Luxury housing market on the Costa del Sol bucks national downward trend

The top-end property sector has highlighted three key challenges that must be overcome in order to continue growing at the same pace

María Albarral

Tuesday, 18 June 2024, 09:56

High-end property entrepreneurs in the 'Golden Triangle' (Marbella, Estepona and Benahavís) are forecasting an increase in sales of this type of property during the second half of 2024 despite the downward trend in the general market.

This was one of the conclusions of DOM3 (an association of entrepreneurs and professionals in the luxury housing sector) at their latest round table event where they attributed this growth to the boom in luxury home sales "which has positioned the Costa del Sol as one of the most sought-after premium residential destinations in the world." An association spokesperson added: "This is helping to improve the figures for a business sector that has already become the main economic engine of the region."

These forecasts contrast greatly with the general state of buying and selling a property at the national level, which fell by 19.3% in March, according to data from Spain's national statistics institute (INE). More worrying is the even higher fall for Malaga province as a whole at 27.8%. However, the Golden Triangle is not only avoiding this downward trend in the property market, but also, in some specific areas, demand even exceeds the available supply.

For the association members, a sound, legal framework for the property market, affordable prices and good weather with more than 300 days of sunshine a year are the three main attractions for the big money-spenders from overseas that decide to invest in the high-quality housing market on the Costa del Sol.

Challenges

The latest round table organised by DOM3 was chaired and moderated by its president, Charly Simon, and all those attending agreed upon three major challenges that the Costa del Sol must address in order to continue growing at the same rate to stay above the national average for this market: improvements to the local infrastructure, water supply and public safety. "The three town halls (Marbella, Estepona and Benahavís) must come to an agreement and join forces to demand improvements from the relevant governing bodies", said José Luis Rodríguez from Ros Legal (a Marbella company of legal and financial advisors), emphasising "the high revenue that this sector generates for the the public coffers with IBI payments [local property tax] and building licences."

For his part, architect Manuel Burgos pointed to how prospective clients would perceive the Costa: "They start to analyse Marbella as soon as they leave Malaga Airport and cleanliness is sometimes not the best, I have already received some comments in this regard. On the subject of infrastructure we are already behind on that, the town hall must take action."

Problems highlighted

The Costa del Sol is already an internationally-known, residential destination. Last year it welcomed more than 14 million visitors. However, problems such as drought, the collapse of the road network and traffic jams, especially in high season, or the increase in news stories related to public safety could pull this figure down if the necessary measures are not taken. DOM3 is hoping to avoid such issues by demanding "proactivity" from the public administrations.

According to the entrepreneurs within DOM3, many customers in the high-end housing market are investing in gated communities with private, on-site services to make up for the lack of public infrastructure.

As far as growth forecasts are concerned, they estimate that the sector will continue to increase its sales figures at the same rate over the coming months, but some important aspects such as the lack of professionals with sector experience and the absence of new housing stock must be taken into account.

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