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Romana Playa in Elviria is situated close to the undisputed best beach on the Costa Del Sol. Near to the five star Don Carlos hotel with its great beach bar and never ending list of facilities, this apartment has been reduced to €107,000 and will prove a real winner when it comes to rentability. Elviria is located east of Marbella and is home to several great golf courses wrapped around some of the most beautiful beautiful real estate on the Costa Del Sol. There are great restaurants close ... Read Full Post

Marbella has finally approved a draft of a new town plan, that will hopefully alleviate some of the contentious issues surrounding the licensing problems that have plagued the region for the last ten years. The new plan will amend the 1986 version that has been ignored regularly, leading to thousands of illegally built homes in the area. The updated plan will make legal over 16,500 properties and will in the process end years of heartache and worry that the unsuspecting owners have had to end... Read Full Post

Astonishing isn´t it, both experts and homeowners have been proven wrong again with news of another house price gain. Nationwide, the UK mortgage specialist, has published July´s figures and amazingly further gains are evident. The lender commented that this is directly attributed to family home sales in "desirable areas". Average house prices rose from £156,442 to £158,871 in July demonstrating a 1.3% rise, making a total of a 1.3% increase in prices since the start of the year. This wil... Read Full Post

Former Land Securities Director Mike Hussey has started looking for financial backers in order to start yet another distressed asset fund. He will partner with Neil Jones, previous head of the European division of Grosvenor Estates, the Duke of Westminsters property company. They are looking to secure around £150m and are hoping to gear up the buying power to an estimated £500m with debts. They are also looking to take an unconventional approach, wanting a fund that will be more in line wit... Read Full Post

Alan Sugar the British multimillionaire has presented a deal for the Byblos hotel, that will secure a property valued at €39,000,000 for a staggering €3,000,000! The proposed deal is a result of Aifos, the hotel developer, being unable to keep up with payments to the Bank of Scotland who have now put the 5 star hotel up for auction. Alan Sugars property company Amsprop Spain S.L. has placed the bid in and according to Spanish law if a larger counter offer is not received within a 10 day p... Read Full Post

As I have explained here in my previous REW blog post, Los Arqueros Golf and Country club in Benahavis has some good opportunities currently. There are several great property developments, the majority of which were constructed by Taylor Woodrow España over a period of approximately 5 years. This development was originally owned by a Swedish individual who unfortunately fell on hard times and sold the entire estate for a reported €5m to the England based developer Taylor Woodrow. Its fair ... Read Full Post

The Wall Street Journal ran an article yesterday about the current high price reduction properties available in the Costa Del Sol, Spain. The post explained how buses of interested parties view foreclosed (repossessed) properties, looking to bag a bargain. I have seen a number of tours that seem to be promoting this type of inspection visit and worry about the credibilty of some of these operations. My philosophy has always been that if you develop a strong relationship with a handful of qual... Read Full Post

There has been a great apartment added to our Puerto Banus property portfolio in the upmarket La Alcazaba complex. This apartment has undergone an extensive renovation, giving it an absolutely flawless finish. La Alcazaba is well known as a mature, well kept exclusive development with a really fanatastic Pan-Asian restaurant on site called Trader Vics. The complex gives you the feel a whitewashed Andalucian village with charming walkways and beautiful palm trees and foliage. Puerto Banus is a... Read Full Post

Given the current market place there have been some successful property funds created to take advantage of low price distressed property. Max Property listed on the AIM (alternative investment market) in London headed up by the omnipotent Nick Leslau has around £200m to spend on distressed property assets. Mr. Leslau has gained an almost celebrity status in the UK and has a seriously strong track record when it comes to the world of property. Even with the enviable record Nick Leslau has he ... Read Full Post

I watched a fascinating interview with the CEO of the prestigious Four Seasons hotel group , Isadore Sharp on Bloomberg today. Listening to someone with such vast real estate experience was a real eye-opener. What did surprise me was that they are a management company rather than a hotel owner. They specialise in partnering with literally hundreds of property developers around the world and then use their intellectual capital to run these projects as hotels. They carry no real estate assets w... Read Full Post