In the next three years British buyers will purchase approximately 150,000 homes in Spain, 30,000 of them on the Costa del Sol, according to estimates by the Spanish tourism institute (Turespaña). The figure is based on a projected increase in demand following the passage next April of a new UK law that will provide tax benefits for the purchase of homes outside of Britain.
Turespaña’s data was reported last week by Ignacio Vasallo, director of the Spanish Tourism Office in London, who was attending a conference of British travel agents at Benalmádena’s Hotel Torrequebrada. Half the homes purchased overseas by Britons are located in Spain, chiefly in the Levante and Andalucía regions, said Sr Vasallo. Turespaña estimates that Britons currently own nearly 100,000 homes in Andalucía alone, he said.
The market of Britons buying homes in Spain is currently experiencing a ‘temporary paralysis’ as potential buyers wait for the new British law to be passed, said Sr Vasallo. Once that occurs, he said, the main limiting factor for the sale of homes on the Costa will be the Regional Development Plans (POTs) being drawn up by the Junta de Andalucía, along with each town’s local development plan (PGOU), which together will determine the type and amount of new residential development to be allowed.
The proliferation of low-cost air travel from the UK to the Costa, along with the region’s famous climate, has ensured that the area remains a top holiday and holiday-home spot for Britons, said Sr Vasallo. Between 2000 and 2004, the number of British tourists visiting Andalucía increased by 43.8 per cent, compared to a 24 per cent increase Spain-wide, according to Turespaña’s data. Last year 2.9 million Britons visited Andalucía, and the end-of-year figures for 2005 are expected to top that figure by three to four per cent.
