Property News

“Today’s news could open the floodgates for property sales in 2010”

Pent-up demand for property in Spain, stifled in the past year by the effects of the global recession but converted into sales since the start of the new year, thanks to a series of ‘buy now’ incentives, gets a further boost this month with the news of new 100 per cent low-cost mortgages available on a wide range of properties for sale at the lender’s valuations.

In the past 10 weeks, the Cheltenham-based Almanzora Group has successfully sold brand new freehold properties at an average rate of more than three per week at Desert Springs, Europe’s only international award-winning luxury family resort and championship desert golf course in the Almeria region of south-east Spain, and in two nearby locations – on the beach at Playa Marques and in the traditional Spanish fishing village of Villaricos.

“We adjusted prices to take account of currency exchange rates and the current market situation, and the result has been a steadily rising flow of enquires and sales,” reports the group’s sales and marketing manager, Simon Coaker. “Now we expect a further surge in sales following the news that Spain’s Bank of Andalusia* has selected these developments as the flagships for the launch of its new mortgage offer. This could open the floodgates in terms of property sales in 2010.”

* The Bank of Andalusia (Banco de Andalucía SA), which serves Andalusia’s eight provinces and operates more than 300 branches, is more than 80 per cent owned by one of Spain’s top and most conservative of banks, Banco Popular Español.

Available on apartments like those pictured here – as well as townhouses, cottages, villas and country houses at Desert Springs in Spain and new homes for sale in two nearby locations – on the beach at Playa Marques and in the traditional Spanish fishing village of Villaricos – are 100 per cent mortgages based on independent valuations which, in some cases, are larger than the prices actually payable by purchasers. For details call +44 (0) 1242 680 116 or visit www.almanzora.com

Available on holiday homes and investment properties ranging from apartments, townhouses and cottages to villas and country houses, the 100 per cent mortgages based on independent valuations undertaken by the bank are available to Spanish national and overseas purchasers alike.

“In some cases, the mortgage available is larger than the amount actually payable by the purchaser,” says Simon. “This is because, following last year’s price reductions, current prices of a number of properties are actually lower than the bank valuations.”

This is the catalyst which will accelerate demand to levels which make price rises inevitable sooner rather than later predicts Simon who has just unveiled a portfolio of selected properties offered at exclusive prices – some with as much as 55 per cent off the list price. He describes them as ‘once in a lifetime opportunities for would-be second-home owners.’

The new 100 per cent mortgages can be paid off over periods of up to 35 years at interest rates as low as 2.7 per cent. On this basis, repayments on the mortgage for a €178,000 two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment at Desert Springs would be only €400 per month. Repayments are even lower during the first two years when interest-only payments are required.

For investors who place their properties in the year-round rental pool at Desert Springs, the mortgage repayments will be offset by the income which can be achieved – typically €294 per week for a one-bedroom apartment based on two people sharing in the low season, rising to €462 in the high season. These figures are net rental income, after deduction of the charges made by the tour operators marketing properties for holidays.

“Investors will be reassured by the fact that, throughout 2009, our holiday rentals business at Desert Springs held up well with more than 48 per cent occupancy in that type of apartment,” reports Simon. “This reflects the awareness and popularity of the resort for golf breaks and family holidays, backed by a high level of recommendations to friends by property owners and guests, many of whom return year after year.

The popularity of holidays at Desert Springs – which has increased this year with the addition of the resort to the destinations offered and booked by James Villa Holidays, the UK’s leading villa holiday specialist – has prompted expansion of the number of properties in the resort’s rental pool for 2010, in order to keep pace with demand.

In addition to the 18-hole championship golf course at Desert Springs, other facilities which make it a popular choice for holidays and short breaks include its award-winning El Torrente restaurant and the Croc Restaurant – part of the family-friendly Crocodile Club – as well as the 18-hole championship golf course, day spa, sports club, tennis and paddle courts.

Simon believes that the steady throughput of holiday visitors to Desert Springs last year has been a major factor in the higher-than-expected levels of both enquires and sales of properties since the new year.

