How to Find Cheap Spanish Properties in 2016

For some buyers price is everything and the motivation can be to simply find the cheapest available property. As with so many things, you do get what you pay for so with Sterling strong against the Euro in 2015 it could be better to plan a budget and then see what level of quality that affords you with pounds in your pocket.

So we have put together a guide to finding the best property bargains that Spain has to offer.

Getting a Bargain in Alicante

Year-round flights from every corner of the UK to Alicante make it the gateway to the Costa Blanca and a popular city for weekenders. Its popularity with wealthy Madrileños is reflected too, in the classy ramblas and bars of El Barrio, the museums, well-looked-after medieval castles, markets and marina.

Alicante is a great choice if you want to soak yourself in authentic Spanish for a fraction of what you’d pay in Barcelona or Madrid.

There are beach resorts and fishing villages close by. San Juan Playa is just a 10km hop from the city centre to the north, while Santa Pola is a bustling fishing harbour with wonderful beaches a short drive south.

Show me a bargain

The further you go out of the centre the lower the prices – down as far as €13,000 for a two-bedroom flat in the Virgen del Remedio area. In the centre you can still get a decent two-bedroom flat for €120,000 to €150,000 but you’ll have to forgo a sea view at that price.

Beyond the city limits may be more suitable. North of the city, Sant Juan, El Campello and Mutxamel are popular with expats and you can buy a two-bedroom, 70m2 apartment on the Bonalba Golf Course, with use of a communal pool and the clubhouse facilities which include a spa and gym.

South of the city beyond the airport, you can get a nice townhouse in Santa Pola from €120,000.

Top tip

If you’re looking for really easy weekend jaunts, being a short bus or taxi ride from the airport, such as in Santa Pola, will save a fortune in car hire costs and hassle over the years compared to the other side of town.

Getting a Bargain in Costa Blanca

South Costa Blanca is expat country with beach and golf resorts in Torrevieja and Orihuela Costa. Easy to reach, easy to find inexpensive properties too after mid-2000s overdevelopment. Prices have begun to rise though and new communities are springing up.

North of Benidorm the landscape is lusher and the culture more traditionally Spanish, with some dazzling fishing-village/resorts such as Calpe and Altea.

Show me a bargain

In Orihuela Costa one-bedroom apartments are €50,000 to €70,000, townhouses under €100,000 and villas with pools less than €200,000. The hard part is finding something that doesn’t feel squashed in, as so many do.

For more space at a bargain price go inland to the Hondon Valley for a farmhouse with land for €125,000. Or drive past Alicante and Benidorm to the very north of the Costa Blanca around Denia where you’re too far from the airport for some buyers and prices tumble. Spectacularly gorgeous villas with decent gardens can be found for €250,000.

Top tip

The extremities of the Costa Blanca have the best bargains. For a real bargain look at Oliva. Strictly speaking it’s a kilometre or two north of the Costa Blanca, but there are apartments in a lively and unspoilt Spanish town there from €20,000.

Getting a Bargain in Murcia

Where the Spanish coastline turns from east to south, the weather warms up and property gets cheaper. Even in well-heeled enclaves like La Manga the luxury is more affordable than in some costas.

There are attractive fishing villages and the city of Murcia, but mostly it’s purpose-built-resort territory, dedicated to relaxation around communal pools and golf courses.

Show me a bargain

Between 2004 and 2006 agents brought inspection trippers here by the planeload, persuading some to buy one property for themselves and more for investment. Many defaulted after the crash and are now being sold as fantastic bargains.

Polaris World’s resorts have never-lived-in apartments (and lots of them) at €50,000 to €100,000. The La Torre golf resort is the most popular, around 15km inland from the coast.

There are also some attractive seaside villages and towns such as Sucina, Santiago de la Ribera and Aguílas, but bear in mind that they’re quiet in winter. Townhouses here start at around €110,000.

Top tip

If an agent tells you that a new infrastructure project is about to rejuvenate an area and bring untold riches, be sceptical. A Place in the Sun magazine began in 2004 with a feature about the new Paramount theme park and airport near Murcia. We’re still waiting for it.