Anti-visitor protests continue in Spain – fuelled, in some cases, by the tragic events surrounding the severe flooding in and around Valencia.

Even before that catastrophe, protests took place in recent weeks in San Sebastian, the Canary Islands, Seville, Malaga and Barcelona. 

Spain is expected to receive more than 90m foreign visitors in 2024 The consultancy firm Braintrust estimates that the number of arrivals will rise to 115m by 2040, potentially making it the most visited country on earth.

However, one agency is still banking on investors buying. 

Beauchamp Estates, specialising in ultra-prime sales and lettings, is to open a new office in Marbella, capitalising on what it calls “the rising demand by international buyers for homes in sunny wealth hubs.”

The new office, known as Beauchamp Estates Marbella, will offer sales, lettings, property management and relocation services and takes the form of a penthouse style space with terraces. 

It is managed by Erik Holmgren working alongside Gary Hersham, the founding director of Beauchamp Estates, who owns a villa in Marbella.

The agency claims that whilst historically Marbella was a second home resort, since the pandemic many existing owners and new buyers have converted their second home into a main residence by spending more time there, a trend that Beauchamp Estates has also seen on the French Riviera where the company has four offices. 

It says that Andalucia is one of the most tax-friendly regional governments in Spain and Marbella is attractive to international buyers because its location on the southern tip of Spain provides a 12-month season not seen in any other city in the Mediterranean Basin.

Marbella and the neighbouring districts of Estepona and Benahavis in the greater Marbella area offer international buyers a range of established and new build homes including villas, apartments, townhouses, beachfront homes, golf resort residences and ultra-prime branded residences adjoining hotel resorts. Residential property values for homes in Marbella typically range from €3m to €12m, with ultra-prime residences priced in excess of €15m.

Beauchamp Estates reveal that in the high-end luxury segment of the property market in Marbella 90% of buyers are from overseas with the leading foreign nationalities originating from the UK, Sweden, the Netherlands, Germany and the Middle East, in particular, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. As a result, the Marbella population of 275,000 residents rises to over 800,000 during the peak summer season.

Holmgren says: “In the luxury homes market in Marbella 90% of the buyers are from overseas so Beauchamp Estates is well placed with our office network in London, France and the Middle East to help drive applicants and clients to the Spanish office.”