Holiday homes abroad have dropped down the list of priorities recently, what
with many of us being more concerned with paying the bills and holding on to
our jobs. But for those with a bit of money stashed away – say
£100,000-£150,000 – a property in an attractive European location could be a
sensible long-term option for your savings.
“We’re talking about an amount of money that’s not enough to retire on or
change your life, but may be something from an inheritance or a lottery
win,” says Nick Barnes, head of international residential research at Knight
Frank estate agency. “People aren’t willing to dive into the stock market,
they don’t trust banks and may want to do something with a lump sum for
their pension, so they’re putting money into tangible assets such as
housing.”
Two years ago, when global property markets were booming, a £150,000 ceiling
would have ruled out most places west of Warsaw. Now, with prices falling
almost everywhere, homes in more established destinations such as France,
Italy and Spain are once again within reach – and that’s despite the pound’s
recent dismal performance against the euro. So what will £150,000 buy you on
the Continent these days?
FRANCE
France has not seen an oversupply of new-build properties, but there are some
appealing discounts thanks to British sellers who have decided that a
holiday home is an unaffordable luxury – and those who want to cash in on
the stronger euro.
Joanna Leggett, of Leggett Immobilier, a estate agency based in the Dordogne,
says that region, as well as Charente and Haute-Vienne, are experiencing an
expat exodus. “Old holiday homes are being sold at a steal,” she says,
citing a pretty two-bedroom cottage in the centre of Vayres, a village near
Rochechouart, in southwest France, which is on sale for £98,645. “It has
been professionally renovated, with an open-plan living area and feature
fireplace, and there is a sitting area outside the front door.”
Leggett also has a charming one-bedroom stone cottage with exposed beams and a
newly laid stone floor in Vertillac, in the Dordogne, for £88,750 (0870 011
5151, frenchestateagents.com).
Or would you prefer the hubbub of life on a Provençal market square? Winkworth
is selling newly converted flats in an old house in the centre of Lorgues,
one of the prettiest villages in Provence, an hour’s drive inland from
Cannes and St Tropez. Prices start at £88,900 for a one-bedder. In nearby
Aups, another attractive market town, the same agency is selling a
two-bedroom stone house with beamed ceilings for £125,000 (020 8576 5582, www.winkworth.fr).
If you’re searching for a bargain, it’s best to avoid the coast, says Sophie
Folley, of the Bordeaux office of Savills: “Look 45 to 60 minutes inland to
pick up good deals. The best investments are old character properties that
need work, as these will hold their value long-term. We have seen deals
being done at 30% below asking price.”
SPAIN
Prices in the overdeveloped areas of Spain’s Mediterranean coastline are being
cut by 50% or more, as developers try to offload unsold stock and British
owners sell up, but you don’t have to confine your search to the built-up
costas. In some of the country’s most beautiful regions, such as the Costa
de la Luz, inland Andalusia and even Mallorca, you can buy desirable holiday
homes in prime locations for less than Cristiano Ronaldo’s weekly wage.
In Andalusia, in the old town of Jerez, with its cobbled streets and sherry
bodegas, is Plaza Mirabal, a new boutique development of eight flats set in
a former palace that retains its ancient facade. High-ceilinged two-bedroom
flats start at £151,700, with 30% payable before completion, through Mercers
(0845 017 7805, spanishproperty.co.uk).
“When the Spanish property market started to falter in 2007, Jerez was in a
strong position, as prices were 46% lower than the Spanish average and
rental demand was good. So it has proved a shrewd mid-to long-term
investment,” says Chris Mercer, the agency’s director.
The Costa Blanca’s coastal market may have collapsed, but its northern
stretches – particularly historic inland towns such as Xativa, 30 minutes by
train from Valencia and barely known to international buyers – offer
appealing options.
“Two years ago, it was impossible to find anything there for less than
£150,000, but today traditional townhouses in the old part of town can be
bought for as little as £60,000,” says Lisa Francis of the buying agency The
Property Finders. “I’ve also found a three-bedroom villa with a pool and 2½
acres of land in Anna, six miles from Xativa. It would have cost £280,000 at
the top of the market, but the owners will now take offers of about
£140,000.”
Barbara Wood, who runs The Property Finders’ office in Andalusia, says: “For
the first time in a couple of years, I can find well-located village
properties for less than £140,000. They usually need restoration, but
building costs are falling too.” In Villanueva de Tapia, a small town
surrounded by olive farms, about 45 minutes’ drive from Malaga and the same
from Granada, Wood has found a “gorgeous two-bedroom village house, recently
renovated and very authentic, that needs nothing doing to it”. It is being
sold by Britons in a hurry for £70,000 (0800 622 6745, thepropertyfinders.com).
