second homes for foreigners, has invested €68 million in the launch of several residential developments along the coast of Málaga.

The company has started construction of projects such as Horizon Golf, a complex comprising 55 terraced houses in Mijas; Grandview, a complex comprising sixty lofts and apartments, also in Mijas; Green Golf, a residential development comprising 48 terraced houses in Estepona; and Pier Sotogrande, a residential complex comprising 64 apartments in Sotogrande, in Cádiz.

Taylor Wimpey España’s developments are mainly aimed at British buyers looking for second homes right by golf courses. In fact, Málaga and Cádiz account for more than 71% of all the golf courses in Andalucía, according to a report from New Trends in Golf Tourism: vision to 2020, compiled by the Confederation of Entrepreneurs of Andalucía (CEA), in collaboration with the Ministry for Tourism and Sport.

Spain is still the preferred destination for Brits to buy a home, as highlighted by the UK embassy. There are around 300,000 British people in the whole of Spain and “they are still the main overseas buyers of homes, accounting for 15% of the total”, said Marc Pritchard, Director of Sales and Marketing at Taylor Wimpey España.

In the ranking of overseas nationalities who purchase homes in Spain, the British outrank the French, who account for 8.64%; the Germans (7.77%); the Belgians (6.39%); and the Swedish, who remain as historical investors, accounting for 6.38%.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

Savills & HomeAway: 60% of Second Homes are Bought to Let

17 September 2018 – Eje Prime

Buying a second home with the objective of putting it up for rent. Currently, that is the main reason why more than 60% of owners around the world acquire an asset of that kind, according to a study prepared by Savills and HomeAwayTM.

“In a low-interest rate environment, investors look for assets that generate income”, says Paul Tostevin, associate director at Savills and the person responsible for the report. The situation has changed in recent years, given that, for example, at the beginning of the 2000s, only 14% of second homes were purchased with the objective of letting them and not for personal use. During the credit crisis, that figure increased to 19%.

The average purchase price of a second home in the Spanish market was €245,000 in 2017. Nowadays, almost 40% of owners obtain profits from their properties and approximately 30% partially cover the expenses associated with the asset.

In terms of the location of the asset, less than 5% of the second homes owned by Spaniards are located overseas. The main regions where they do own second homes in Spain include the Canary Islands (12%), the Costa del Sol (9%) and the Balearic Islands (9%). The increase in the arrival of international tourists in recent times has caused the owners of these homes to lease them more frequently to be able to obtain income.

In terms of the rest of Europe, the study reveals that Brits purchase the most second homes outside of their own country. Only 24% of their properties are located within the United Kingdom, 19% are located in France and 16% in Spain.

Original story: Eje Prime

Translation: Carmel Drake

Brits Are Buying Homes On The Costa Del Sol Once Again

13 October 2017 – Inmodiario

The latest figures from the property developer Taylor Wimpey España relating to the sale of homes in urbanisations on the Costa del Sol to British citizens are encouraging. During the third quarter of the year, the number of citizens from the United Kingdom buying homes in developments such as Botanic, in the Reserva del Alcucruz, and Horizon Golf, in La Cala de Mijas, increased considerably, to make Brits the top-ranking nationality in terms of the sales made by Taylor Wimpey España.

Brits accounted for 19% of the buyers of Taylor Wimpey residential homes on the Costa del Sol, followed by Belgian citizens in second place and Swedes in third place.

For the Director of Sales and Marketing at the company in Spain, Marc Pritchard, “this data is a clear sign that citizens from the UK are continuing to choose the residential areas that Taylor Wimpey is creating when it comes to acquiring holiday homes”.

Moreover, adds Pritchard, another piece of data is noteworthy: the Brits who are buying holiday homes on the Spanish coast are very aware of sustainability and the environment and so prefer to invest a bit more in homes that fulfil those requirements (…).

This means that homes are being conceived to ensure minimum energy consumption and maximum environmental protection, through the use of solar panels, thermal insulation and maximum acoustic-protecting materials. As such, these homes have the highest energy rating in the market (“B”). In the same way, green spaces are becoming particularly important in the Botanic development, and the ecological environment of the Mediterranean pine tree wood is being further strengthened by the creation of a botanical garden for the enjoyment of all the neighbours.

These credentials that are respectful of the environment increase ownership values to 38%, according to CBRE Residencial, a company that also says that 82% of citizens from the United Kingdom are willing to pay more for a sustainable home.

The Botanic urbanisation on the Costa del Sol comprises 92 bright and spacious 3-bedroom homes, featuring large south-facing terraces. The 4-storey buildings have spacious penthouses with modern designs and spectacular solariums from where residents can enjoy the sunrise and sunset, with panoramic views over Los Arqueros Golf course, the sea and Gibraltar. The asking prices for these homes start at €365,000 (…).

Original story: Inmodiario (by Carmen Durán)

Translation: Carmel Drake

British Developers Lead Revival Of Costa Del Sol’s Property Sector

4 January 2017 – El País

The United Kingdom’s decision to leave the European Union in June has not discouraged London-based property developers from investing in Spain. Among the companies looking to establish a presence along the Mediterranean are Round Hill Capital, which has chosen the Costa del Sol as its launch pad into Spain.

The group, set up by Michael Bickford, has opened offices in Madrid, where it is also looking to buy property, along with Barcelona and the western part of Malaga’s coastline. It has paid €30 million for a 50-hectare plot of land in Ojén, close to Marbella, from Sareb, the entity set up by the government in 2012 to absorb the toxic assets of the country’s banks. It intends to build 600 luxury apartments there. Palo Alto will be the first major property development in the area since 2008, when the country’s real estate sector crashed.

