TOP-END properties in Spain have barely been affected by the financial crisis, with the country's most chic sun-drenched destination seeing sales rocketing, especially to foreign investors.
Homes in Marbella (Málaga province) are, in 85% of cases, sold to non-Spaniards, mostly those seeking to retire to Spain or purchasing holiday properties.
As at the end of 2014, sales of villas and apartments in Marbella had shot up by 77% in the previous four years, way ahead of any other location in the country.
And from 2008 to 2014 inclusive – covering the entire financial crisis and housing market crash period – home purchases in Marbella rose in volume by 89%.
In fact, last year alone saw sales shooting up by 28% in the élite Costa del Sol town, compared to a national average of 2.2%, and 12% higher than before the financial crisis kicked in, according to data from Spain's ministry of public works.
Sales volumes in Marbella did drop off in individual years, but swiftly bounced back, showing the luxury home market is here to stay.
From the 4,432 residential properties sold in 2006, the following year saw a 19% fall as home values throughout the country became inflated artificially, just before crashing altogether.
This inflation period was still happening in 2008, when the previous year's 3,568 house sales dropped to 2,116, or a fall of a whopping 41%.
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