Malaga, on the southern Mediterranean coast of Spain, is now placed in the top ten places to live in Europe. Will, it eventually overtake Barcelona as Europe’s best destination?
• The growth in Malaga as a weekend destination has generated opportunities for property investors and those seeking a second home with an attractive cultural element in the sun
• Malaga is in the top ten places to live in Europe 2019 – “European Best Destination 2019”
• Málaga has consolidated its position as one of the tourist areas with the highest volume of hotel investment in recent years (Source Colliers)
• Malaga is currently undergoing a period of major transformation as the economic and technological capital of Andalusia
• In recent years Malaga and its province have had one of the most rapid growth rates of Spain, above the average for Andalusia and the whole of Spain
• Prices are growing in Malaga, +5.2% in 2018 vs 2017. Average prices per m2 = 1,769€ /m2. Transactions are also strong with a 10.6% increase in 2018 vs 2017. Compared with Barcelona with an average price of 2,392€ /m2 (+ 7.4% in 2018 vs 2017) and transactions were up slightly 3.4% in 2018 vs 2017
• Despite Brexit 18% of all property transactions in Spain in 2018 were carried out by non-Spaniards. The most active were British (14.8%)
What are people buying in Malaga?
Second homes and investment are the main reasons for buying. Malaga has become a great weekend destination and there are frontline beach apartments with panoramic sea and coast views which offer excellent rental yields.
In 2016, the European Commission Eurobarometer put Malaga as the only city in Spain in the top 10 for quality of life, as measured by the state of its infrastructure, services, job opportunities, housing, integration of foreigners, security, environmental contamination, green spaces and cleanliness.
Malaga’s good climate always helps – with an average temperature of 18.5 degrees and 2,815 hours of sunshine a year – 5/6 hours of sunshine a day in December and 11 hours a day in July.
With just over 500,000 inhabitants, most of its important areas can be explored on foot. Culturally, Malaga invested over 100m€ over 10 years in the arts and culture including the new Pompidou Museum (the first centre created outside France) and the Russian Museum – both inaugurated in 2015. Since 2003, Malaga has had the Picasso Museum, the Contemporary Art Centre and the Carmen Thyssen which opened in 2011.
The main lifestyle attractions of Malaga include:
• History and Culture – The city has been inhabited since it was founded by the Phoenicians nearly 3,000 years ago. Since that time the city has been influenced by the Romans, Moors and the Spanish. The city features 35 museums
• Food & Gastronomy – From Michelin starred fine dining to some of the best tapas in Spain, there is something for everyone
• Cycling and Walking – The City is compact, and it makes it easy to get around on foot, by bike or by electric scooter. There are big plans to extend cycle lanes all over Andalucía with the regional government announcing its first ‘Plan Andaluza de la Bicicleta’ which aims to connect all the provincial capitals. At present, there are over 30kms of dedicated cycle lanes around Malaga, with more being added every day
• Transport – Malaga International Airport offers flights to over 150 destinations and is the third busiest airport after Madrid and Barcelona. There is also a fantastic network of motorways and dual carriageways as well as the high-speed trains to major cities
• Economy and Cost of Living – Rent, salaries and general cost of living are lower than that of most other European cities. The Regional Government of Andalusia’s Deputy Minister of Employment, Business and Commerce, Pilar Serrano, recently announced that 19 foreign companies arrived in 2018 with a joint investment of 23m€ and the creation of 1240 jobs.
The Financial Times voted Malaga as the 8th best European city in 2016 for its investment strategies which have helped to attract multi-nationals like TDK, Accenture, Huawei and Ericsson
• Clean Living – Unlike most cities around the world, the air quality is very good. So good in fact, that Malaga has the lowest level of environmental pollution in Andalusia and one of the lowest in Spain (which is already low by European standards)
New Port District
Nowhere has Malaga’s transformation been more evident than in the port district. Malaga City has had a port since 600 BC and what was previously run-down, off-limits to the general public and dirty, has been transformed into one of the most important cruise ship terminals in Spain. The current port has been subject to major upgrades and investments since the 2000s.
In 2011, the Quay 1 Sea Shopping opened after an 80m€ investment in a recreation and commerce centre, with underground parking for 1000 vehicles, 70 shops, bars and restaurants and a marina for Mega Yachts!
There is a further project to develop another Quay at a project investment of up to 100m€. This aims to allow an additional 250,000 passengers who can go through the port – currently, there are 700,000 passengers who pass through it annually.
Economic Growth
In May 2019, Malaga hosted one of the largest Investment events hosting technology-based start-ups that specialise in the sector of mobility. Malaga continues to lead regional growth and 1,000 jobs were created last year in the technology sector as employment in the Andalucian Technological Park (PTA) grew more than 8%.
The PTA is home to 626 companies and employs over 16,774 people. The sectors with the greatest presence at the PTA are Informational Technology, Engineering, Consultancy and Advisory services. Most of the companies are focused on IT, telecommunications, research and development. They include Oracle, Ericsson, IBM, DK, Ciklum, CGI, Accenture and Huawei. PTA is one of the most important technological parks in southern Europe and since 1995, is the world headquarters of the International Association of Science Parks.