He said: “We are now at the very bottom of the cycle. Properties discounted to 55 per cent of previous values are priced more or less at the basic cost of their construction alone, excluding land and finance, so these levels will not fall further. We are seeing the start of the next stage of the process we predicted back in 2008. We said then that ‘the Spanish wheel will finally turn’ with the overall property market in the country and its coastal provinces eventually recovering to values which, in high-calibre developments like those at Desert Springs and Villaricos, were undreamed-of at the height of the previous boom.

“Over the years, the property market in Spain – especially the ‘investment’ market – has proved to be extremely cyclical. It is inevitable that, with the ready availability of 100 per cent mortgages, demand will soon start pushing prices up again, so clearly now is the time to buy.”

For further information contact: The Almanzora Group
Email: tag@almanzora.co.uk
Telephone: +44 (0) 1242 680 116

A new David Lloyd Resort opening this month at Desert Springs (pictured here) in south-east Spain offers holiday homes for sale on a shared-ownership basis at prices as low as £24,000

A new David Lloyd Resort opening this month in south-east Spain is offering holiday homes for sale on a shared-ownership basis at prices as low as £24,000 with a potential for investment benefit.

The location is the Desert Springs Resort in south-east Spain, Europe’s only international award-winning luxury family resort and championship desert golf course in the Almanzora region of Almeria.

David Lloyd pictured at Desert Springs.

Former British tennis ace David Lloyd earmarked Desert Springs as an ideal location for the expansion of his business during a visit in July last year. In a radio interview with Jon Gaunt of the Sun online radio station Sun Talk, he said that he had been encouraged to visit Desert Springs by his friend Sir Ian ‘Beefy’ Botham who owns a holiday home there. David praised what he described as “a great resort” with good year-round weather and easy access from the UK.

Now, through The David Lloyd Resort at Desert Springs, properties can be purchased on a shared-ownership basis for the first time in the resort. They range from two-bedroom apartments to three-bedroom townhouses set in mature gardens. Some of the properties overlook the resort’s 72 par 18-hole Indiana golf course designed by former Great Britain and Ireland Golf Team Captain Peter McEvoy who was inspired by the desert courses of Arizona and California.

Simon Coaker, sales and marketing manager at Desert Springs, says that David Lloyd’s ownership scheme is attractive because it is based on a shared asset purchase between a set number of individuals.

“David Lloyd Resorts uses this principle to provide individuals with the opportunity to share in, and enjoy, exclusive property ownership that may previously have been unobtainable as a sole investor,” he said.

Explaining how the scheme operates, Nick Lawrence, sales and marketing director of David Lloyd Resorts, said: “Each property is divided into 13 shares, and sold at three different price levels which are based on seasonality. Shared owners hold a share in a chosen property based on the amount of equity invested, but all share equal occupancy rights. Each share entitles the owner to four weeks usage each year. These are two weeks reserved from a choice of price bands and two ‘freedom’ weeks enabling owners to explore the flexibility of the David Lloyd Resorts exchange programme by staying in our properties in Phuket, Canada, the West Indies, Turkey and Cyprus.”

He added: “Our business plan for Desert Springs is to sell each property after 10 years and, at that stage, return the proceeds to the 13 owners in a manner which is proportionate to their original equity investment.”

Among resort facilities which appealed to David Lloyd during his visit last year, and which property owners and visitors to Desert Springs can enjoy, is the Tennis Academy which includes two brand new tennis courts, two new paddle courts and a beach volley court. The tennis and paddle courts are finished with surfaces designed to give high bounce and add to the ease and pleasure of the game.

Also open is the Sierra Sports and Fitness Club with facilities for football, cricket and a gymnasium. Both the football pitch – inaugurated by Sir Bobby Charlton and Sir Geoff Hurst, with its floodlights, shower and changing facilities, and referee changing room – and the cricket pitches are popular with school and clubs for pre-season warm weather training.

Places to eat at Desert Springs include the resort’s international award-winning El Torrente Restaurant and the family restaurant and bar within the Crocodile Club with its pools, sun lawns and sand play bunkers.

