05 Apr
2019

View of Benidorm beach with numerous blue sunbeds and umbrellas on the sand. Text on the image mentions an apartment to renovate in Altea, Costa Blanca. Flags and logos are also visible, hinting at Costa Blanca property for sale opportunities.

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Last Updated on 05/06/2024 by STEPHANE

Click on any flag to get an automatic translation from Google translate. Some news could have an original translation here: News Nouvelles Nieuws Noticias Nachrichten

In order to get closer to the market in the Costa Blanca, we asked our independent local property finder, Valérie, to write about her latest activity there. Should you need more information, we will put you in touch with her, she is our local independent partner of howtobuyinSpain.

The investment case of an apartment to renovate on the Costa Blanca – in Altea.

First, let’s discover the Costa Blanca

With more than 240 kilometers of coastline, the Costa Blanca region has many activities attracting tourists from all over the world. Its mild Mediterranean climate offers more than 300 days of sunshine to fully enjoy its magnificent beaches and the various nautical activities. Check the weather statistics of any Spanish city here. The historical and cultural heritage of the Costa Blanca has nothing to do to envy the neighbouring regions: it has magnificent natural spaces and architecture classified as UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its lively nightlife during the high season provides the region with an unparalleled atmosphere and makes it a tourist mecca.

To discover more about the Costa Blanca, read our paper: Everything you should know about the Costa Blanca.

Costa Blanca map must see places Infographic

Know everything on the Costa Blanca: its Airports, its AVE stations, its Cities and villages, its shopping places: Traditional & Flea markets, Outlets and shopping malls. What should you visit? The Unesco sites, the parks for kids, the green parks, the golf courses, the universities and last but not least the top beaches. Check our infographic.

Altea is a magnificent region

A perfect blend of modernism and traditionalism, the city of Altea has managed to preserve its charm of yesteryear. The 8 kilometers of coastline offers pleasant walks along the seafront where cafés and restaurants follow one another. Located at a height, the old town, populated by whitewashed houses, accentuates the authentic character of this fishing village. Altea is undoubtedly one of the best preserved cities on the Valencian coast. At the heart of the village, many holidaymakers mix with the artists who have come to enjoy the various assets and landscapes that the city offers. Altea is often considered as one of the most emblems of the Costa Blanca.

White houses so specific to Altea

What is the current situation for the real estate market in this region?

Whether it is a purchase to spend your retirement, a family second home or an acquisition of real estate for rental purposes, the investment in this region appears to be a very interesting option because the prices per square meter remain attractive to this day. With some natural, historical and modern landscapes the Costa Blanca attracts investors from all over the world and from Spain.
Ideally located, Altea is close to the region’s reference cities (at only 10 kilometers from Benidorm and 55 kilometers north of Alicante) and access is available easy via the road and motorway network, the train or even the international airport of Alicante-Elche (less than an hour’s drive). Altea’s real estate market provides a considerable and diversified choice with many old dwellings that can be upgraded to perfectly meet the needs of future owners.

Here is a quick look at the real estate price evolution in Alicante, the capital of the province, over the last 20 years

Real estate prices in Alicante: €1.290 /m² (Dec 2018), +2.9% vs last year
Transactions for Alicante are strong: 44.700 +16,7% vs last year

Prices in Alicante remain on average 20% lower than the national average and close the lowest reached since the crisis of 2008.

Acquire a resale?

More and more foreign buyers are in search of a pied-à-terre to stay on holiday or in search of an investment for rental purposes. Whatever the purpose is, most of the time, it will require renovation work.

On the one hand, the significant economic advantage of buying a resale makes it possible to acquire a cheap housing. The rehabilitation of a property also offers the possibility to realize an interesting capital gain in the event of resale of the latter. At the same time, you will achieve economy in the long term by improving the energy performance of the property making it less energy consuming.

On the other hand, renovation provides the advantage of adapting the property according to tastes and desires of each other. The house can be totally personalized so that the future owner feels perfectly at home there. Interior work may also make it possible to optimize the living space, which is sometimes poorly distributed in some old homes, and to acquire thus a maximum of space.
In addition, restoration offers the means to combine the modern way of life with the charm of the old one by creating spaces that can only be found in new buildings, such as an open kitchen. The renovation of the property will make it possible to rent it more easily.
Last but not least, older housings predominate on the real estate market and offers prime locations as a position on the waterfront or in the heart of the city centre.

Let’s check the cost for renovation a 100 sqm apartment in Altea

In the heart of the Altea area, a 100 m2 apartment (3 bedrooms) to renovate costs on average 110 000€ at the time of purchase. After work, the value of this same property should more than double and reach a selling price of 240 000€.
The average budget for a renovation varies according to various factors such as the area to be renovated, the materials used or the part or parts to be rehabilitated.

In order to obtain a quality result, the average budget for a renovation is 900€ per m2, i.e. 90,000€ for the total rehabilitation of a 100m2 surface area. In addition to the cost, you should take into account the average duration of this renovation work: it should last about 6 months.

Renovation work for a 100 sq m apartment	Minimum price	Maximum Price
Masonry, demolition, wall reconstruction and tiling	25,000€	35,000€
Stairs	4,000€	6,000€
Floors	2,500€	4,000€
Carpenter, beam recovery, wooden elements (doors)	2,000€	5,000€
Paintings (complete interior + exterior facade)	3,000€	6,000€
Roofing, cleaning and sanitation of the roof	4,000€	10,000€
Windows and glass doors (aluminum)	8,000€	12,000€
Plumbing and electricity (bathroom elements refurbished)	12,000€	15,000€
Fitted kitchen	5,000€	10,000€

How do we help you?

Carrying out work in a property is often synonymous with anxiety for the owner of the premises. We are aware of this and we manage for some of our customers on site renovation with local teams and make sure it runs smoothly.

Investing in a property to be renovated requires the assurance of being accompanied by professionals with a perfect knowledge of the market and the profession.
On the one hand, after having found the ideal property corresponding to the expectations of our customers, we guarantee the buyer peace of mind throughout the entire process by providing him with the competent companies with which it has already collaborated in order to take into account the loads the work to be done.
On the other hand, we also offer our customers the possibility to budget the amount of work by drawing up a precise diagnosis and making various estimates in order to have an overview and to allow the total amount of the property to be assessed after works. In addition to that, in order to offer maximum peace of mind to buyers, the agency can also take care of the entire administrative aspect of the process (authorizations, permits,…). Time and deadline management is a priority for us, which ensure to supervise the process and can set up, thanks to its partner law firm, a contract between the agency and the company carrying out the work in order to provide the ideal protection conditions and get an exhaustive execution of the latter (precise estimate, completion date, etc.).

Adding contractual penalties in the event of partial non-performance or delay of the contractual agreement due by the service provider company, is as wel part of the job
We are committed to supporting our customers before, during and after the purchasing process in order to provide a complete service and ensure regular follow-up to enable buyers to make a successful and secure transaction with complete peace of mind.

Ask our network at HowtobuyinSpain.com

In addition to our local property finders, How to buy in Spain as developed a network of local renovation teams.

If you are looking to buy in Spain, we would suggest that you read our earlier paper on Property hunting: 6 essential reasons for loving your Spanish real estate shopper. This paper is very interesting and gives you some of the important reasons why working with a property hunter is very useful for foreigners looking to buy in Spain. You will find specific samples our independent local partners worked on in Alicante, Valencia, Barcelona and Madrid. Here are our other “Case study” written on Madrid, Barcelona and Tenerife: Property hunting “Case study” in Madrid, Property hunting “Case study” in Barcelona and Property hunting “Case study” in Tenerife written by our local independent property finders.