Beatriz Carro, who runs Barcelona Relocation Services, the property agency that helped the Landers, Kaufmanns and McDermott find their second homes, says the new arrivals prefer the city to the coast “because although there are a lot of foreigners here, they still feel authentically integrated into city life, not part of an expat ghetto”.

Despite Barcelona’s attractions, Stucklin advises overseas buyers to do their research before buying a second home in the city. “Barcelona has a remarkable variety of districts with different identities. You need to understand the dynamics of the city to know where to buy.”

He says newly fashionable areas of the old town, such as the Borne and Barrio Gotico, are a cross between Notting Hill, Clerkenwell and Soho in London and are well worth investing in. By contrast, the Raval, just off Las Ramblas and home to Barcelona’s museum of modern art, is one of the least safe districts of the city but could well gentrify over the coming years, according to Stucklin.

There may be a germ of truth in the myth about Spanish workers and their love of mañana but, once you’ve found a property, new arrivals insist Barcelona is a good place to build or convert a place. Alex and Patricia Neish recently paid about £200,000 for a derelict 2,000sq ft apartment in Calle Sant Pere Mes Alt, where Barcelona’s nobility used to live. They spent another £230,000 doing it up and it has recently been valued at £985,000. “It was the easiest building work we’ve ever done,” says Patricia. “In Britain, a similar project would cost twice as much and take three times as long.”

From the Olympics, to the Expo, to the famed El Bulli restaurant just up the coast, to the vast new Forum arts complex, Barcelona has been hyped more than any other European city in recent years. And it’s not for nothing. So, if you fancy becoming a Barça Brit, “get on an EasyJet flight and see if you can find a place you like”, says Stucklin. Just don’t be surprised if the person sitting next to you on the plane is doing the same thing.

Spanish Property Insight, 00 34 687 721 131, www.spanishpropertyinsight.com

City chic

Recently refurbished, this four-bedroom apartment in the heart of the city, just off Las Ramblas, is on the market at £648,000 with MRI International Property, 020 8462 3344, www.mr-international.com

A renovated two-bedroom, two-bathroom loft in the Eixample district, or “Mayfair” of central Barcelona, is for sale at £490,000 with Barcelona Relocation Services, 00 34 932 034 935, www.barcelona-relocation.com

This two-bedroom, one-bathroom flat with stainless-steel kitchen and wooden floors is in the Gracia, or Golden Mile, neighbourhood. It is on sale for £140,000 with Select Properties Global, 020 7736 4100, www.selectpropertiesglobal.com

In the centre of Barcelona, this two-bed penthouse near Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia has two roof terraces. It also has air-conditioning and parking and is £244,000 with Your House In Spain, 00 34 934 671 523, www.yhis.com

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