• For more information about Desert Springs telephone +44 (0) 1242 680 299 or visit www.almanzora.com
• For more information about The David Lloyd Resort at Desert Springs telephone +44 (0) 1372 824 518 or visit http://www.davidlloydresorts.com/desert_springs.php and http://www.davidlloydresorts.com/ownership.php
  

The climate at Desert Springs

Desert Springs takes it name from the region’s desert microclimate which is unique in Europe. It has the warmest winter weather on the continent with an annual average of more than nine hours of daily sunshine and maximum daily temperatures of between 16°C (60°F) and 30°C (86°F) throughout the year. Annual rainfall is less than 200 mm. The Almanzora’s coastal waters are among the cleanest and warmest in Europe, attracting both fish and diving enthusiasts.

Getting there from the UK

The Almanzora region is easy to reach, thanks to three international airports. The current journey time from Almeria International Airport to Desert Springs is around 50 minutes by road. Other international airports are at Murcia – 70 minutes on the toll motorway direct to the Almanzora Valley – and Alicante which is less than two hours by road.

For further information contact: The Almanzora Group Ltd
Email: tag@almanzora.co.uk
Telephone: +44 (0) 1242 680 299

News of a link forged between the Cheltenham-based Spanish property firm The Almanzora Group and leading foreign currency and international payment specialist Axia FX of London means that the buyers of new properties in resort, village and beach locations in south-east Spain could save thousands of pounds.

The Almanzora Group – which acts exclusively as the principal agent in northern Europe for the for the development companies comprising the Almanzora Bay Group which is building in the Almeria region of Spain – says that its new partnership with Axia FX will give potential buyers a fast-track link to currency exchange rates which could save them significant sums on the cost of buying their properties. They are at Desert Springs, Europe’s only international award-winning luxury family resort and championship desert golf course, the traditional fishing village Villaricos and nearby Playa Marques, known for its seven kilometre long Great Sandy Beach, El Playazo.

Simon Coaker, The Almanzora Group’s sales and marketing manager, says: “We are selling properties ranging from apartments, townhouses and cottages to villas, beach houses and country houses at prices from €178,000 to more than €1 million, but with the Euro and Pound Sterling virtually at parity, favourable exchange rates are essential when calculating the total purchase cost.

“With Axia FX having access to interbank rates, they can ensure the prices the client receives are much better than they would have received from their bank, providing him or her with considerable savings. In fact, for Almanzora’s clients, Axia FX will guarantee an improved rate compared with that received from any high street bank. Both companies have agreed to work in partnership with The Almanzora Group, with each referring its clients to the other.”

Simon said that negotiating favourable exchange rates with Axia FX should not only net the buyer a better exchange rate, but also a saving in commission because Axia will only charge one per cent when others, including banks, charge more – even as much as six per cent. The potential double saving for the purchaser is considerable.

David White, managing director of Axia FX, said: “We will ensure that clients of The Almanzora Group always receive excellent service and we are able to fix quoted rates for up to one year in advance.”

• For more information about the properties available, call The Almanzora Group on +44 (0) 1242 680 299, email tag@almanzora.co.uk or visit www.almanzora.com
• For full details of the services offered by Axia FX, call Tim Sullivan, head of private clients, on +44 (0) 207 093 7852, email Tim.Sullivan@axiafx.com or visit www.axiafx.com

News of a link forged between The Almanzora Group and Axia FX means that the buyers of new properties like these in south-east Spain could save thousands of pounds.

Background notes:

Axia Fx
Axia Fx was formed in April 2006 and commenced trading in June 2006 with the sole aim of making Foreign Exchange as simple and cost effective as possible. Having started life alongside a parent company, it has recently become a privately-owned company under the stewardship of David White.

The company’s head office is in the Canary Wharf area of London ensuring the company has first hand access to all market information gleaned through its global network of traders, economists, officials and market participants.

The Almanzora Group
The Almanzora Group, a subsidiary of the Robert Hitchins Group, acts exclusively for the development companies which comprise the Almanzora Bay Group. The Almanzora Group Ltd is the principal agent in northern Europe, including the UK and Ireland, marketing new properties developed by The Almanzora Bay Group in resort, village and beach locations.

