Marbella is set to be the first part of Spain to recover from the country's beleaguered real estate hole

19:07 El NACHO 0 Comments

Marbella is set to be the first part of Spain to recover from the country's beleaguered real estate hole with property sales reaching their best level in four years, it is claimed.Figures released by the Marbella tax office shows that 2,499 properties were sold in the first three months of this year, a rise of more than 200% compared to the same period in 2009 when just 820 properties were sold.In the first quarter of 2008 there were 1,263 sold, 1,602 in the same period in 2007 and 1,224 in 2006. And Marbella mayor Angeles Muñoz says the town' will be the first out of the crisis' and is now recovering not just from the fall in the market but also from its illegal property scandals.She said that its new town plan, which comes into effect this month, means that some 16,000 properties will be legalised, enabling owners to sell them, raise a mortgage or use them as an asset.The latest figures from the National Institute of Statistics indicate that it is not just Marbella where the property market is picking up. They show that the Spanish property market grew by 16% in February compared to the same month last year. This suggests that the market in some areas is bottoming out and is starting to recovery after two years of decline.