01 Apr
2021

Image of an apartment complex with a sea view and swimming pool, located in Platja d'Aro, Spain. This Costa Brava property for sale is advertised for less than €200,000.

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Last Updated on 05/06/2024 by STEPHANE

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In order to get closer to the market in Costa Brava, we asked our independent local property finder, Séverine, 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.

Case Study: A sea-view apartment with a pool in Platja d’Aro

First, let’s discover the Costa Brava

Located between the Pyrenees and the Mediterranean sea, Costa Brava is one of the most beautiful areas of the Western Mediterranean. Its mild climate, with an average temperature of 17 degrees, and its more than 300 days of sunshine per year make it an excellent place to live. To find out more on the weather, check our infographics with the monthly weather statistics of the 18 biggest cities in Spain.
With more than 240km of coastline, it is the ideal holiday destination for all your water sports, sightseeing or cycling. Its infinity of virgin coves and great beaches attract millions of tourists worldwide each year.

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

Everything you should know on the Costa Brava, check our infographic

Know everything on the Costa Brava: 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 golf courses, the universities and last but not least the top beaches.

Platja d’Aro is a nice small coastal town in Catalonia

Castell d’Aro is located in the heart of the Costa Brava, 80 km north of Barcelona. You will love Platja d’Aro and Castell d’Aro, an ancient village built around a medieval castle, you surely good the meaning of “Castell” in Catalan ;). “Platja” in Catalan means “beach”. Platja d’Aro, is a coastal city, 3km from Castell d’Aro. It is located between two towns: Palamós and Sant Feliu de Guíxols which stretches along a large 2 km beach. Like many towns on the coast in Spain, originally Platja d’Aro was a small fishing village converted into a major coastal resort. Of course, you will meet Catalans and French tourists.

Seafront at Platja d’Aro – Catalonia

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 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. Of course, weather statistics could be a little bit colder in the winter months but they remain very warm if you compare to many northern countries. If you love nature, this is as well a fantastic region. As Catalonia is close to the French border and as real estate is cheaper than in France prices are close to the Spanish average and well supported. So, real estate is more expensive than on Costa Blanca but not too expensive. Interesting to note as well is that the cost of life in Spain is much lower than in France.

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

Girona property prices: €1,535 /m² (end December 2020), -1% yr/yr

Transactions for the real estate market in Girona: 10,321 -15%

Prices in Girona followed the national prices as if Girona was the national market really funny! Check these two charts!

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 cheap housing. On the other hand, renovation provides the advantage of adapting the property according to the tastes and desires of each other.

Let’s review the property: A sea-view apartment with a pool in Platja d’Aro

Objective with the property

Rental investment and to enjoy Spain some weeks per year.

Buyer profile

A french couple with 2 children

Property description

90 square meters apartment with a 25 square meters terrace with panoramic sea view, the apartment has 2 double bedrooms with 2 bathrooms, an independent kitchen and a large leaving room. The residence also has a nice garden area with 2 swimming pools.

Beautiful community pools within the parc

Neighbourhood

The property is situated in Pla de Palol, a very peaceful neighbourhood located about 5 minutes walking from the city centre of Platja d’Aro and the beach ( small creek Cala Rovira)

Sea view from the apartment of Platja d’Aro

Budget

The customers had a budget in mind of 199.000€

How do we help you?

Carrying out work on a property is often synonymous with anxiety for the owner of the premises. We are aware of this and we manage some of our customer’s 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 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 work. 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 ensures 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 well 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 has 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 studies” written in 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.