With a total investment of €250 million, Palo Alto is planned in 10 phases, with work on 75 properties due to begin early in the new year. Ojén’s local council has approved construction and other permits in less than two months.

Matías Villaroel, Round Hill Capital’s Spanish manager, says that the company had second thoughts about the project immediately after the Brexit vote, but decided to go ahead because the properties are not being targeted at British buyers.

Round Hill Capital has already sold half of the first phase of the development, mainly to Germans, Belgians, and Scandinavians. Prices for the apartments range from €440,000 to €950,000.

A few kilometers along the coast in Torremolinos, another British property developer, Intu, is going to build what it says will be the largest shopping and leisure complex in Andalucía, covering some 200,000 square meters. The company is still awaiting final approval, but says it intends to begin work early in the new year, with completion due in 36 months.

Intu, which built the Puerto Venecia shopping center in Zaragoza, says it intends to invest some €600 million in the project, with a further €500 million coming from other partners. The company adds that it expects to generate some 2,500 jobs to build the project, which will then provide work for around 4,000 people.

The most recent report commissioned by the British Chamber of Commerce into the opportunities for UK businesses in Spain concludes that neither the uncertainty over the Brexit referendum nor the absence of a Spanish government put investors off during the first six months of 2016. It notes that 64% of UK companies in Spain intend to maintain their investments here, with 8% saying they intend to increase their presence, while 28% said they intended to reduce their investment. The United Kingdom is Spain’s fifth-biggest source of foreign direct investment, making up 11% of the total.

British ambassador to Spain Simon Manley says he is “optimistic” and believes that the EU and the UK will reach agreement over Brexit that will protect trade ties.

Also in Marbella, Pacific Investment is building five upscale villas at a cost of €25 million. Each of the properties, which will sit on between 2,000 and 3,000 square meters of land, will cost around €7 million.

Estepona, in the west of Malaga province, has been keen to attract developments, granting building permits within three months. Over the course of 2016, it has approved planning permission for four property developments for some 198 apartments, along with around 20 free-standing houses. Among the main players is London-based Kronos Home, which is building 70 luxury apartments in the Arroyo Vaquero area, some eight kilometers west of Estepona. It has plans to build in other areas of the Malaga coastline.

Original story: El País (by Esperanza Codina)

Translation: Carmel Drake

Brexit May Shatter British Dream Of A Home In Spanish Sun

6 July 2016 – Bloomberg

Londoner Joanne Connor may sell her holiday home in southern Spain as a falling currency drives up the cost in pounds of her household bills and mortgage payments following the U.K.’s decision to leave the European Union.

“The cost of living in Spain has shot up for us overnight,” the 39-year-old mother of two from London said in a phone interview. “If the pound stays this low or continues to drop, we will end up having to sell.”

Sales in some coastal areas of Spain could tumble by as much as 20% in the next 18 months as a sliding pound erodes the spending power of British buyers and owners following the vote to leave the EU, according to Aura Real Estate Experts, an independent advisory firm focused on Spanish property. Britons make up the largest contingent of overseas home buyers in Spain.

Connor has to change pounds into euros to meet the 400 euros ($445) a month mortgage payments on the two-bedroom home. The 9 percent decline in the pound’s value against the euro since the Brexit vote will limit her visits to Spain to just one this year, compared with six times in previous years.

“It’s not just the mortgage which is now more expensive; it’s the car hire, the utility bills, food,” Connor said.

Foreign and domestic home buying in Spain evaporated when the economy collapsed during the financial crisis, leading to an international bailout of its banks and the worst recession in the country’s democratic history. While overseas buyers have begun to return to the market, prices are still well below their pre-crisis peak.

Connor purchased her Spanish property in 2005 for 120,000 euros and says it may now be worth 75,000 euros, based on the price for which similar properties are selling in the Mazarron Country Club in the southern region of Murcia, where her holiday home is located.

U.K. citizens represented 21% of the 46,090 purchases made by overseas buyers last year, data from Spain’s College of Property Registrars show. Foreign buyers made up 13% of all Spanish house purchases in 2015. In Murcia and Andalusia, Britons account for 54% and 29% of transactions by foreigners respectively, according to the study by Aura Real Estate Experts.

Purchases on hold

“We had 10 would-be buyers and two have put their plans on hold after Brexit,” said Mary Arro, partner at Mia Property Boutique in Alicante, which specializes in real estate deals along the Spanish Costa Blanca. “The concern is sterling — they want to know where the pound goes next.”

In the municipalities of Benitachell in Alicante and Benahavis in Malaga, sales could drop by around 20% and prices decline by around 9% in the next year-and-a-half as Britons sell or up or shun future purchases, according to Aura Real Estate Experts. The firm also identified 15 other towns in Alicante and Almeria where sales are expected to fall as much as 17% over the same period.

Spain attracted the largest number of British tourists in Europe, with 16 million people arriving in 2015, according to data from Euromonitor. In the five months through May, they spent almost 5 billion euros in Spain, 14% more than a year earlier, the Spanish statistics office said on Tuesday. Britons accounted for about a fifth of all spending by foreign tourists.

Dario Fernandez Palacios, an agent a Marbella-based real estate broker Prime Invest, said home sales to British buyers had already slowed “noticeably” in the months leading up to the U.K. referendum on June 23. “Now they are totally paralyzed,” he said by phone.

“The coming months, and probably years, are expected to be marred by uncertainty in and outside the U.K.,” said Wouter Geerts, a travel analyst at Euromonitor International.

Original story: Bloomberg (by Sharon R. Smyth and María Tadeo)

Edited by: Carmel Drake