Why so many villas for sale?

Welcome to the forum.

Firstly, have you visited this resort or are you just looking online and seeing low prices?

Personally, I've never visited and don't know anyone that has (you'll see the reasons below); but I've driven past many times, holidayed and played golf at the nearby golf resorts and always been a bit curious about that resort - it's name and the wall (also see below)!

A bit of history - Mosa Trajectum was built by a consortium fronted by Johann Cruyff, but it went bankrupt as part of the worldwide crash in 2008-2012. It had 3 x 9-hole golf courses - the idea being you could then mix & match to play 18 holes. The one thing that always struck me as strange is that the outside wall onto the main road from Murcia City to the Mar Menor looked like it should have been in the Flintstones!

Following the bankruptcy, the golf courses were closed, bars & restaurants closed and those people who had bought were left a bit stranded. There are no villages nearby and it's about a 20 minute drive to the facilities along the Mar Menor. I understand that properties were then being sold for 30-50% of what they had cost, there were lots of bank repossessions, etc. However, this was common in that period and in many areas, many properties are still only valued at 50% of their 2008 value. 

The resort was bought (in about 2019) and has been renamed as Altaona Golf & Country Village. There are hundreds of the original properties for sale, plus a significant number of very modern and, in my opinion, very expensive, new villas for sale (€330k - €1million). A 9-hole golf course has been opened and there are plans to extend this to 18-holes.

If you are looking at online reviews, check the dates of the postings - there appear to be lots of positive comments, but they are from years ago.

In my opinion, if you haven't visited in person, then you definitely need to see it yourself. If you have seen it, then it's one of those areas where you may snap something up cheap and regret it, or it all works out... Personally, there are many many better places to buy which are more developed and financially stable...

Hope this helps!

Thanks very much for the fantastic background and detail. I haven't been over yet, just looking on line. The prices are eye catching but just because its cheap one could live to regret it! 

What do you think of HDA? Seems well developed and prices still low

Maybe re-post your question in the HDA location - thinking of buying, can someone tell me pros & cons?

I played golf there a long time ago. Recently the golf course has been getting really poor reviews, so I've not even considered playing there - just checked and they're still very poor - although, to be fair, we are having a massive drought and the golf resorts reply on income to pay for watering & maintenance and they get a lot less income over the winter, so the course deteriorates.

From other comments I've seen on this forum, I think it gets good reviews, for quality of build and for facilities. I know the hotel has been bought out by 'Ona' hotels - who I've never heard of!

If golf is important to you, IMHO, the best course in that area is El Valle, but that's reflected in the property prices. Roda is also good and closer to the shops, restaurants, etc of the Mar Menor area. If golf is less important, then you'll probably get more for your money elsewhere and then just drive to wherever you want to play golf...

There are lots of issues to address when choosing a property abroad (as I did)...

Are you looking for a holiday home or to move permanently? 

What you want on a holiday - being close to bars, restaurants, etc. is generally not so important in a permanent move and can actually be a deterrent. 

How important is being on a golf resort to you? You pay a premium for being on a golf resort and maintenance fees can be high. They also tend to be more remote from villages & towns and their amenities and you can become reliant on the bars, restaurants and (commonly more expensive) shops on the resorts.

If a holiday home, will you be looking to rent out as well? It's not easy to make money, although many people think it is!

Hope all this helps!

Thanks very much Rich. It's great to get such insightful background info. Very sage advice too!  

Golf isn't important to me. It is for use as a holiday home that could be let out sometimes to hopefully wash its face! I have read its a bad investment generally! 

I'm still working full time and  my wife is a teacher and we will be labouring for a few years yet (small kids to pay for!). We have a holiday home in the South West of Ireland that we use as much as we can.  Kind of thinking ahead to get a place now abroad while prices appear modest and have it for the future then. 

To be honest I waver between definitely going for it to 'nah,not worth the risk' !!

Have prices gone up much over the last few years? 

In my opinion, prices are fairly flat for existing properties. 

However, despite there being thousands of properties available for sale, in the last few years developers have started building speculative new build developments and asking much higher prices (for the size & location) - Altaona Golf being a good example. 

Historically, buying off plan was seen as a way of getting a bargain - get in early on a development and then property prices rose as the development grew. Now, it seems that off-plan properties that are only 75% of the size of an existing property are being offered for 50% higher prices! So, if you are looking at buying an existing property on a development that is still growing, you probably get more value for money. However, what you won't want is to buy a property and then the others don't sell and you're left with only a few neighbours and little facilities.

Have you looked at La Torre? - it's in the same area and gets a lot of chat about being a nice place to stay / live. I've played golf there and it always looks well-maintained.

A couple of other points...

You will need to allow 12-13% in addition to the purchase price for your purchase costs (mainly because Property Purchase Tax is 8%, compared to 1% Stamp Duty in the UK). However, council tax is much lower than the UK, so it nets off after time.

If you do want to rent the property for some of the year, there is more appeal on golf resorts, as golfers can play all year round here; whereas if you're just appealing to holiday makers then you'll be more limited in year-round appeal. Remember, though, that the best times to rent out will probably match the times when you want to be using the property yourself. If you are going to rent out, then you need a licence and take into account the costs - key-holder, cleaner, insurance, advertising, commission to an agent, wear & tear, etc. and then think about occupancy rates - 75% in peak season, 25% or less out of season.

Hope this helps and happy to answer any other questions...

Thanks a mill again very helpful. I'll have a look at la torre.. 

Viva espana! 

Hi

You might find this useful:

https://andaluciatoday.com/the_latest_property_price_report_from_spain_are_spanish_house_prices_going_up_or_down_1000010326-a.html

Also, please swap my comments for HDA with La Torre - I got them mixed up, so my HDA comments should apply to La Torre and vice versa... 

Cheers - and sorry for the confusion!

No problem Rich. Very helpful again. I'm coming out next month for some viewings so we'll see how we go!