Post-Covid buying trends, according to our brokers

Periodically, we like to sit down at La Manga Club Properties and have conversations with our trusted brokers to gauge their impressions of the property market against our own. This has been a particularly interesting exercise in 2021 after the unprecedented effects of the pandemic. La Manga Club has always had a strong market of British buyers, but travel and health restrictions made purchases more complicated for much of last year.

In addition, the health crisis has changed some home-buying priorities completely, and possibly permanently. Interest in purchasing in a resort has risen, as people have come to value safety, controlled access, and on-site services, facilities, and amenities more than ever before. In comparing notes with two of our local brokers, we found that La Manga Club continues to draw attention in the UK, but that experiences of what people want to buy haven’t been matching up across the board.

Colin Buzzard, of Costa Cálida-based broker Overseas Property Market, notes that the top three nationalities interested in La Manga Club properties remain British, Irish, and Spanish, and that the resort’s more than 45-year history gives purchasers a sense of security. Most of Buzzard’s sales of late have been new-build properties, when available, and he notes that Covid has had an accelerant effect on purchases. “Buyers are keener to purchase after Covid,” he says, “and are now making decisions much more quickly when buying a property.”

Marmax Realty, located in Alicante, is well versed in the needs of international clientele drawn to the sunny coast of southeastern Spain. Their top three nationalities, however, are Belgian, French, and Dutch, and Tony Bostock, one of the agency’s property advisors, says that recognition of La Manga Club properties among these European nations is still less than for UK clients, with whom the resort still has the highest profile: “The name and brand is still widely recognized [with UK clients] and is associated with luxury and quality.”

Most recent sales at Marmax have been new-build apartments or small townhouses with an asking price of under €250,000. Yet, Bostock confirms a trend among potential buyers that we have also seen at La Manga Club since the pandemic began, which is, “a distinct increase in clients looking for bigger properties as either a more significant second home – as opposed to a holiday home – or principal residence. There has been increased interest in southern Spain as a healthy environment where you can enjoy a better quality lifestyle.”