Theme Park Will Boost Murcia Property Prices

Theme Park Will Boost Murcia Property Prices
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By Andrew Ferguson - yossarian_f@hotmail.com - Sep 18, 2010 - 8:18 PM
The general wisdom in the UK is that the Spanish property market has tanked, that construction has ground to a standstill, and that barge-poles are required to handle Spanish real estate. However, for patient investors, and for individuals canny enough to have waited for the bubble to burst, things in Murcia - in the south-east of Spain - are looking very tasty indeed.

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News that the biggest theme park in Spain is to be built in Murcia is set to bolster property sales over the coming years. The announcement is the cherry on the Murcian property cake – and an investment feeding frenzy is beginning as a result.

Fiona James, Director of Murcia Villas, a franchise network of estate agents throughout Murcia, observed on hearing news of the theme park: “The property market here in Murcia has already bottomed out, and we are seeing renewed activity in the market for well-priced properties. However, the news of the new theme park will bring a short-term level of speculation and movement in the sales market, followed by significant price increases around the 'hot spots' where the park is to be located.”

A few years ago in Murcia, everyone and his uncle was 'in construction' – it was the Murcian equivalent of the California Gold Rush. Farmers were selling unproductive or flood-prone land for unspeakable amounts to unspeakably greedy and deceptive people; politicians were cashing in on re-zoning back-handers; unskilled workmen were pouring into the region and claiming non-existent joinery, brick-laying, plumbing and electrical skills back home.

One of the major causes: the demand for foreign property in the UK was at an all-time high – especially Spanish property. This in part was thanks to ridiculously simplistic TV shows like 'A Place in the Sun', 'Location, Location, Location' etc. etc. ad nauseam.

As a result, the Brits and Irish were buying into the dream just as eagerly as the construction firms were throwing up 'luxury' developments. Even the Spanish themselves were sucked in, laying down life savings for deposits for houses which were still in the planning stages. So when the worldwide bubble burst, Spain – and Murcia in particular – was hit hard. The good news is that the crisis has separated the wheat from the chaff – dodgy developers have moved on to be dodgy in other businesses, unfinished developments look liable to stay that way and completed ones are now mature enough for a few simple questions to locals and/or ex-pats to readily reveal those built in wrong place, or without the necessary permits.

So, if the bank didn't repossess your Spanish property, or if you were lucky enough to have been able to sit out the storm, it is time to start thinking of how to 'cash in' in 2011-2012, when some experts claim the market will regain its health. If you waited to see what would happen and are one of the fortunate few still with money to invest, then the time is ripe to pick up some bargains in a region already famous as a tourist hotspot, and which is set to expand on this reputation over the coming years.
So why the optimism in Murcia? Sales are up, but is that enough? No. The market has moved somewhat from second/retirement homes to holiday home as investments. Holiday rentals in Murcia in 2010 have not suffered as elsewhere in Spain – tourism has been steady in 2010's high season, and Alicante airport (less than an hour up the motorway) reported its best summer ever. Crucially, Murcia is moving ahead with a new international airport in Corvera, which is due to open in 2011, and estimates for the magnetic effect of the new theme park vary between 1.5 and 3 million additional visitors a year - this on top of the existing flow of holiday-makers to the region, keen to relax on one or both of Murcia's dual coasts (the Mar Menor and the Med); to hike, cycle, raft and explore Murcia's lesser-known inland areas; or to play golf on one of the countless high-quality golf courses dotted around Torre Pacheco.

It is not surprising, then, that we are already seeing the green shoots of recovery in the property market in this beautiful and forward-looking part of Spain. Prices are at a 10 year low, and sales are up as a result: the National Institute of Statistics recently revealed that sales in July 2010 were up 15.7% over June, and August's theme park announcement can only improve on these figures for the rest of the year.

For more information on buying/selling/renting in Murcia, visit www.murciavillas.com

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