Property Catalonia - Buy, Rent & Stay in Catalonia, Spain

Catalonia

Catalonia is the northeastern region of Spain bordering on France and Andorra to the north, Valencia to the south, Aragon to the west and the Mediterranean Sea to the east. It is an autonomous community, in some ways a similar relationship with the Spanish government as Wales has with the UK, except that Catalonia has more autonomy.

As with Wales, there are two official languages; Spanish, which is often referred to as Castilian and Catalan. Catalan sounds, to the English ear, like French spoken with a Spanish accent.

The population of Catalunya, as the inhabitants call it, is around seven million in an area of 32,000 km2 making it more densely populated than many areas of Spain having 16% of the population in 6% of the area. However this figure is misleading as over five million people live in the metropolitan areas of Barcelona, which reduces the actual population density in the rural areas.

The area is very popular with the British and other northern Europeans. Immigrants overall represent 12% of the population of Catalonia

Barcelona

The capital city of Catalonia is Barcelona, a vital bustling city that dates back to before the building of Rome. Famous for the Sagrada Familia church which has been and still is under construction since 1882 as well as other works by its architect Antoni Gaudi.

Barcelona is one of Europe's most popular tourist destinations, having in addition to great architecture, museums and cultural events, 4.5km of beaches and a Mediterranean climate to enjoy them in.

Transport

Barcelona is the transport hub for the region with the second largest airport in Spain, El Prat International Airport being served by major carriers although low cost airlines such as Ryanair prefer to use the Girona Costa Brava airport located about 100km north of Barcelona. Near to Girona. and Reus, which has regular connections to Luton irport, Stanstead Airport, Liverpool John Lennon Airport, Glasgow Prestwick, Dublin Airport and Frankfurt-Hahn Airport.

Rail links interconnect with the rest of Spain and north to France as well as being a hub for bus services.

Spanish & Catalonian Property Prices

The general market in Spain continues to rise by over 10% per year with Catalonia towards the lower end of the average but the province of Girona and the Costa Brava outperformed the average nearing 20% increases in some areas.

Because Catalonia is not over dependant on foreign buyers, prices tend to hold their own even when the UK property market dips, which affects many areas of Spain.

Moving inland from the beach resorts of the Costa Brava prices fall to very attractive levels for UK and northern European purchasers.

Long term investment potential in the region is still good and although not as high as in some regions, the developed Spanish infrastructure means that many prefer the area to those high return regions such as Poland and Bulgaria.

Barcelona is actually the most expensive city in Spain with prices starting around €180,000 but it is important to find the right area of the city.

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