IMPORTANT FOOTNOTE: To avoid confusion, please note that two of the organisations mentioned above have names which are similar but different. They are The Almanzora Bay Group [THE DEVELOPER] and The Almanzora Group Ltd [THE AGENT].

• The Almanzora Bay Group, named after the Almanzora region of Eastern Andalucia where it has been active since 1985, is an Anglo-Spanish sister group to the award-winning Cheltenham-based developer, the Robert Hitchins Group. Established in 1958, the Robert Hitchins Group specialises in large-scale strategic land planning and commercial development in the West of England and South Wales.
• The Almanzora Group, which is a subsidiary of the Robert Hitchins Group, is the main European sales agent and acts exclusively for the development companies which comprise the Almanzora Bay Group, marketing new properties developed by The Almanzora Bay Group in resort, village and beach locations.

For further information contact: The Almanzora Group
E-mail: tag@almanzora.co.uk
Telephone: +44 (0) 1242 680 299

A new property investment and development opportunity is offered for the first time by the developer of Desert Springs, Europe’s only international award-winning luxury family resort and championship desert golf course in the Almanzora region of Almeria in south-east Spain.

The view of Desert Springs, with the sea beyond, which will be enjoyed by the occupiers of properties built on the 16 building parcels available for sale at La Ribina.

Desert Springs S.L. has released for sale 16 building plots from its separate landholding at La Ribina, adjacent to the west boundary of the resort. It has easy access to the road linking Vera and Las Cunas and is only four kilometres from the nearest beach.

The semi-rural location of La Ribina offers panoramic views of the Desert Springs golf course and the sea beyond.

The building parcels at La Ribina are currently the only ones for sale in the vicinity of Desert Springs. Ranging in size from 705 sq m to 1,322 sq m, they are available at prices starting at €125,000 (excluding VAT at 16 per cent).

The parcels come with verifiable planning consent and building conditions, and secondary infrastructure services are in place at the boundary of each parcel.

The Parcels available at La Ribina. (Grey area represents the proposed second Golf Course at Desert Springs, "The Colrado")

Purchasers and their families will be entitled to immediate membership of the Desert Springs Golf Club free of joining fees – worth around €32,000 – and they will have direct access to all facilities within the resort.

Says Simon Coaker, sales and marketing manager of the Cheltenham-based Almanzora Group which is selling the plots: “Recent group sales totalling more than €5 million have marked a significant turning point in the market, showing that the wheel has turned for better quality, more individual properties in new and unspoilt ‘upwardly mobile’ areas like the Almanzora region.”

He adds: “Desert Springs meets all the criteria for future growth and in today’s very restrictive planning world, especially in this area, these parcels offer the best possible potential returns on investment.”

In addition to investors keen to secure land tipped to escalate in value as the upturn in the market gathers momentum, the plots are expected to be of special interest to potential second-home owners wanting to build a property to their own bespoke design.

Simon predicts that buyers will be attracted by the Almanzora Bay Group’s offer of an optional design-and-build package whereby, drawing on experience gained developing property in Almeria since 1985, the company co-ordinates all aspects of the design, planning permission and construction processes.

To download the sales particulars for the building parcels click here.

For further information contact: The Almanzora Group
E-mail: tag@almanzora.co.uk
Telephone: +44 (0) 1242 680 299

Brand new properties together worth almost €5 million have been sold in the Almeria region of south-east Spain in the past three months by the Cheltenham-based Almanzora Group.

The achievement, described by the company as a turning point in recent market conditions, comprises sales of 12 properties – a mix of good quality individual villas, beach houses and cottages – at Desert Springs, Europe’s only international award-winning luxury family resort and championship desert golf course, in the traditional fishing village Villaricos and at nearby Playa Marques where a three-bedroom, two-bathroom beach house on its seven kilometre long Great Sandy Beach, El Playazo, sold for €575,000.

