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A NEW study from Idealista has revealed how suburban towns in Spain are seeing higher rental demand than large cities, indicating a shifting housing market as renters seek cheaper options outside increasingly expensive urban centres.  Idealista – the biggest online property portal in Spain – gauges rental pressure by looking at the number of email...

AS Andalucia’s unique ‘Semana Blanca’ half term holiday looms, schoolchildren across the Costa del Sol will be dusting off their skis and stocking up on warm layers ready for a trip to the slopes. Be it nearby Sierra Nevada or – if they’re really lucky – Baqueira or the Alps, why let the kids have...

GIBRALTAR’S crackdown on empty government flats is already yielding results, its minister for housing has said. Minister Pat Orfila launched a hotline recently that has brought to her attention a total of seven empty public flats around Gibraltar. Two of these flats are now in the final stages of repossession, after the Housing Department said...

HOME sales in Spain fell by 11.2% last year compared to 2022, according to figures released on Thursday by the General Council of Notaries(CGN). New mortgage loans dropped even further, by 21.3%, while prices recorded an average annual rise of 1.5%. Property deals reached 640,451 transactions last year but despite the reduction, its still the...

EVER dreamed of living in Hobbiton? Now you can with this adorable estate for sale just outside Spain’s Sevilla.  READ MORE: Expat couple buy an entire abandoned ‘pueblo’ in Spain: These are the plans for their new village For just €400,000, you could escape the ordinary and own your very own slice of Middle-Earth.  Located...

ALICANTE province has clocked the highest number of new houses built in a year since the property boom of 2007. The number of new properties built or started in 2023 was 8,783- a 52% rise on 2022 according to figures from the Official College of Technical Architecture of Alicante. “The figures for 2023 are based...

Know more about this story? Email me at laurence@theolivepress.es A BRITISH expat is under fire after allegedly paying himself €86,700-a-year for being the president of his neighbourhood in Spain – despite the job being ‘voluntary’ and ‘salary-free’. Stephen Hills is said to have outraged residents in Torre Bermeja in Estepona after his inflated pay packet...

Have you had an Airbnb experience in Spain that you think is worth a story? Email tips@theolivepress.es RENTING your Spanish home to tourists can be a profitable endeavour, especially if located in a popular holiday destination.  But as the number of Airbnb-style lets continues to surge, regional governments are beginning to crackdown on the trade. ...

A PLACE In The Sun presenter Jonnie Irwin has died aged 50, his family has said. The much-loved TV personality and father-of-three lost his battle to cancer following his shock diagnosis in 2020. Irwin presented A Place In The Sun on Channel 4 for many years, helping countless Brits find a home in Spain alongside...

AN expat couple have bought an entire abandoned ‘pueblo’ in Spain and these are their plans for their new home.  Have you ever dreamed of owning an entire village?  If so, Spain might just be the country for you.  According to recent estimates, there could be thousands of abandoned villages in the sun-kissed country.  A...