If the Spanish coastline represents to you a stiflingly hot, often maddeningly overcrowded expanse of concrete, abundant in cheap tourism, then perhaps you should take a look at the northern coast. Stretching from La Coruña on Galicia’s Atlantic coastline, it takes in the regions of Cantabria and Asturias before expiring at the French border and Spanish Pyrenees near San Sebastián in the País Vasco (Basque Country).
Boasting some of Spain’s most undeveloped, green terrain and many attractive towns and cities, it has long been a popular haunt for Spanish holidaymakers. Property prices are not as cheap as might be expected for such an uncommercial, rural area, since spending from the wealthy, industrial Basque Country causes a ripple effect along the coast. But crumbling houses ripe for restoration and even smart city pads can still be had for sensible prices.
There are a few factors to put off foreign buyers. A cooler climate similar to southern England makes the north less than ideal for sun worshippers. There are three dialects spoken across the regions and not all businesses have English-speaking staff, so visitors typically need at least some Spanish to get by. Home sales are typically handled by small, local agents instead of the multi-national companies that dominate the southern costas. And, across Spain, economists are now predicting a prolonged correction in what they view as an overheated housing market.
Still, the northern coast has attracted increasing numbers of outsiders over the last few years. “We’re finding that more foreign buyers are showing interest in this region,” says Clive Robbins of Blakemore Walker, a firm of chartered surveyors and legal consultants operating in the area. “People are steering away from the overdeveloped costas and the blazing sun. They are attracted to the tranquillity, cuisine, culture and unspoilt countryside. [Another] factor is the cheap flights that have been introduced into the area to the airports at Bilbao, Santander, Asturias and Santiago de Compostela.”
Construction of a new motorway has further fuelled demand. By 2009, it will stretch from France to Galicia, making it possible to drive the entire way from Paris or London. (Britons can either cross the English Channel and come from Calais or take one of the regular ferries from Portsmouth and Plymouth to Santander and Bilbao.)
Galicia is Spain’s most isolated region and, although its northern parts are rather wet, the microclimate further south more warmth. The beaches are uncrowded and clean and the cost of living is much lower than in southern Spain.
For buyers interested in a bit of action, the obvious choice is the Basque Country, with its lively cities. Although the outskirts of Bilbao are ugly and industrialised, its centre, now home to Frank Gehry’s striking Guggenheim museum, is an excellent example of urban regeneration done right. San Sebastián is meanwhile a sparkling, beautiful city that sits upon a curving, sweeping bay with an attractive old town, a thriving gourmet food scene, good beaches, wide boulevards and a vibrant, cosmopolitan air.
Most nature lovers turn to Cantabria, with its white beaches, green valleys, wild countryside and the Picos de Europa national park. It has an elegant resort in the form of its capital, Santander, and a handful of pretty villages such as Isla and Noja. Mountainous Asturias has an appealing capital, Oviedo, with a pleasant historic centre, while Llanes is a charming seaside town.
“I chose to buy here because I love the greenness and, bizarrely, I like the rain,” says retired British teacher John Lord, 59, who with wife Janet, 52, bought a property near the seaside town of Luarca, Asturias, in December. “I am not a fan of extreme heat and the mountains also are beautiful. I have always felt incredibly safe in the northern cities and I like the Spanish lifestyle. I don’t want a pint of beer and a beefburger, which is how you perceive the costas and their British enclaves.”
After looking at a number of restoration projects, the couple plumped for a small three-bedroom house that, for the region, is relatively modern, having been built 17 years ago. Included in the sale was an old barn house and a pretty watermill in need of renovation and 20 acres – all for €126,000.
“We were very pleased with what we got – with the potential for redeveloping the old barn [and] it being a short drive to the coast and local shops. Asturias airport is only a 40-minute drive and when the motorway is finished, it will be even quicker.
“We initially found searching for a property difficult as we aren’t Spanish and first used internet agents. But we ended up using local estate agents, [and] there was a good choice of properties around, especially old properties, as the Spanish prefer flats in towns.”
The housing markets in Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria and the Basque Country performed well in the late 1990s and early 2000s but experienced nothing like the euphoria seen on the southern coast and around cities such as Madrid, where annual price increases often hit 20 per cent or more. “Prices in the Basque Country grew by 19 per cent in 1999, a big increase that came earlier than in most other Spanish regions, but since then price increases of around 10 per cent have been lower than down south,” says Mark Stucklin, head of www.spanishpropertyinsight.com.
Now, however, the tide seems to be turning. “Last year, price increases in Asturias, at 8.6 per cent, were below the national average of 9.1 per cent, and in the Basque Country they were 9.2 per cent. But in Cantabria, prices rose 12.3 per cent and, in Galicia, by 12.9 per cent – above the average. These two regions had some of the hottest property markets in Spain last year, while the southern coasts and interior have gone very cold.”
Stucklin expects more of the same in coming years. “New residential construction is not as heavy on the north coast as on the Mediterranean coast, which should bring some stability to the market,” he says. And “whilst demand from expat buyers in the south has fallen, it appears to be rising in the north, albeit from a low base. It helps that you can now fly with low-cost carriers to cities like Santiago and Oviedo and you can also come across on the ferry. Buyers here don’t need beaches and endless sunshine. They are happy with a cheaper cost of living, a better quality of life and a better climate than at home.”
There is a slight danger that the northern coast succumbs to overdevelopment just like the costas. But “with a bit of luck, the plans to ramp up building will be abandoned in the light of a downturn in the market,” Stucklins says. He also advises non-Spanish househunters to be careful they aren’t made to pay a “foreign buyer premium”. “You have to do thorough research to get a fair idea of market prices,” he says.
According to Robbins, the best bargains are in western Asturias and both the eastern and the interior of Galicia and Cantabria, where many older properties in need of repair are priced at less than €100,000 and even as low as €50,000. “Most foreign purchasers are not buying in the Basque Country as the prices are significantly higher,” he says. “Bilbao and San Sebastián are suitable if you are investing in property as a business but otherwise you’ll get better value further west.”
Blakemore Walker, Spain, tel: +34 985 899 077; UK, tel: +44 (0)20-7272 0437; www.northspainproperty.com
Spanish Property Insight, www.spanishpropertyinsight.com