A three-bedroom, two-bathroom beach house like this one at Playa Marques in the Almeria region of south-east Spain has just sold for €575,000. It is one of 12 properties which together have been sold for almost €5 million in the past three months by the Cheltenham-based Almanzora Group. For more information call +44 (0) 1242 680 299 or visit www.almanzora.com

Reporting total sales worth €4,937,500, the company’s sales and marketing manager, Simon Coaker, said: “Over the years, the property market in Spain has proved to be extremely cyclical, much more so than it is in the UK; this recent market activity suggests that the wheel is turning again, at least for the better quality, more individual, properties in new and progressive ‘upwardly mobile’ locations. For that reason, now is the time to pick out and buy the better new properties available in those areas in Spain.

”Prices have been at their lowest for six years but are bound to start rising again if sales of such properties continue at this level. No matter how great the oversupply of poor quality, mass built apartments, in secondary locations around the old tourism centres, the actual supply of good quality individual properties in relatively new, less developed, locations – which are the future of residential tourism in Spain – remain in short supply.”

Simon predicts: “Although setbacks occur in any economy, the overall market in Spain and in its coastal provinces will recover in due course to even greater values, undreamed-of at the height of the previous boom.”

He says that this is because, despite the recent cyclic downturn in confidence affecting the immediate market, more powerful long term underlying trends ensure that potential demand continues over the longer period.

“Not least amongst these trends are the ageing population across Europe coupled with ‘regional shift’ from the cold north of Europe to the warm south, and in particular, the sun belt that is southern Spain,” says Simon. “This is made possible by Europeanization itself, the common currency, increased mobility within Europe and improved communications. In effect the long term market for property in the south of Spain includes the whole of northern Europe.”

Case study:
Among recent buyers of properties at Desert Springs are retired company finance director George Boyle and his wife Carolyn of Amersham in Buckinghamshire.

Having sold a small villa in the southern Spanish village of Mijas, which was the base for numerous summer holidays before their two children grew up and left home, George says he “fell in love with Spain all over again” during visits to a friend’s holiday home at Desert Springs.

“It’s a super resort and the properties are good value,” said George. “Having experienced life there – as well as the excellent golf course – during stays with our friends, we decided to buy a home of our own.”

Pictured is a spacious four-bedroom detached Arizona villa with its own private pool of the type bought at Desert Springs by George and Caroline Boyle of Amersham in Buckinghamshire. For details call +44 (0) 1242 680299 or visit www.almanzora.com

Now that their daughter has presented them with a baby grandson and their son is about to be married, the Boyles anticipate high demand for family holidays once again. For that reason they opted for a spacious new four-bedroom detached Arizona villa with its own private pool.

The couple funded their €600,000 purchase from their own resources topped up by a Spanish mortgage.

For further information contact: The Almanzora Group
E-mail: tag@almanzora.co.uk
Telephone: +44 (0) 1242 680 299

Completed holiday homes are ready for occupation in the Harbour Lights waterfront development (pictured) in Villaricos, one of the most sought-after locations on the Almeria coast in south-east Spain where prices are at their lowest for six years. For details call +44 (0) 1242 680 299, email tag@almanzora.co.uk or visit www.almanzora.com

Act now and you could be enjoying a break in your own brand new holiday home in a traditional Spanish fishing village this summer.

That is the message from the Cheltenham-based Almanzora Group which has completed holiday homes ready for occupation in the Harbour Lights waterfront development in Villaricos, one of the most sought-after locations on the Almeria coast in south-east Spain.

“Current market conditions mean that prices are at their lowest for six years with the price of a two-bedroom apartment at Harbour Lights at €147,500, a discount of almost one-third (30 per cent) off the list price,” says the firm’s sales and marketing manager Bridget Rosser. “Prices are tipped to rise significantly in future years, so now is the time to snap up a bargain. Would-be owners who buy now will be put on a fast-track to completion to ensure that they are able to enjoy using their new holiday home this summer.”

Villaricos is easy to reach thanks to three international airports. There are flights from the UK to Almeria Airport, around 40 minutes away from Harbour Lights by road, Alicante Airport (less than two hours away) and Murcia Airport (80 minutes by car).
Airlines currently flying to the region include Ryanair, easyJet, Monarch, Jet2, Jetair Fly and Thomas Cook.

