Olga Gradyleva, CEO of Leanga SPb, told the ee24.com about differences between North and South of Costa Blanca and how much money you need to save up for a very modest apartment.
– Costa Blanca is widely known as the cheapest Spanish coast in terms of real estate. Is that a true?
– If speaking about the mass market segment, it is absolutely true. However, there are some nuances. The southern part of the Costa Blanca is plain and now it is actively built up. Northern coastal areas are better developed, they were early reclaimed and new construction is hindered there. So, the property on the northern Costa Blanca (Denia, Javea, Altea, Benidorm) is more expensive than in the south (Guardamar del Segura, Torrevieja). New one bedroom apartments in the north of the region are from €150,000 while in the south they start from €90,000.
Purchasing of resale property is much cheaper, especially the banking options. The cheapest property on the northern Costa Blanca, we worked with, worth €87,000. In the south, prices start from €45,000. Having a budget of €50,000 the buyer may expect a one bedroom apartment in Torrevieja at a distance of 500-1000 meters away from the beach. Such an object may be profitably rented out or the owner may stay there himself.
You can still find offers for €15,000-20,000, but buy something liquidity for that money in Spain is almost impossible. The apartment will require refurbishment, and only spending another €10,000-15,000, you’ll be able to bring it to a decent condition. But no money may solve the problem of a small square footage and great distance from the sea and tourist sites.
Torrevieja
– The banking property in Spain has its followers and opponents as well. First say that offer’s best side is its cheapness, and the second ones argue that banks hardly sell liquidity options.
– I cannot agree with both statements. Let’s consider both options. In the first case, the bank has the primary real estate, which was taken for the debts from the builder. Bank needs to get their money back and keeping the house on its balance is unprofitable because of taxes and utility payments. This is the option when the apartment may be purchased for little money. For example, last year on the Costa de Valencia were case of selling apartment on the beachfront line for less than €40,000.
Altea
The second variant of banking property in Spain is really unprofitable. Here we are talking about the secondary market, when people cannot pay the mortgage back and the bank takes their apartment. Keep in mind that the apartment may be burdened with the debt for electricity and water, exceeding its cost. Checking for existing debt is performed by the real estate agency, which sells this object.
– The price bottom is widely discussed– has it been already achieved or not it?
– Housing prices in Spain are already growing, probably since May. Not globally, of course, but a small price increase is felt within 1-1.5%. Today I expect that prices will slightly increase as the market has stabilized and demand recovers.
Interview: Alexander Fetukov, ee24.com
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