The properties in Spain in demand with British buyers
Properties in Spain: Now that lockdown in the country has lifted, the search for holiday homes is on
After three months of strict lockdown, Spain’s nueva normalidad, as the country is calling its post-Covid phase, looks rather different to what its millions of foreign visitors each year are used to.
Masks must be worn in many areas, sunbathers are using tape to stake out their socially distanced space on the beach, and the police are scrutinising the number of people in bars and restaurants. From Las Ramblas in Barcelona to Paseo Maritimo in Marbella, streets that would usually be packed with tourists at this time of year are looking a little deserted.
After their enforced three-month siesta, estate agents are back blinking in the sunlight, and dealing with a high number of inquiries from British house-hunters. Taylor Wimpey España, which has new developments on the Costa del Sol, Costa Blanca and in Mallorca, reported an 88% increase in traffic to its website in May compared with the same month last year.
Now that borders have reopened and flight bans and quarantine restrictions have been lifted — in part, says the country’s foreign minister, Arancha Gonzalez Laya, to reunite 400,000 British homeowners with their Iberian second homes — many of us will be heading to Spain this summer.
Costa del Sol
In the Pier development in Sotogrande on the Costa del Sol, properties cost from €360,000 for a two-bedroom apartment (taylorwimpeyspain.com)
“Buyers are looking at being able to work from their second home far more than they used to,” Stewart says. “They want to spend more time in their Spanish homes in future.”