The government has ploughed money into the housing sector and developers have always seen Spain as the prototype overseas investment market.

So far, there has been little to disprove the country's upward climb to prosperity on the back of the property market. In fact, property prices have risen around 130 per cent since 1997 and construction has overtaken tourism as Spain's strongest sector, representing 12 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP), according to the Bank of Spain.

Around 13 per cent of property sold at the beginning of 2006 was sold to overseas property hunters, according to the Spanish Ministry of Housing. It also revealed that over the first five months of the year 330,700 new homes were under construction, 11 per cent more up from the same period in 2005.

While there are tentative assertions that such growth can no longer be sustained, and a surplus of construction and developments is causing more cautious observers to wonder whether increased supply will drive prices down, there seems to be no shortage of buyers looking for a better climate and the chance to invest in a familiar, established market.

As ever, golf resorts are a popular choice with British property hunters. The Platinum apartment hotel complex on the Costa Calida has PGA approval and Managing Director of developers AGS, Tony Sparkes, says, "As an established market, Spain has performed well over the years since its EU accession and continues to offer investors a sound investment particularly at a time when many are wary of emerging markets." Prices at Platinum start at £114,555 and have a guaranteed 4 per cent rental income for the first two years.

In an even more familiar location the La Heredia de Monte Mayor golf resort in Sierra Bermeja on the Costa del Sol, is development company La Perla Living's flagship resort development, with a Pepe Gancedo-designed golf course, considered one of the most beautiful and challenging in Spain, as its centerpiece.  The course is 18 holes long and is ranked as one of the top five most beautiful in the world.
Prices start from approximately £345,070 for a two-bedroom, two-bathroom townhouse and go up to about £686,175 for a three-bedroom, three-bathroom property.

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Read other articles about Spain:
Spain attracting young homebuyers
Murcia's property market turns up the heat
Off the beaten track in Spain and Portugal

Article published 4 September 2006