For Buyers, the Only Way Is Still Marbella

Marbella has never done things by halves. In the sun-spangled resort of superyachts, gold-plated Mercedes and champagne-soaked pool parties, the new-build home market is no exception. There was a lack of high-quality designer homes after the Spanish property crash three years ago. After a dramatic market volte-face, there are so many building licences being granted for villas that some agents worry there may be an oversupply in 18 months’ time. Their worries are heightened by the forthcoming referendum, with many fearing that the flow of Brits to the Spanish coast might be stifled by a vote for Brexit. About one million Brits live in Spain, and although anyone who has been on the UK electoral register in the past 15 years can vote on June 23, there are fears that few expats will do so. However, not even fears of Brexit and a stronger euro are dampening the demand for designer villas in the “golden triangle” around Marbella, says Stephen Lahiri, a director at Lucas Fox Marbella. “One of the most significant changes in the market is that British buyers have gone from being more than 75% of our business, to only 24% in the past five years,” he says. “There’s diversification — with strong interest from France, Scandinavia, Benelux and the Middle East — plus buyers are younger and more lifestyle-focused. It’s fashion-conscious, brand-orientated forty or fiftysomething entrepreneurs that are driving this demand for architect-designed homes.”

Such a rapid transition in fortunes could only happen in “Marbs”, the glitzy summer playground of Saudi princes, international high-rollers and European aristocracy that keeps bouncing back, whether it’s from its association with gangland fugitives, Spain’s biggest corruption scandal, or the global downturn. It was the very inevitability of a bounce-back that drew the property funds and investors to Marbella in 2012. “It’s become almost a blue-chip investment,” says Marc Pritchard, the sales and marketing director at Taylor Wimpey España, a developer. “But the speed of the recovery surprised us all. Property values have been increasing for three years.” Plain glass boxes are now passé as buyers seek a warmer style using stone and wood — and high ecological credentials. One project that fits the bill is Icon in the gated Santa Clara golf course in Marbella East, next to Marbella Golf Resort (38 more courses are within a 20-minute drive). Launched a year ago, it is selling off-plan 20 “Signature villas” (four or five-bedroom, 550 sq m properties with saltwater pools on 1,400 sq m plots) from €1.69 million (£1.32 million); or 24 “Residences” of 360 sq m of indoor/outdoor space on 800 sq m plots) for €900,000 to €1.3 million. Urbania, the Spanish developer, commissioned six architects to produce contemporary designs and the results are sleek, light-filled homes with walls of glass, the local stone, piedra caseras — or pueblo blanco-style whitewash — and a refreshing asymmetry. “These features set the homes apart from those being built in New York or Finland,” says Rodolfo Jacobson, one of the architects. He adds that as Marbella has 330 days of sun a year, “they are also designed for living outdoors seven months a year, open-plan with bars and big terraces”.

Construction will begin this summer and half of the villas have sold already, says Kandy Paterson, Icon’s sales manager, adding that buyers will get three years of free property management. “In Marbella itself there are less than ten off-plan projects and Marbella East is a great location: only a five-minute drive to the best beaches, ten minutes to Puerto Banus [Marbella at its most bling] or half an hour to Malaga.” Properties using the newest technologies are attracting the most interest, says Loraine Murphy, the manager of Fine & Country Marbella. “The strongest price band is €1.5 million to €3.5 million. The most popular schemes for new villas are Benahavis Country Club [five-bedroom villas from €1.2 million] and Guadalmina Baja [off-plan four-bedroom villas at €1.9 million],” she says. Interest remains firmly in the Golden Triangle around Marbella — east to Los Monteros, west to San Pedro and Guadalmina and inland to Benahavis. This area includes Estepona and Nueva Andalucia, as well as the millionaires’ enclave of La Zagaleta that is crowned by Vladimir Putin’s mountain-top stronghold (villas from €6 million), and the exclusive estate of El Madroñal. “San Pedro has been a success story with the new tunnel that diverted traffic away from the centre and linked the beach to the old town,” says James Evans, the managing director of Cluttons Andalucia. With a vibrantly Spanish old town and a Los Angeles-style beach boardwalk — from which you can walk to Puerto Banus — San Pedro offers the Marbella lifestyle without the price tag. Ten minutes inland, the pretty village of Benahavis, in the mountains, is better suited to year-round living, with a new private school, sporting facilities and superb restaurants that attract the Saudi princesses from nearby La Zagaleta. “You can get a townhouse for €350,000 or a four-bedroom villa for about €1.3 million,” Evans says. Another key change in Marbella has been that in November 2015 the town-planning law of 2010 was scrapped, reverting to that of 1986, so many new-build projects are now illegal, including €1.2 million homes in a high-profile development called The World, which were sold off-plan before a licence was granted. “My advice is to not buy on a scheme selling without a licence,” Pritchard says. One scheme that is compliant — and the fastest-selling property since 2002 for Chesterton Affinity, the developer — is Marbella Senses, a development of 24 modern townhouses from €425,000 next to King Fahd’s palace. “They are worth about €700,000 now,” says James Vizetelly, Affinity’s marketing director. “Also selling fast are the modern designed homes of Atalaya Hills in Benahavis [ten apartments from €240,000].” “More traditional villas are still in demand, just a little less so than before,” says Christopher Clover, the managing director of Savills’ associate, Panorama. “Values of resales in prime areas are still 10 to 20% below the 2006 peak.” This article originally appeared on The Times of London.