The Ultimate Homes Blog

I recently paid a visit to one of the many local bodegas in the Alicante area, Enrique Mendoza in Alfaz del Pi. It was a lovely surprise to receive the gift of a wine tasting event from my amazing wife, and so we arrived at the event just in time, starting at 12:00 prompt with our guide from the bodega.  We started  with a short discussion on the history of this family winery, how it grew from a small operation in Alfaz del Pi, and then outgrew Alfaz del Pi and bought up hectares of land in Villena, inland of Alicante and approximately 100 kms from Alfaz.  Then a visit to see the storage and the bottling facilities (which are still managed in Alfaz) and of course the best bit, the tasting.  Blessed by the good weather in early January, drinking a wine with the sun on your face, stunning surroundings, make sure you visit too! Seven wines, a selection of white and red and a sweet wine to finish, all were amazing and we were encouraged to drink and enjoy them, no s...

Best wishes for the New Year A short newsletter to say hello again and I really hope that you have had an amazing festive period. Of course, here in Spain the festivities continue until this weekend when the Three Kings holiday is celebrated, which also means a trip to see the Spanish side of the family in Madrid this week. In the meantime, a little something to whet your "dream property" appetite - this is a new listing in the residential complex Golf Bahia, located in between Finestrat and Benidorm, and only minutes from a wide range of shopping facilities, the beaches of Playa Poniente, Playa Levante and La Cala, plus three golf courses. Click here for more details All that remains is to wish you and yours a very prosperous 2023! Barry McCormack - Ultimate Homes

Hello and to start off, its been a while since you've last heard from me, but I've been busy as always, as well as packing two daughters off to two different universities (one in Madrid and one in Barcelona which will make the "El Clasico" football match coming up in two weeks time very interesting). Anyway inflation and now interest rates are rearing their ugly heads throughout Europe, and will mean no doubt a bit of a slowdown here in Spain. Yet there is still a lack of supply of good quality resale homes,  especially in the more desirable areas, close to the coast, good views, outside space, etc so prices remain high for the time being. And there is still a lot of demand. The Mediterranean coastline is showing incredible growth in numbers, whether it be in the number of new build licences issued, or the actual volume of purchases registered, which in 2021 was 166,800 transactions, up 17,3% on 2019 (2020 numbers are not recorded due to Covid). So demand is still out...

It’s with a heavy heart that I announce that Steve Rebbetts, my business partner here at Ultimate Homes since we started back in 2004, has decided to move on to pastures new. As many of you are long time clients of Ultimate Homes , you will have got to know us both personally and perhaps shared a drink or a lunch with us too, we part on good terms and I am sure we will still work together from time to time in the future. It’s taken me a long time to put words down but Ultimate Homes will continue as before, working in what many consider to be the most desirable locations on the Alicante coast line, and still retaining the office in Altea (with those amazing views). So what is happening locally in property? The first six months of the year have been tremendous, with lots of viewings, buyers and property changing hand at or very close to the asking price. New build projects are being launched and smaller off-plan developments are selling quickly, mostly to buyers from Scandinavia and th...

Five bedroom villa Benitachell/Moraira area - check out the views The housing market continues to rise in #Spain, although it is beginning to show symptoms of fatigue.‎‎ According to the latest data from the notary offices throughout Spain, in May 63,921 home sales and 32,423 mortgages were formalized. In both cases, this is the‎‎ best figure for the month of May since 2007‎‎, although the growth rate is slowing.‎ ‎Transactions rose by 7.3% year-on-year in Spain as a whole, but Madrid, Murcia, Asturias and Navarra recorded decreases.  The notarial statistics show that the sales of apartments increased by 8.8% year-on-year, reaching 48,821 units, while single-family units increased by 2.8% year-on-year, reaching 15,099 transactions. ‎ ‎Operations grew in 13 Autonomous Communities‎‎, with the Canary Islands (34.8%), the Valencian Community (16.1%), Extremadura (13.1%), Aragon (12.5%) and Cantabria (11.8%) leading the increases. Already with single-digit increases we find Catalonia (8...

Latest figures from TINSA the Spanish property valuation company show that residential average property prices are up by 8.2% compared to 12 months ago, and up 2.4% over the last 3 months, despite the ongoing war in in Ukraine. I do see things slowing a bit as we head into the hottest months of the year, yet well priced property in good locations is still selling very quickly, one penthouse which I listed for sale only 10 days ago has had several viewings and competing offers. Check out our latest property updates and listings  here .

Spanish home prices start the year with average increases of 6.2%. The general index stood at 1,770 points, which represents 6.2% more than in January 2021 and an increase of 0.7% compared to December. All the areas analyzed increased their price inter-monthly, except the Mediterranean coast, which remains stable after the increases in recent months. Metropolitan areas' is the group that has appreciated the most between December and January. In the balance of the last 12 months, the greatest increase corresponds to small towns in the interior ('Resto de Municipios'). The average value in Spain is 24.3% below the maximum reached in 2007. TINSA, the Spanish valuation company, have updated their indice as of January 2022, which shows the % increase compared with January 2021. In general, the indice is up by 6.2%, and the Mediterranean coast area (admittedly a huge coastline) is also up 6.2% year-on-year. The monthly variation is negligible, and prices are still down on average...