Additional information about Harbour Lights at Villaricos
Currently available at Harbour Lights, the waterfront development overlooking the Esperanza harbour and a five-minute walk from the sandy Villaricos beach – are two-, three- and four-bedroom apartments and townhouses.

Designed in a style which reflects many aspects of traditional Spanish small town and village architecture, they are built in private and secure gated communities, around courtyards and a swimming pool, as well as around formal Spanish plazas, with orange trees, water features and quiet seating areas.

All of the homes have an individual rooftop solarium with sea views, as well as underground parking. Floor areas of the apartments range in size from 56 sq m to 138 sq m.

Villaricos is a traditional fishing village located on the coast between the Almanzora River and the Sierra Almagrera. It was once a Phoenician port and, in the nineteenth century, a silver mining boom town.

Today its two harbours are busy with fishing boats and, following new developments to accommodate an expanding local population, Villaricos has around 19 restaurants, cafes and bars. Most are Spanish and the village has retained its very Spanish character.

There are two main beaches. Fronting the village to the north is a pebble beach with exceptionally clear water. To the south is a long wide sandy beach with a summer beach bar. This beach continues around the mouth of the dry Almanzora river into a series of small sandy bays and several kilometres of virgin coast.

Local leisure activities available include fishing and scuba diving. A Sunday market and numerous fiestas in Villaricos and nearby Cuevas del Almanzora are among other attractions.

For further information contact: The Almanzora Group
E-mail: tag@almanzora.co.uk
Telephone: +44 (0) 1242 680 299

Las Casitas Beach Cottages, Playa Marqués

This new ‘courtyard collection’ of 24 colourful two- and three-bedroom casitas, or beach cottages, in an unspoilt coastal region of Almeria in south east Spain, is a walk of less than one minute from El Playazo – the 7 km Great Sandy Beach at Playa Marques. Restaurants and shops are three minutes away by car.

The cottages, built around a secure gated courtyard garden with swimming pools, currently are being offered for sale by the Cheltenham-based Almanzora Group at prices which start at €243,500 for a two-bedroom home, a discount of more than 30 per cent – €104,500 – off the list price of €348,000.

Floor areas range from 84 sq m to 107 sq m with 25 sq m to 76 sq m of gardens, terraces, balconies and solariums – most with sea views.

As this picture shows, the two-, three- and four-storey homes have been designed in a traditional Mediterranean beach style. Bright azure, turquoise and lemon coloured mouldings, window frames and doors contrast with white walls. Inside, hand-made fully-fitted kitchens with granite tops and an oven, hob with extractor, fridge-freezer and washing machine come with choices of colourful ‘beach style’ joinery, cupboard fronts and tiles. All bathrooms have high quality sanitary ware and fittings. Every home has air-conditioning and double glazing. Underground and surface car parking spaces are included in the price.

For further information contact: The Almanzora Group
E-mail: tag@almanzora.co.uk
Telephone: +44 (0) 1242 680 299

The property is being offered for sale by the Cheltenham-based Almanzora Group for €712,500, a discount of 25 per cent – €237,500 – off the list price of €950,000.

A price reduction of €237,500 is being offered to buyers of a four-bedroom Spanish colonial-style country villa identical to this one (centre of picture) at Desert Springs, Europe’s only international award-winning luxury family resort and championship desert golf course in the Almeria region of south-east Spain.

The air-conditioned Arizona – the type of home owned by Sir Ian Botham at Desert Springs – is designed to capture the ambience of the old farmhouses, or cortijos, of the Almanzora region in which the resort is located. Set within a walled garden, the property features deep and shady colonnaded verandas with fans, spacious roof terraces and a private pool. Internal finishes include hardwood joinery, stone fireplaces and marble and Porcelanosa tiled floors.

For further information contact: The Almanzora Group
E-mail: tag@almanzora.co.uk
Telephone: +44 (0) 1242 680 299

The 94 sq m property is being sold by the Cheltenham-based Almanzora Group for €244,125 – a discount of 22.5 per cent off the list price.

The price of a two-bedroom, two-bathroom townhouse which has been used as a showhome at Desert Springs – Europe’s only international award-winning luxury family resort and championship desert golf course in the Almeria region of south-east Spain – has been reduced by almost a quarter to help secure an early buyer.