In southwest Mallorca, where a househunter with a £150,000 budget would have
been laughed off the island a few years ago, Cluttons has a one-bedroom flat
in San Agustin on sale for £147,600. It’s fully habitable, though in need of
a little updating, with a large terrace overlooking the seafront. “One would
normally have to hunt around the east coast to find this sort of price, but
this is right on Palma’s doorstep, in a popular area,” says Nick
Russell-Hughes, director of Cluttons Mallorca (00 34 971 734073, cluttonsmallorca.com).
“This really is a bargain, and has been priced to sell,” he says.
ITALY
Of the established European markets, Italy offers the £150,000 buyer the
broadest and most interesting range of opportunities. You could snap up a
rustic stone trullo, with a traditional conical roof, near Brindisi, in
Puglia, for £131,500 through Italian Property Sales & Restorations
(0845 603 6651, italianproperty.eu.com),
or a one-bedroom flat with a swimming pool in a restored fortress in
Rotella, in Le Marche, for £110,400, through Casa Travella (01322 660988, www.casatravella.com).
Surprisingly, the budget will even get you into more traditionally expensive
destinations such as Tuscany or Umbria. Brian A French & Associates is
selling a well-restored three-bedroom cottage in Castiglione del Lago, a
rural hamlet near the Umbrian/Tuscan border, for £149,000 (01422 836234, brianfrench.com).
“Almost any property for less than £150,000 will need work, but this is an
exception,” says Steve Emmett, the agency’s managing director. “You would
typically find properties at this price only in areas of the south where
Spanish-style levels of development took place.”
Cluttons has a number of small village houses in Umbria and Tuscany, including
a newly restored three-storey, one-bedroom townhouse near Assisi for £89,800
(00 39 349 132 7177, cluttonsitaly.com).
Casa Travella, meanwhile, is selling a detached villa two miles from
Menaggio, with partial views of Lake Como, for £148,000. Or you can buy a
hamlet to restore, set in 1½ acres in Le Marche, for £129,000 (as above).
“Prices have dropped by about 10% in Italy,” says Linda Travella, the
agency’s director. “But even with British vendors willing to negotiate, the
bargains take some hunting down.”
PORTUGAL
While Portugal has avoided Spanish-style overdevelopment of its coast,
property prices have still fallen by up to 20%, and some golf-resort
developers on the Algarve are willing to negotiate.
“For that price, we could sell you a large one-bedder on Gramacho Golf, near
Portimao, with course rights, or, if you battle us down, a two-bedroom
duplex at Porches Praia, near Carvoeiro,” says James Harrison, managing
director of Pestana, which specialises in properties being resold mainly by
Britons. New-build equivalents at Porches start at £246,000 (00 351 282
340930, pestanaproperties.com).
Mary Mangan, director of Winkworth Portugal, suggests looking inland, “north
of the A22 highway”, for value for money at that price level. “In the
western Algarve, you can buy a newly refurbished one-bedroom village house
in Raposeira, near Lagos, three minutes’ drive from the beach, for
£136,000,” she says (020 8576 5582, winkworth.pt).
The Alentejo, a vast region that fans north from the Algarve to take in the
coast as far as Lisbon and the countryside across to the Spanish border, is
an undiscovered treasure trove for those with a low six-figure budget.
“There is high tourist demand for holiday homes to let on the coast here,
particularly in places such as Vila Nova de Milfontes and Sesimbra, but
short supply, so if you own somewhere near the coast, you can make a good
rental income,” says Bert Snijder, director of Alentejo Home. In Sesimbra,
his company has a sea-view duplex flat at £131,000 and a two-bedroom house
with garden, overlooking the sea, for £112,000 (00 351 269 825453, alentejohome.com).
The area will get a boost when Beja airport opens in July. “It remains a
good-value corner for cheap holiday homes,” Snijder says. “It’s also home to
Europe’s biggest solar power plant, which shows it’s not short of sunshine.”
CROATIA
The Dalmatian coast – with its star attraction, Dubrovnik – was the focus of
the country’s recent property boom. “Some pretty steamy values were being
achieved until last year, but that market started to fall away even before
the credit crunch,” says Nick Barnes of Knight Frank. “They were getting
ahead of themselves."
The Croatian kuna tends to track the euro, so the exchange rate is not working
in the favour of British buyers there. Still, prices have fallen by up to
30%, and £150,000 will buy a bolt hole within sight of Dubrovnik’s ancient
walls. Or head to Lopud island, half an hour from Dubrovnik by ferry, where
Savills Croatia is selling a two-bedroom flat in a detached house, stylishly
converted, with a mezzanine level and balustrading overlooking the living
area, for £120,300 (020 7016 3740, dreamcroatia.com).
A stone’s throw from the sea, it is close to sandy beaches, bars and
restaurants, as well as the botanical gardens.
If you want a house for less than £150,000, you need to drive at least an hour
from Dubrovnik to the Peljesac peninsula, says Mandy-Jo Walter, business
director of Savills Croatia. But she warns: “The further away from Dubrovnik
you go, the less likely the property’s title deeds are to be in order.
Always use a good Croatian lawyer to protect yourself.”
