Welcome to the Costa del Sol!

Green Estate Investment’s “virtual tour” will concentrate on the Western Costa del Sol where famous names abound. From East to West: Marbella, Puerto Banús, the iconic Golden Mile with Marbella Club and Puente Romano, and travelling West, Estepona, Casares Costa, La Duquesa and Manilva, then Sotogrande and its famous golf courses, including Valderrama, Sotogrande Port, and, finally, Gibraltar.

A Guided Tour of Western Costa del Sol

We start with MARBELLA AND PUERTO BANUS

Marbella and its satellite Puerto Banús need no introduction, being the holiday resort of the rich and famous since the 1950’s, an area dominated by luxurious penthouse apartments, palm-fringed avenues, magnificent yachts, designer boutiques, trendy nightlife and celebrities, Antonio Banderas, Sean Connery, Simon Cowell, to mention but a few. Here, beautiful cars, boats and people come together under the blue skies of Southern Spain, drawing an international jet set to the beach club by day, and to stylish meeting points at night. For those with money to spare, the Casino provides great evenings of entertainment.

THE NEW GOLDEN MILE

The New Golden Mile stretches west from Puerto Banús to Estepona, retaining much of the original character of the Estepona coast, being the last place along this coast to develop.

The Andalusian countryside still has an important place here, and many of the luxury villas that now adorn the area are traditional Estepona villas. The New Golden Mile is a new slowly developing area, which has meant that it has all the necessary facilities, yet has an incredibly relaxed and authentic atmosphere.

The beaches along the New Golden Mile are notorious along the celebrated Costa del Sol, with fine golden sand and the clear waters of the Mediterranean lapping gently along the shore. The swimming, scuba diving, windsurfing and sailing facilities are excellent, and easily available. There are also centres for adventure water sports like paragliding, water boarding, water skiing and banana boating.

The Selwo Safari Park (www.selwo.es) is one of the largest attractions on this stretch of the coast, with thousands of species of animals from all over the world to amaze and entertain.

Needless to say, golf is a major sport in the area, and finding a golf course that is NOT set in stunning Andalusian countryside will be very hard to do!!

The New Golden Mile has become so successful due to not only the fabulous coastline and open countryside, but also the brilliant climate. There is never a bad time to live here as even the winters are warm with temperatures rarely dropping below 10ºC. Summers are long and hot, with 30ºC being the norm.

ESTEPONA AND THE WEST COAST OF MÁLAGA PROVINCE

Then we come to Estepona itself, otherwise known as “The Garden of Andalusia”. There is plenty to enjoy with the lovely marina area offering an international selection of restaurants whilst the quaint old town provides a labyrinth of streets decorated with an infinity of flowers and mural paintings, to explore and the beachside promenade is the place to walk with your friends and family enjoying fabulous views.

CASARES

Further west, past Valle Romano Golf Valley, (at least four golf courses here), to Casares, where Blas Infante, the founder of the concept of Andalusia as an autonomous region, was born, and again, golf and beaches abound. Indeed, the Golf Club of La Finca Cortesín in Casares Costa is also world famous and host to many international golf tournaments, including the Solheim Cup due in 2023.

MANILVA

Then the Port of La Duquesa, with its abundance of international restaurants and bars, along Manilva Costa with its magnificent views over the Mediterranean, Estepona, Gibraltar, and the mountains of Morroco, without forgetting the many ruins and places of interest dating from the time of the Romans and the Moors, such as the Moorish Castle in La Duquesa and the Roman Baths in Manilva.

Further West: the province of Cádiz: Sotogrande & Campo de Gibraltar

SOTOGRANDE 

Luxurious, discreet, KING rather than BLING, the Port of Sotogrande is the best kept secret of the really rich and famous who do not wish to be surrounded by mass tourism and package holiday makers.

