Properties Taking Longer to Sell
May 7th, 2007
A recent report compiled by property consultants Aguirre Newman, has shown that the average time taken to sell a house on the Costa del Sol has risen to 35 months.
This is one of the conclusions in the report published annually which indicated a rise over the figure of 32 months in last year’s report.
The report has also indicated a slight fall in the average cost of holiday homes in the same period. Villas are taking longest to sell, with an average of 37 months (and even longer in Manilva and Alcaidesa) despite a slight fall in price.
To buy an apartment is now around 4.7% cheaper, corresponding to a 3.9% drop in the average price per metre and a general 1% drop in the average size of apartments. The cost of a two-bedroomed house of around 130 m2 built is in the region of 345,000 euros.
In Manilva the average price of a one bedroomed house is 212,686 euros with a constructed area of 75, 8 square metres representing an average price per metre of 2,806 euros.
As far as a two bedroomed house located in Manilva, with a surface area of 110.9 square metres you are looking at an approximate price of 263,670 euros, at 2.378 euro a square metre.
As for villas they have seen the greatest decrease, with the price falling by 6.3% in the last 12 months, this figure is largely due though to a reduction in the average built area of 10.7%, as the price per square metre has actually increased by 4,9%. This gives and average price, for a three-bedroomed villa of 211 square metres of 500,000 euros.
Another interesting fact to come out of the survey was that Marbella, which for the past two years has on average had the most expensive property, has been supplanted by Sotogrande which now sits at the top of the pile. Estepona has seen a 25% increase in property prices at the top end of the market.
The report also indicated that the number of Spanish purchasers rose against that of foreign purchasers, and fact that has been put down to ‘high prices’ and political and legal uncertainties. The supply of new developments is down by 6.3% with 23 projects in development less than the same time in the previous year. But the supply of villas has increased by 45% indicating a move away from high density construction.
The forecasts for 2007 indicates little increase in the number of units and a slight fall in property prices, however sales are expected to pick up in the second half of the year after the local elections in May.
