Marbella is the only town where Property Sales increased in 2010

Mónica Perez  " Sur in English" As well as having more construction projects on the drawing board, Marbella was also the only municipality in the province of Malaga to see an increase in property sales in 2010.

According to a report compiled by the Association of Residential, Sports and Health Tourism businesses, Promotur, in the first eight months of 2009 only 1,371 properties changed hands in the town, while the figure was up to 1,730 in the same period of 2010

However, although developers have had to reduce their profit margins by an average of between 10 and 30 per cent, property on the Costa del Sol is still on average more expensive than in other Mediterranean holiday areas. Average prices in Marbella are still as high as 2,745 euros per square metre, a figure that is only beaten by Estepona where a square metre costs 2,930.

The residential tourism association stresses, however, that there are a number of factors that are still contributing to one of the western Costa del Sol’s biggest problems, the huge stock of brand new homes that have never been bought. They mention the high volume of exclusive properties, an insufficient adjustment of price levels, a lack of trust on the part of the buyers due to the delicate situation and the lack of security still caused by political and planning problems