Dating from the 1970’s, Sotogrande and its nearby Golf Courses and Polo Clubs were originally built to cater for leisure activities of the landed aristocracy of Andalusia and the owners of famous Bodegas of Jerez (Sherry) and their mega-rich and fun-loving families. Luxurious villas are inhabited by international celebrities and sportspeople, not to mention the frequent visits by polo-mad royals!

GIBRALTAR

A British protectorate since the 1713, Gibraltar is famous for its monkeys, well-regulated and internationally respected financial services industry, and lately, for its beautiful Ocean Marina with surrounding restaurants, shops, apartments, offices and lively tourist and entertainment industry, not to mention the burgeoning on-line gaming industry.

Yachts are common visitors to Gibraltar, where they are protected by the Rock of Gibraltar, one of the original Pillars of Hercules of Ancient Times.

OF CULTURAL AND HISTORIC INTEREST

Further travel West will bring you past Tarifa, where the Mediterranean and the Atlantic Ocean meet, and the Roman ruins of Boloña, to Cádiz, believed to be the original Atlantis, the Costa de la Luz and the Atlantic Ocean, on to the home of sherry, Jerez de la Frontera and Puerto de Santa Maria, where Christopher Columbus set sail for his discovery of America, and the wild life reserve Coto Doñana, founded by the famous naturalist Peter Scott. And, finally, to Seville, with its famous Cathedral, the Moorish Alcázar palace, the Jewish Quarter, and home town to several famous operas, Mozart, Verdi, Rossini, a city oozing with history and culture!

THOUGHTS ON REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT IN WESTERN MÁLAGA / EASTERN CÁDIZ FOR “BUY TO RENT”, OWN USE, OR INVESTMENT, BUDGET APPROX 6 MILLION EUROS.

The short-term rental of apartments in the Western Costa del Sol is a thriving business. However, by Spanish law, they are treated as businesses, rather than long term rentals, and must be declared, taxed, etc. and comply with the various Rules & Regulation, Health & Safety, in the same way as an hotel.

Daily rentals can be anything between 70€ and ??? depending upon the size, bedrooms, style, etc., and, of course, the season. So, in effect, an apartment worth 300,000€ can rent out per day at approx. 70€, and in the summer, a whole month’s normal rental for just a week.

It is a thriving business, accessed by Air BnB, booking.com, Trip Advisors, and similar websites, AND the Spanish authorities insist that it is totally legal and correct.  Therefore, specific Rental Management Companies do everything for the owner, book, “meet and greet”, clean, maintain, do the accounts, pay the taxes, etc. etc., and the owners, be they in Spain, UK, or Timbuctoo, just rake in the net profit!

This is why the “BUY TO RENT” business in the Costa del Sol is thriving, particularly since the Spanish themselves, those who live inland, e.g. Sevilla (capital of the Autonomous Region of Andalusia), Granada and Córdoba, Madrid, Barcelona, etc., LOVE to come to the Costa del Sol, and has therefore come off relatively lightly from the COVID 19 disaster and lack of UK tourism (due to UK quarantine, etc.)

We recommend a portfolio of NEW BUILDS, since buying a NEW BUILD, rather than a RESALE, has its advantages, see our report on “The benefit of buying offplan”, although we also have four very suitable RESALE properties in the Sotogrande and Western Estepona area, which we have included in the portfolio, purely as examples at the moment.

Obviously, during the summer / Christmas, / Easter season the minimum daily / weekly prices increase, some people will pay 750€ per WEEK, again based on a modest property of around 300,000€. Larger properties and villas will rent at 1 – 2 THOUSAND Euros a week in the summer and festive seasons (Christmas and Easter).

Therefore, in principle, over all, including management fees for the Management Company, Taxes, etc., we are looking at an average ROI of 10% p.a. for Short Term Rental / Buy to Let properties.

We have created a demonstration portfolio of NEW BUILDS and RESALES in the upmarket, but not overpriced, areas of Sotogrande / Manilva (see attached Maps), to the value of 6 million Euros, and we will be happy to send it to readers who provide us with a serious expression of interest.

Casares, 25 April, 2021