The Spanish Colonial-style property is one of those pictured here, built on the highest point in the resort. It has a panoramic view of its 18-hole Indiana golf course and overlooks a courtyard garden and pool. The property also has its own solarium on the roof.

For more details call +44 (0) 1242 680 299, www.almanzora.com

A Herencia country house of the type Martin and Sandra Symington bought at Desert Springs in 2002. For details call +44 (0) 1242 680 299 or visit www.almanzora.com, www.almanzora.com

This computer-generated image shows how the first Caprichosa will look when it is completed. It has been bought off-plan by Martin and Sandra Symington because they wanted more space for family holidays at Desert Springs. For details call +44 (0) 1242 680 299 or visit www.almanzora.com

The owner of an international company whose business as a coffee merchant takes him to exotic destinations as far apart as Dubai, Morocco and Korea has selected south east Spain as the ideal location for a family holiday home in the sun.

Martin Symington (55) – managing director of Coffee Merchants Ltd which he set up in Northern Ireland three years ago, and whose home is in County Down – has just agreed to buy the first in a new generation of exclusive detached homes planned for Desert Springs, Europe’s only international award-winning luxury family resort and championship desert golf course in the Almeria region of south-east Spain.

The property – named The Caprichosa – will have an exterior design inspired by some of the old manorial farmhouses which can still be seen in Almeria. The developer, the Almanzora Bay Group, says it reflects the way in which, over many centuries, extensions and additions to properties like these – regarded as historically important – create visual variety and architectural interest.

“The name chosen for the property – Caprichosa – is a Spanish word describing
someone who has a caprice, a whim or a fancy of their own, and this is very much in keeping with the concept of the plans for the property,” says Bridget Rosser, sales and marketing manager of The Almanzora Group based in Cheltenham and agent for the properties at Desert Springs.

Martin and his wife Sandra will be encouraged to work with the architect to overlay their own ideas on the developer’s plans for their property which will occupy a plot of 0.14 hectare (just over a third of an acre) on the banks of the established Tiburon Lake.

The site is just across the water from the fourteenth signature hole of the resort’s Indiana Desert Golf Course.

The couple’s decision to buy the Caprichosa for around €2.5 million – the actual price will depend on their final specification – underlines their enthusiasm for Desert Springs where they bought their first overseas property six years ago.

“I had just taken up golf and spotted a newspaper advertisement for Desert Springs,” recalls Martin. “It inspired me to take a look and, having done so, we bought a four- to five-bedroom Herencia country house there.

“Desert Springs had immediate appeal. I love the dramatic and undeveloped nature of the environment, and I was impressed by the quality of the buildings taking shape in the resort.

“Furthermore, it is so easy to reach Almeria with flight times from Belfast of less than two-and-a-half hours – unlike Florida which I considered briefly. The problem is that you can’t go there for a jetlag-free weekend visit!”

Martin and Sandra have four children and seven grandchildren, so their property is fully used by family and friends throughout the summer months.

“We now need more than four plus the occasional five bedrooms and when we saw the plans for the Caprichosa we knew that trading up to buy the first one would be our next step,” said Martin.

He describes each time he arrives at Desert Springs as “like coming home because the welcome is always so warm” and he praises the high calibre of service demonstrated by The Almanzora Group at the time when he negotiated his first purchase.

“That has been maintained by the Spanish based Almanzora Bay Group team which manages the properties and golf facilities in Spain,” he said, “and these days I take a particularly keen interest in the latter, having been elected captain of the Desert Springs Golf Club!”

Construction work on the Symingtons’ new Caprichosa will get underway next year reports Bridget who describes it as “the most prestigious residential property yet planned at Desert Springs.” Currently she is selling a variety of other properties in the resort, ranging from apartments, townhouses and cottages to villas and country houses at prices starting at €233,000 for an apartment, rising to around €2.5 million for a spacious country house like the Caprichosa.

