Gran Canaria property

We’re to help you, guys. Whether you’re after the best Gran Canaria holiday or want to make your stay on the island a long-term one. So, here’s our insiders’ guide to Gran Canaria property.

There are a number of estate agents on the island. Some are better than others. We know because we’ve worked with most of them.

There are three main factors when it comes to buying property on Gran Canaria. With a little help from our estate-agent friends on the island, we’ll tell you what they are. Yes, it really is as easy as 1, 2, 3.

1. Gran Canaria property: the importance of location
2. Gran Canaria property: what you can expect to get for your money
3. Gran Canaria property: the estate agents we trust

1. Gran Canaria property: the importance of location

Location, location, location. There, we’re airing that hoary, old cliché. It might be the mammoth in the room, but it’s a cliché because it’s true.

The location of a Gran Canaria property’s as important on Gran Caas it is anywhere else. Are you buying property to live in or to rent out as holiday accommodation? If the former, maybe the resort you’ve stayed in before isn’t such  a good idea for a base all year round?

Or maybe it is. Dr Paul Beresford-Jones and his nurse wife Mary first had their British Medical Clinic next to Las Palmas de Gran Canaria’s British Club and lived in Los Hoyos. But, as Mr GCL found out at his book launch, there are as many, if not more, Canarians who are members of the British Club as there are actual Brits.

So Paul and Mary relocated to the south-west’s Puerto Rico, to serve non-Spanish-speaking holidaymakers and expats loath to leave the comfort zone of the resorts. If the bright lights of Puerto Rico are too intense, nearby Arguineguín is more residential. As the birthplace of two of the finest midfielders to have played for Spain in recent years, Juan Carlos Valerón and David Silva, perhaps your kids will follow in their bootsteps by honing their skills in this football factory.

The sprawl and swagger of Playa del Inglés can be a bit much, even if you’re on holiday. Nearby San Fernando, built as a satellite to accommodate people who worked in the bars, eateries, and hotels of the resorts, is where the locals of the area tend to live. And, if nothing else, you’ll eat out well with some of the south of the island’s best restaurants located there, including Abrasa.

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria’s one of the areas popular with early British settlers. If you’re a teacher working at one of the international schools, it’s a good base to commute from and offers all the attractions you’d expect of Spain’s 9th biggest city. RE/MAX Cony’s Laura Leyshon recommends two neighbourhoods in particular: “Alcaravaneras offers a beach on your doorstep and one of the best state primaries in the capital whilst in Arenales you can find value-for-money property in the centre of town.”

2. Gran Canaria property: what you can expect to get for your money

Prices in the Canary Islands are around a third down from the highs in 2007. But in 2014, they only dropped by 2% and sometimes rose. However, there are fluctuations between prices within the different municipalities on Gran Canaria let alone amongst the various islands.

And so whilst the average Gran Canaria property is around the €250,000 mark, there are property hotspots. One place that’s not so hot, and not only because of the wind, is Vecindario which was overbuilt during the boom years. So, a place to hunt for a bargain.

Elsewhere, Cardenas Real Estate‘s Ramón Sánchez Bruhn reveals that you’ll pay 100% more for a Puerto de Mogán property than a non-coastal house in the same municipality. Sánchez Bruhn says this is especially true if you’re talking about beachfront Playa de Mogán properties in impeccable condition. Whilst, Laura Leyshon discloses that a front-line property overlooking Las Palmas de Gran Canaria’s Canteras beach costs €3,490 a square metre.

3. Gran Canaria property: the estate agents we trust

Laura Leyshon showed us around one of the properties on her agency’s books. Close to Las Canteras’ Playa Chica, this apartment would suit a retired couple or perhaps a young family with a couple of kids max. And, no, we’re not on commission.

Inmo Star‘s Mohan Shani is also based in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. He says the Canary Islands are such a popular place to relocate to these days, that estate agents are struggling to supply the demand. And not just from digital nomads.

Another recommended estate agent is Sheena Gallagher. She owns Canary Property Market who have been selling homes on the island since 1972. They’ve got a good mix of urban and rural properties on their website.

We’ve already mentioned Cardenas whose main offices are in Arguineguín. As are EstateCanarias. If you’re looking for properties in the south, also contact the affable Alexandra Williams at Dream Homes Gran Canaria in the Yumbo,  Southern Properties Gran Canaria‘s Ivan Kelly and Canarias Planet‘s Lisa Rogers, who recently filmed a special Gran Canaria episode of A Place in the Sun. Not forgetting Canary Home Solution‘s can-do-will-do Nicky Gordon.