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Guide to the Costa Blanca

Property

Although the property market in the Costa Blanca is extremely busy, much of the region has escaped the rampant overdevelopment that has occurred where the planning restrictions have been a little more flexible.

The most built up parts of the coast here are Torrevieja and Benidorm, though the southern town of Torrevieja is far more popular with overseas property buyers, and Benidorm seems to attract more hotel developments and shorter-stay tourists. Torrevieja has traditionally been one of the less-expensive places to find Spanish property, though many of the apartments are generic and in largely uninspiring buildings.

Further north, and in particular in and around the towns of Moraira, Javea and Denia, the tendency is towards developments of individual villas, often with pools and a small garden. Some of these developments, such as the gargantuan Cumbre del Sol, have taken over whole tracts of mountain and coast land, while others are small enough to be located near the centre of town and fit in with local life. Often, these villas are built in a traditional style and form a whitewashed tide sweeping towards the sea.

Inland, properties are even more likely to be built in keeping with the local style, and village authorities are keen to preserve the fabric of their area and not force out the indigenous inhabitants by allowing developments to push up prices and suffocate village life.

On a general note, the property market in this part of Spain has recovered in the past two years or so. The local market was at one time flooded with a large number of resale properties as many of the German investors who had bought in the area sought to consolidate what they had as their economy moved into recession.

A resale two-bedroom apartment in Torrevieja with communal facilities could be yours for round £70,000, while a three bedroom villa in Javea, with a private pool could be around £240,000. If the inland villages are your thing, a three-bedroom family villa in Orba will cost around £260,000.

Local life

As many of the fishing villages still survive and trade to this day, there is ample opportunity to sample the local fare. Get to the markets for fruit and vegetables which have infinitely more flavour than anything you buy in the supermarket. You can even buy huge bags of Valencia oranges to make your own juice.

Sticking with local drinks, the Jalon valley is home to a plethora of small vineyards whose produce is available to sample and buy in the local bodegas. Bottles of this local wine make great gifts, but if you are staying in the area, take your own (large) containers and fill up from the petrol pump-style dispensers!

Conclusion

The Costa Blanca has many of the attributes of the Costa del Sol – good weather, beautiful scenery, easy and cheap access, and an abundance of property available to buy. The main difference is that the Costa Blanca will be a slightly less breakneck-paced, flashy environment in which to live.

There may not be as many leisure activities in the area, but this is changing with the recent opening of the Terra Mitica theme park and the continued popularity of the Mundomar and Aqualandia attractions.

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