• For more information contact The Almanzora Group on telephone +44 (0) 1242 680 299 or visit the website, www.almanzora.com


The Symingtons’ properties at Desert Springs – a brief description

The Herencia
The Symingtons’ first home at Desert Springs was a spacious four-bedroom plus occasional fifth bedroom/study, four-bathroom, fully air-conditioned and secure Herencia Country House. Planned with careful attention to detail, it combines authenticity with modern day requirements; for example although windows have high performance double glazing, they are designed and custom-made to replicate the oval and square windows seen in old country homes of this type.

The Symingtons paid €900,000 for their property when they bought it off-plan in 2002 but Martin reckons that the increase in capital values at Desert Springs in particular would still make it worth about €1.2 million now, despite the recent market problems generally.

The Caprichosa
The main entrance to the Caprichosa is approached through a large manorial door leading into a shaded Andalucian-style courtyard, enclosed on three sides by a pergola, with a cooling central fountain. The front door entrance itself is located at the foot of a tower containing a sweeping staircase linking the entrance hall, the first floor bedrooms and an open sided torre de la vela (watch or candle tower). The tower, which has views across the lake, allows for cooling air to flow up through the property, whenever the ground floor windows are open. Below is an extensive basement and underground double garage.

The property, which the owner can modify to accommodate up to six or even seven bedrooms, is designed for indoor/outdoor living. The ground floor has a spacious family living room, a semi-separate dining room and fully-fitted kitchen and breakfast room, each opening on to a covered terrace of over 1,000 sq ft.

It includes areas designed and laid out for al fresco dining as well as an outdoor lounge complete with a fireplace, and for sunbathing.

Also on the ground floor are a study and two of the double bedrooms. With their own semi-private entrances off the entrance hall and courtyard, they are designed as guest suites. All bedrooms have their own private bathrooms.

On the first floor are two principal bedrooms, one of which is linked to the staircase by a ‘reading gallery’ overlooking the family living areas and main terrace below. Both bedrooms open on to their own private sun terraces. All floors of the property will have air management.

The basement comprises 165 sq m (more than 1,750 sq ft) of naturally cool space, including a games room, occasional accommodation and spaces for other facilities such as a gymnasium, a spa with Jacuzzi and sauna, a wine cellar, utility and laundry rooms.

The property includes a generously proportioned double garage with ample storage and workshop space. A large proportion of the energy supply for the property will be supplied by solar panels, taking advantage of the unique climatic conditions at Desert Springs.

Internal finishes will be specified in accordance with the purchaser’s wishes.

The Caprichosa will have a total internal floor area of around 480 sq m (5,170 sq ft), with terraces of 150 sq m (1,600 sq ft). Outside the property will be fully landscaped to create the type of desert garden which resulted in the developer – the Almanzora Bay Group – being awarded the UK’s New Homes Garden Award 2007 in the category Best Garden / Landscape – Overseas Development. A 10 m x 5 m level deck swimming pool is included in the garden of The Caprichosa.

The site earmarked for construction of the Symingtons’ property is on the banks of Tiburon Lake, the first of three linked lakes planned in the resort. The largest, Steamboat Lake, will be used for a variety of ‘peaceful’ water sports ranging from sailing and canoeing to windsurfing. The middle lake, Sweetwater, already is being stocked with bait fish for the introduction of black bass game fish in the near future.

IMPORTANT NOTE
To avoid confusion, please note that this document refers to two organisations with names which are similar but different. They are The Almanzora Bay Group [THE DEVELOPER] and The Almanzora Group Ltd [THE AGENT].

• The Almanzora Bay Group, named after the Almanzora  region of Eastern Andalucia where it has been active since 1985, is an Anglo-Spanish sister group to the award-winning Cheltenham-based developer, the Robert Hitchins Group. Established in 1958, the Robert Hitchins Group specialises in large-scale strategic land planning and commercial development in the West of England and South Wales.
• The Almanzora Group, which is a subsidiary of the Robert Hitchins Group, is the main European sales agent and acts exclusively for the development companies which comprise the Almanzora Bay Group, marketing new properties developed by The Almanzora Bay Group in resort, village and beach locations.

Please note that none of the above have any connection with the Spanish development known as The Almanzora Country Club.