Property Point Marbella – Rural Spanish Properties Gaining in Popularity

House hunters are shunning Provence and Tuscany in favour of the more affordable Spanish countryside.
The British are such romantics when it comes to second homes. Given the choice between a lock-up-and-leave apartment on the coast and a ruined farmhouse in the middle of nowhere, we’ll take the farmhouse every time. This is according to research carried out by Savills, which shows the demand for overseas restoration projects has risen by 15 per cent since last year.
Traditionally, France and Italy have been the sought-after destinations for renovations, but according to Charles Weston Baker, head of Savills’s international department, the focus is turning to rural Spain, where farmhouses (caseríos, cortijos, masias or fincas) can cost three times less than the equivalent in Provence or Tuscany.
Prices start at under £100,000 for a three-bedroom farmhouse in Spain, so it’s easy to see why the market is proving so attractive to British investors.
A decade ago Chris Stewart, the co-founder of Genesis, bought an abandoned farm in the Alpujarras, south of Granada, with blossoming almond trees and ancient olives.
His book Driving Over Lemons bears similarities to A Year in Provence, Peter Mayle’s account of moving to Provence, but the rural Spain he portrays is more rugged. His farmhouse had no access road, electricity or running water and the locals were peasant farmers and shepherds. This might sound bleak, but as southern France and Italy become increasingly “discovered”, Spain’s lost wilderness is appealing to more adventurous buyers.
Inland Andalusia is an obvious choice for British buyers due to its affordable prices, proximity to the coast and several airports (Alicante, Granada, Malaga).
In the most popular areas, particularly the vicinity of Ronda, ruined fincas sell for as much as £500,000, but in more remote parts you can pay less than £80,000.

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