Marbella Real Estate Market Report 2021

Once again another year, undoubtedly a year that has marked and will mark a before and after in the real estate market in Marbella and the Costa del Sol.

As I already advanced in the last market report, this year, I am in a position to confirm on the basis of our experience, a new stable and upward trend in the real estate market of Marbella and the Costa del Sol 2021.

Without wishing to go into specific numbers and statistics, I would like to briefly analyse, in my opinion, the reasons why the Marbella property market is evolving in the way that many of us are seeing and witnessing today.

Let´s start with a couple of. very interesting macro-economic reasons:

LOW INTEREST RATES.

Last July the European Central Bank confirmed something truly incredible, “interest rates will remain low for even longer”.

While it is true that, since then, we have been witnessing a rise in energy and commodity prices, it seems that this forecast is holding for now.

With the price of money so low, it is understandable:

• Savers with liquidity and no return on their money decide to invest or buy a property in a rising market such as real estate in Marbella.
• Investors with debt capacity may decide to buy a property by contracting a low and competitive fixed rate.

Therefore, and as a MACRO condition, we confirm that this situation benefits the sale of properties both in general terms and in particular in Marbella.

ENERGY CRISIS.

In recent months we have witnessed a general increase in prices, which has directly affected the country’s inflation rate, surpassing the psychological barrier of 5%.

Focusing on the real estate market, the prices of construction materials and raw materials are rising, directly affecting new construction in progress and therefore ultimately affecting prices.

The increase in demand for new housing purchases, for the reasons outlined above, seems likely to offset a hypothetical increase in prices due to the increase in raw materials, although this would have to be confirmed in the medium term.

It is not at all clear that the increase in raw materials that has caused the energy crisis is not a one-off, one-off event. In fact, there are forecasts that Germany is about to give the green light to open the Nord Stream II gas pipeline, which will flood Europe with gas and normalise gas prices (Source: Cincodias)

Let us now look at a couple of micro economic reasons in relation to Marbella and its real estate market:

NEW TECHNOLOGIES AND QUALITY OF LIFE.

The exponential development of new technologies in recent years has resulted in a boom that is currently being exploited by young entrepreneurs and top executives.

This new, generally younger buyer profile requires quality schools for their children and they work from home, so Marbella is becoming one of their favourite destinations, where they can afford to spend long periods working or running their businesses while enjoying the quality of life in the area.

CHARACTERISTICS OF MARBELLA.

As we mentioned in the 2020 real estate market report, Marbella is a city with a low population density, an exceptional climate and a stable and warm average annual temperature, which are very positive points to combat the current COVID crisis.

Thanks to this peculiarity, Marbella becomes a destination for both permanent and secondary residence for people of all nationalities.

Evidently, its location in the south of Europe, its private education and health infrastructures and its fantastic gastronomy complete, among many other characteristics, the goodness that Marbella and its surroundings have always boasted.

Marbella Real Estate Market Report 2021, CONCLUSIONS 

Taking into account the points mentioned above:

• Low interest rates.
• Boom of new technology and internet businesses.
• New profile of younger clients, with little time, high purchasing power and with the possibility of working remotely.
• Characteristics of the area are enhanced due to the health crisis.
• Stabilisation of prices – demand, i.e. the increase in construction costs due to the energy crisis would lead to an increase in sales prices (especially in new homes), which would probably be offset by an increase in demand for purchase in the medium term.

We can confirm that we will maintain an upward trend that is not likely to have come and gone any time soon.

Furthermore, it should be added that Marbella is not oversupplied at the moment and is not expected to be oversupplied in the near future, neither in new nor in resale properties.

Let us review the current market situation for new and second hand properties:

New homes: We have already said that the market for new homes has resumed strongly and forecasts indicate that it will continue to rise throughout 2022.

Second-hand homes: they will be in demand and will be on the move, but with a slower increase in prices. Not everything is for sale, nor at any price. Renovation is not in the plans of all clients.  Problems, time and the rising cost of renovations and materials are the main causes.

What to do at this point to buy a house in Marbella in 2022?

• Having said that, we could determine that it is a good time to buy as there is still some upside left and Marbella is a stable market where at the very least, we will recover our investment.
• On the other hand, if we are owners and we are thinking of selling, it is undoubtedly a good time both to recover investments made in previous years and to change the main residence, although it is true that in the latter case, being a sale and a purchase in the same cycle, we must be aware that there will almost always be one of the two options that we will make less profit, specifically in this case it will be the purchase, which on the other hand is expected to be in a bull market with a long way to go, so we can continue to optimise our investment.

In short, as I stated last year, we will reach 2022 recovered and strong. 2022 will be a year of a lot of activity, although we will always be on the lookout for new events that no one can foresee.

We wish you, on behalf of the whole Benarroch Real Estate in Marbella, a new year in good health and full of new projects.