The heyday after sunset
Seville is very well located. Portugal is just to the west, Cadiz is to the south, Madrid is not so far away – it is less than three hours away by high-speed AVE train. Once the richest city in Spain, Seville subsequently fell on hard times. However, thanks to the holding of the EXPO-92 world Exhibition in the city and constant funding from the EU, urban affairs have been steadily improving since then.
Palaces, ancient gardens and tiled benches are the decoration of the city center. The most visited place is the ancient Jewish quarter of Santa Cruz. Tourists are attracted by its winding cobbled streets and beautiful buildings, among which it is impossible not to mention the cathedral, the Giralda Tower, and the Alcazar Palace.
"In the Santa Cruz quarter, the most prestigious area of the city, apartment prices have increased by 27% over the past year," says Barbara Wood of The Property Finders agency, specializing in real estate in Andalusia. – This year, the growth is sure to continue, and your property may increase in price by 15%. In addition, you can get a good income from renting apartments if you find a properly located house."
Finding a property in Seville can be very difficult. Only a few agents speak English, and almost no one speaks Russian. At the same time, an important feature of the Seville market is that most of the objects are sold by word of mouth, and searching through agencies can be ineffective. Therefore, buyers should find a good translator who also knows the city. The cost of a two-bedroom apartment in the Santa Cruz quarter is approximately 330,000 euros, for a three-bedroom apartment sellers will ask for at least 450,000 euros.
A little more than two years ago, Englishwoman Amanda Swanwick-Aharoni bought an old-style apartment located on a pedestrian street in the heart of Seville, which today she rents out very successfully via the Internet. "We bought these apartments for the purpose of investing, but we reserved the opportunity to occasionally use our property," she says. The investment has fully justified itself. The cost of renting Amanda's apartment is 1000 euros per week. Employment is at a very high level - 50-60%, and the value of real estate has doubled since the purchase. Note that the apartment with four-meter ceilings and all possible modern amenities did not require any additional investments. One of the important reasons for her success, Amanda calls her fluency in Spanish, which greatly facilitated the purchase process.
Away from the coast...
Buying a property in the vicinity of Seville is no less attractive, but finding a property is no less difficult. An hour's drive north from Seville and you are in the heart of the Coto Donan National Park, an impressive forest area covering an area of 184,000 hectares. Here, in the sleepy town of Araken, there is an office of the Parque Sierra agency, which is often visited by foreign real estate buyers. "I do not know how they find us," says Daniel Dryden, the agency's manager, "probably our acquaintances tell us about our existence. Maybe someone comes here by chance and comes to us, surprised by the beauty of these green places."
The Parque Sierra agency mainly caters to Spanish buyers from Madrid, Seville and Cordoba who want to purchase an affordable holiday home in the countryside. However, more and more foreigners are paying attention to this part of Spain and moving here for permanent residence. "Many people realize that living on the coast is getting harder. It's not easy to find a parking spot on the Costa del Sol, and restaurants just don't have enough tables on weekends," Dryden adds.
It is easy to understand why lovers of peace and quiet prefer quiet Araken, famous for its caves and numerous traditional restaurants serving ham iberico - ham, which is also called "black foot". Dryden says that if Spaniards are happy to settle both in the town itself with many beautiful old buildings and in new buildings located on its outskirts, then foreign buyers prefer other places. Often they want to get more space, 4-5 hectares of land with a building that could be put in order.
However, the reconstruction of rural real estate can be very difficult. Although the rules for obtaining a redevelopment permit are well known, in rural areas one cannot be sure of anything in advance. The buyer must find an architect and prepare his own plan, with which the authorities may or may not agree, without giving any explanation. All this requires a lot of patience, and therefore many buyers are carefully looking at townhouses.
The market is lively not only in Araken, but also in other quiet towns north of Seville, such as Los Marines, Alajar and Linares. Just two years ago, traditional estates with a plot of land cost less than 150,000 euros here, and today their price is approaching 300,000 euros.
...Or closer to it
Areas south of Seville have also begun to enjoy increased demand among foreign buyers. According to Jose Payes Fernandez of Estepa Real Estate, people buy here primarily for reasons of economy: "Property prices in the interior of Andalusia are much lower than on the coast, while the distance to the sea is small," he says. From here it is convenient to get not only to Seville, but also to other major cities. Cordoba and Malaga are only an hour away by car, Granada is a little further away - an hour and a half away. Such a neighborhood is very beneficial in terms of transport accessibility.
Fernandes highlights other attractive features of the region: "Life here is quieter and cheaper than in large cities and popular resorts. You can get all kinds of services here, there is an excellent infrastructure, including good restaurants, clinics, swimming pools and supermarkets. In addition, there is a golf course in Antequera very close by - the only one in the region."
In recent years, prices here have increased by about 50%, due to increased interest from foreigners, mainly the British. At the same time, only a few clients are looking for objects in need of renovation, the rest prefer small houses that are already ready to move in. Over time, it becomes more convenient to search for real estate. More and more local realtors and lawyers speak English, they are ready to advise and help with the choice of an object
How is this done
In Seville, as in other areas of Spain, the process of acquiring real estate is standard. The most common form is the signing of a preliminary contract, contrato privado de compraventa, which obliges both parties to complete the transaction. At this stage, the buyer pays 10% as a deposit, which is non-refundable if he subsequently refuses the transaction. Also at this stage, the buyer's lawyer must make sure that the contract reflects all possible pitfalls, such as ownership, the time frame for completing the transaction and the remaining payments on the property. In the case of purchase and sale, the standard tax on the transfer of ownership is applied, amounting to 6%. Notary services are also paid and a fee for registration of ownership is paid.