 Costa del Sol - Property In Sotogrande
2007 report
This report was prepared by Engel & Völkers, a real estate agency with offices in many of Spain’s most popular destinations. It is reproduced here with permission. More information on Englel & Völkers
Sotogrande Property
Sotogrande was founded by the American business
man Joe McMicking, who in 1964 saw the
enormous potential of this beautiful area located
close to the Straits of Gibraltar and only 30 minutes
drive from the Costa del Sol. He developed the
exclusive Sotogrande, which is regarded as one of
Europe’s most exclusive and elegant resorts.
Where, especially for Easter and during the summer
months the Spanish and international society
meets.
Sotogrande covers 2,500 hectares (6,178 acres)
and features a yachting marina and sailing club
with over 550 moorings, the famous “Santa Maria
Polo Club”-a center of attraction for polo players
from all of the world- and four golf courses; Real
Club de Golf de Sotogrande (designed by Robert
Trent Jones), La Cañada, Almenara and the
famous Valderrama golf club, which hosted the
1997 Ryder Cup, the World Golf Champion-ships
in November 2000 and annually hosts the Volvo
Masters.
Within Sotogrande lies the Guadiaro estuary,
which is a protected natural area covering 27 hectare
of marshland on the west bank of the estuary
at the mouth of the River Guadiaro. It is home to
a great variety of birds and wildlife.
The area has excellent road access to Marbella,
Málaga, Jerez, Cadiz and Seville and all along the
Costa del Sol is easy by the motorway or a recently
completed “Toll Road”. Gibraltar is the nearest
international airport just 15 drive minutes away
and Mälaga Airport is 45- 60 minute drive.
The Buyer
Approximately 30% of the market buying in Sotogrande
is Spanish,followed by British (30%),
Irish (15%) and Germans (10%). The rest of
the market is made up of Swiss, Scandinavians,
Dutch etc.. They are mainly buying villas and
apartments, especially penthouses.
The average spend for a British client can be
anything from €400,000 to €2,5 million, the
Spanish spend around €1 million as do the
Germans. The biggest spenders can be the
Swiss and the Irish.
Clients buy here because of the unique, extremely
sophisticated atmosphere of the resort, the
favourable climate, the golf and all the many sports
facilities, the wonderful countryside and proximity
to the sea.
Property Values
In the past five years prices in this area has
increased at around 30% for most properties and
100% for plots of land reflecting the increasing
trend of clients building a property to their own
requirements. Last year prices for apartments
increased at a rate of approximately 5-10%
and for villas and country houses at around
10-20%. The demand for Mediterranean style
villas in 2006 increased by around 75% with
an average price of around €1,75 million for a
4 bedroom villa. A well appointed apartment
with views will cost around the €500,000 €.
Investor Tips
The excellent infrastructure and sheer appeal
of Sotogrande makes it a good investment and
in spite of the price increases here in the past
five years plots of land are especially worth
investigating. Outside Sotogrande, the charming
mountain village of Gaucín is attracting interest
and is well priced for this area. |
