Foreigners target homes in Marbella

Marbella is proving increasingly popular with overseas property buyers, with the latest figures showing that more than 80% of homes acquired in Marbella are being snapped up by foreigners.

Fresh data from Spanish registrars show that 13.8% of properties in the Spanish region were sold to overseas buyers as of the end of 2015 and of those more than 60% were from within the European Union.

The Spanish region is fast becoming an investment hotspot once more, with the Marbella Property Market Report 2016 from Panorama Properties Marbella suggesting that more investors are now targeting property in Marbella’s luxury housing market as part of a diversified asset-safeguard strategy.

Christopher Clover, managing director at Panorama Properties Marbella, says that there has been a change in where the international investors are coming from and he is forecasting a surge in demand from buyers in Iran owed largely to the newly opened Iranian market.

“Marbella has been a popular tourist destination with Iranians for decades and the property market looks set to benefit strongly from that affection over the coming years,” he said.

But despite the surge in foreign demand, the number of Britons investing in Marbella’s property market has actually fallen as many would-be buyers adopt a wait and see policy due to growing uncertainty around the EU referendum.

“British buyers in the lower price ranges, who for years have accounted for the largest market share of foreign buyers in Spain, are sometimes pausing when it comes to purchasing their dream home in Marbella. The distraction of Britain's potential exit from the EU has caused a few to hold fire on purchasing property in other EU countries,” added Clover.