Gecko Towers:
Life moves on and so do demographics.
The profile of potential property buyers, interested in purchasing a home in the Marbella region of the Costa del Sol, is starting to change. The drivers that saw many in previous generations flock to the Costas with the promise of bucket and spade holidays, cheap booze and plentiful familiar food are increasingly in the past.
This is not a seismic shift. It doesn’t mean that the many golfers, old and young, and their families, the recently retired or those simply seeking a better and healthier life away from their usual home are reducing. The simple fact is that the market is gradually moving away from the atypical first property purchase by a client’s in their mid to late fifties. It seems that around ten to twenty years is now being shaved off that age range.
In recent months there has been much discussion in our region about new property buyers. Certainly, anecdotal evidence from established agencies suggest that they seem to be younger.
In the post-Pandemic world, where choice of location is seen as an important factor in a new lifestyle mix, there are trends emerging. For those, possibly, running an online business or being able to work remotely – with an essential and good WiFi connection – are exercising their right, subject to the legal formalities, to decide where they wish to be based. Their passion may be more orientated to enjoying a dawn run along the beach, a vigorous gym workout or a yoga session followed by poached eggs on smashed avocado washed down with a nutritious fruit smoothie.
Are the images of Ray Winstone’s booze and fags character “Gal” in “Sexy Beast”, first released in 2000 – and actually filmed in Almeria Province – now being consigned to history?
There is no doubt that over the last twenty plus years there has been nothing short of a revolution in the advancement of fitness and a healthy lifestyle – for both mind and body. Generation Xers – broadly aged between 42-57 years old – or Millennials – 26-41 years old – rather than sloping off to the pub after a day’s graft are more likely to be found in a Zumba class, Pilates studios or a Peloton session.
To compliment this boom, where your daily fitness and calorie intake are measured by a compatible smart phone stored App, diet is an essential element that should be monitored and tweaked to ensure the very best levels of protein and fat are watched for maximum effect. Whether a keen Keto, fasting or 5/2 observer, there is little room for carbo loading or red meat.
Chefs in Marbella – that currently boasts three Michelin starred restaurants – get that their core audience is driven to eat the highest quality food with an attendant price point. And their number grows with currently thirteen restaurants featured in the prestigious Guide Michelin.
The local beach-based “chiringuito” restaurants, so long the home of simply fried fish have morphed. Many are now producing excellent fusion cuisine that uses local ingredients, including a lot of fish, combined with a variety of other influences to deliver both choice and deliciously healthy food to satisfy the demands of their evolving clientele.
Around the turn of the millennium, Nikki’s Beach, was one of the first of a new breed of “Beach Clubs”. Some are famed for their Champagne Parties while others provide a discrete and high quality of day bed services with sushi and fruit in abundance.
The market is on the move and the developers of properties both individual villas and urbanizations have wised-up to the demands of a new market. Sustainability and environmental sensitivity are vital to a world that understands climate change and the impact visited on our planet. Alternative energy, solar panels and economic heat pumps are increasingly being offered alongside a luxury lifestyle and state of the art gyms and spas in response to a definable demand for a better coexistence between visitors and their environment.
The way the architects, estate agents and property developers communicate with their market is also changing. There are, of course, beautifully shot photo “window cards” on agents web-sites but there is nothing like a engaging and well-produced video “walk through tour” of a property to demonstrate its unique strengths. The power and influence of FaceBook, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter and even TikTok promoted pieces are achieving astonishing viewing results that, almost certainly, result in potential buyer interest. It would be fair to observe, and not underplay, that the skills of an estate agent to be able to help, guide and sift likely properties for their clients still commands a premium.
There will be those that bemoan this progress and those who see the shiny and new as an affront to some notion of core values. You are, of course, entitled to be a proto-Luddite if that’s your preference but “Your old road is rapidly agin’”.
Even the Spanish “Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitively” has got this. As reported previously there is a Bill before the Spanish Parliament, in addition to the so-called “Startup Act”, aimed at attracting a new breed of talent to settle in Spain and to work as remote workers and “digital nomads”.
Lucy Thackray in her excellent piece in The Independent – The Independent “Nomad Visas” – notes that “foreign nationals working remotely for non-Spanish companies will be permitted to live in the country without needing a full work visa.” And “The visa is expected to allow people to spend between six and 12 months living and working in Spain without the right to residency, with up to two further extensions allowed.”
This is thought likely to be extended to those from Britain – is this Br-entry via the backdoor?
The opportunities are unfolding at great speed.
Astounding technological developments are taking place at and around the already 25 year old Malaga TechPark. It employs over 20,000 professionals and the “technopolis” contributes around 8% of Malaga’s GDP. It is growing annually by the launch of over 100 new companies. With a highly productive collaboration with the University of Malaga and the 60 plus international businesses located there, reports suggest an annual turnover of €2 Billion. The newly announced location of Andalucia’s new Digital Agency Cybersecurity Centre is further clear evidence of an entrepreneurial zeal that is seizing the region. There are evolving and commensurate opportunities in Corporate Finance, Venture Capital, Law and Accounting, essential to drive the growth of this new economy, it is thought these may well be satisfied by non-Spanish companies peopled by “Digital Nomads”.
Should you be interested in discussing the legal process involved in buying a property in the Marbella region, we would be delighted to assist you. Our multi-disciplinary team of bi-lingual, highly experienced and wholly independent Abogados and Asesores Fiscales are ready to help you.
Please call me, Mark FR Wilkins, during usual business hours on +34 600 343 917 or, if you prefer, or e-mail me at mark@roslegal.es
Please note that our posts are for general interest. There is no substitute for proper legal advice tailored to your specific circumstances as provided by a qualified Abogado who is experienced in the application of the Spanish Law.
Nothing contained in this article should be seen or taken as the writer or the publisher providing legal or financial advice.
© Mark FR Wilkins 2022. All rights reserved.