Despite economic Difficulties Marbella is still home

The Spanish economy may be in meltdown with high unemployment and around one million unsold homes standing empty, but for many expats, who moved to the Costa del Sol in search of a better life, Marbella is still home and they’d do anything to stay in Spain.

With a brand new series of “The Only way is Essex” currently being filmed in Marbella it seems little has changed for those with money, but not everybody gets to enjoy the high life, the glamour and the fun.

For a number of expats the Costa del Sol dream went sour before they even got to enjoy their new homes. The developers of two local urbanizations, Santa Maria Green Hills and Marbella Vista Golf, were declared insolvent before the people who had bought properties in these golf developments even had a chance to take legal possession. Many foreign residents have not received their legal licences of first occupation for the apartments and houses they purchased in good faith. Now a judge at Granada court has opened a voluntary creditors’ meeting; the three companies, who are behind the development of the two Marbella urbanisations, are registered in Granada province.

The difficult situation of the Spanish property market is being blamed for their insolvency. The creditors will have a month to make their claims against the developers, but whether any of them will ever get to occupy their golf properties or receive some of their money back remains to be seen.

For those who cling on to the Spanish dream and that things can only get better there is at least some hope on the horizon. Already this year Spain has seen record numbers of tourists and this summer is set to break all previous records. With more holidaymakers comes more revenue. The local economy in Marbella relies just as much on tourism as the city of Granada, Torremolinos or Malaga.

Even if there is just an increase in temporary employment in hotels, bars and restaurants, it is at least an income of sorts that will allow home owners to sit things out. Private holiday accommodation is increasingly sought after by families with children, who prefer to rent a house or villa directly from the owner rather than stay in hotels or B&Bs. However, this valuable source of holiday rental income is now also under threat from the Spanish tax authorities who are making it more difficult for owners to rent out their apartments or villas to tourists.

The eagerly awaited arrival of wealthy Russian buyers has already seen the prime end of Marbella real estate change hands more quickly and with many Russians actually settling in the area rather than just buying second homes for holidays; new business start ups are bound to follow, bringing much needed employment to this part of the Costa del Sol. There are now so many Russian expats living in the area that well established news provider SUR has just launched a Russian version of their magazine.

The luxury property sector is actually the one area of the Marbella real estate market that has been thriving, with seafront apartments already being in short supply. In the hilly district of Benahavis, which overlooks Marbella city, local estate agents direct wealthy clients to La Reserva del Madroñal, where gleaming white luxury villas in their own sizable plots sit dreamily among the cypress groves, cork and pine forests some 400 metres above sea level and wait for buyers with pockets as deep as the sun-kissed valleys in El Madroñal.

As one of Marbella’s best known secrets El Madroñal is strictly for those with deep pockets but the area offers some truly outstanding properties. La Rerserva del Madroñal sits comfortably right next to the exclusive La Zagaleta estate and despite the high price tags of the properties, villas and mansions here never take long to find a buyer. Expats, who purchase a home here, fall in love with the place and end up becoming semi or permanent residents.

A 3500 square metre plot of land with sea views will cost from EUR 700k upwards, but there are occasionally some quick sales for half that price.