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Featured: Marbella, Andalusia’s tourist flagship.

Article copyrighted © 2024. Plagiarism will be criminally prosecuted

By Raymundo Larraín Nesbitt
Director of Larraín Nesbitt Abogados
21^st of February 2024

The Costa del Sol (Málaga) remains a prime location for the foreign worldwide community, attracting millions of visitors every year for a host of reasons collated below. Marbella, Málaga, Benahavís, Benalmádena, Mijas, Estepona, and more, are all household names in the real estate market.

Although a hike in interest rates has indeed taken a toll on the real estate market, the Costa del Sol’s unique advantages, listed below, contribute to making it a resilient market where properties stand to lose little, and gain much, with the turn of each economic cycle. The underlying reason for this is mainly the always high demand for accommodation in this sought-after area which in turn piles pressure on property prices, increasing year on year.

The Costa del Sol is an ideal place for Digital Nomads or Golden Visa applicants to settle in, alone, or with their families.

Eight reasons to buy property on the Costa del Sol

1. (Still) affordable property prices. When you compare property prices, they are still far cheaper by rapport to the United Kingdom. For the same amount of money that buys you a semi-detached in the UK in a poor location with no views, you get to buy a gorgeous villa on the Costa del Sol with commanding views over the sea, a mature garden, and still have money to spare on a property makeover! Then there is also the little fact that property prices are appreciating by two digits on the Costa del Sol. Life is all about choice.
2. A pleasant all-year-round climate. Whilst in Nordic countries, like the UK, you can expect 200 days of miserable rain, the Costa del Sol boasts 300 days on average of sunshine a year. This gorgeous weather is precisely what gives it its namesake. Light and warmth are never too far away!
3. Ultra-low taxation. As explained in our taxation articles, Andalusia’s new regional government is hell-bent on pro-low taxation. They have introduced significant tax breaks on buying property (almost) turning it into a tax haven. This political agenda translates into the lowest taxes in all of Spain, on Inheritance and Gift Tax, on Wealth Tax (was suppressed in 2022), on Property Transfer Tax, and Stamp Duty which were both slashed. So much so, that most taxpayers pay nil on IHT (including non-resident and non-EU taxpayers). Inherited estates under one million euros (per taxpayer) are tax-free for next-of-kin which includes both descendants (children) and ascendants (parents, grandparents). Over one million is taxed at only 1% on the excess. If you invest on a buy-to-let, landlords can save 70%, or more, on their tax bill. On long-term rentals, you can expect a net annual yield of 5%, on tourist rentals you can expect a net yield of 10%. Spain approved this month, besides a generous 5% increase to the minimum wage which applies nationwide, a personal allowance of €15,876 per taxpayer on income tax. In plain English, the first €16k you earn in Spain is tax-free. Yay!
4. A privileged lifestyle. The Costa del Sol spoils you for choice, as it caters to all tastes: whether you enjoy taking in its beautiful unspoiled scenery, wandering through its pristine mountains and Mediterranean pine forests, going out on a fancy dinner, practising sports, sunbathing on the beach, night-time clubbing for party owls, skiing (Granada is only a two-hour drive), or feeling the flutter of placing a wager (Marbella’s Casino), or simply chilling out al fresco sipping a glass of a fine Rioja while you watch a dramatic sky dusk against a dashing blue sea in good company. The Costa del Sol simply has it all!
5. Excellent modern connections. Malaga’s airport, Gibraltar’s airport, a modern rail network, modern highways, Malaga’s upgraded port, all help to connect Malaga to the modern world.
6. First-class amenities. Lavish restaurants, luxury shops, trendy designer boutiques, refined theatres, glam discotheques, 18 and 9-hole golf courses, international private schools, and exclusive yacht-filled marinas (Puerto Banus, Cabopino, La Duquesa, Sotogrande). Your problem is that won’t have enough time to enjoy it all!
7. Quality healthcare. Malaga offers several state-of-the-art hospitals that will cover your every health need. There are also specialised beauty medical facilities that assist enhancing your physique, because everyone deserves a little nip and tuck. For those in the know!
8. A vibrant cultural life. Malaga’s vast cultural offering spans from the Picasso Museum, Pompidou Museum, Carmen Thyssen Museum, Saint Petersburg’s Russian Museum, the bullring, to a slew of glam theatres, such as the trendy Teatro del Soho. Music concerts and refined classical music galas featuring world-renowned artists are all organized by Starlite during the long summer season. All these contribute to giving the Costa del Sol the lustre of a cosmopolitan venue. But if we dig deeper into its historical roots, history buffs will get lost in Malaga’s Roman and Carthaginian ruins, Augustus’ two-millennia-old amphitheatre and the imposing one thousand-year-old Moorish Citadel await to capture your imagination!

Are you ready to be spoiled? Invest and live on the Costa del Sol, live the dream!

Conclusion

Larrain Nesbitt Abogados (LNA) offers a competitive conveyance service. Our English-spoken lawyers and economists handhold you throughout the entire purchase procedure. We also assist you filing taxes and applying for visa or residency permits.

You can read here our free property guide kindly hosted by SPI.

You only live once, make the most of it.

“Action is the key to success.” – Pablo Picasso.

“La acción es la clave fundamental de todo éxito.”

Pablo Ruiz Picasso (1881 – 1973). Málaga-born, he was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, stage designer, poet, and playwright who spent most of his adult life self-exiled in France. Regarded as one of the most influential artists of the 20th Century, he is credited for co-founding the Cubist movement. A child prodigy, Picasso achieved universal renown and immense fortune for his revolutionary artistic accomplishments, becoming one of the best-known figures in 20th-century art. He was a prolific artist who left behind thousands of works of art. Perhaps his most iconic piece was the 1937 Guernica painting which depicts the horrors of war and foreshadowed the dark days of WWII (exhibited in Madrid, Centro de Arte Reina Sofía). Picasso was one-of-a-kind, une force de la nature, a towering artistic figure who casts a long shadow over every other artist that has followed in his wake.

Related conveyance services available from LNA:

• Conveyancing in Spain – Buying
• Conveyancing in Spain – Selling
• Rentals (contract-drafting)

Please note the information provided in this article is of general interest only and is not to be construed or intended as substitute for professional legal advice. This article may be posted freely in websites or other social media so long as the author is duly credited. Plagiarizing, whether in whole or in part, this article without crediting the author may result in criminal prosecution. Ní neart go cur le chéile. Voluntas omnia vincit.

2.024 © Raymundo Larraín Nesbitt. All Rights Reserved.