Costa still an expat magnet

AS PROPERTY sales start to pick up, the Costa del Sol has once again proved itself a favourite with buyers from abroad, government statistics have revealed.

During the first half of this year, Ministry of Public Works and Development figures have revealed that 12,795 properties have been sold in Malaga Province, the best for the first half of the year in seven years and very close to the 14,700 sold in the same period in 2008, and 38 per cent of buyers were non-Spanish.

The province proved to be the Andalucian area foreign buyers were attracted most to, registering 70 per cent of all sales to expatriates, and on a national level it was beaten only by Alicante.

The busiest areas for sales between April and June were Malaga city with 2,313 sales, Marbella with 2,133, Mijas with 1,087, Estepona with 945 and Benalmadena with 922, the report revealed.