Granada Ski and Beach combined

The slopes and the costa are both within striking distance of this ancient town, writes Nicola Venning writes Nicola Venning

If you like to mix café society with your aprés ski and enjoy red runs as much as red wine in a good restaurant, then a home in Granada, southern Spain, could be for you.


Imposing: the glorious Alhambra is the focal point of the city and the Sierra Nevada rises up on the horizon to meet it

With two budget airlines – Ryanair and Monarch – flying regularly to Granada, this astonishing medieval city, which is home to the historic Alhambra palace, has never been more accessible or alluring.

"Granada has cachet," says Michael Harding, 55, a property investor who has bought a home in the Santa Clara golf resort three miles outside the city. "It is quality as opposed to cheap sun, Guinness and chips."

Harding paid £140,000 for a three-bedroom house with a handsome 150 square metres of floor space two and a half years ago. He estimates that it is now worth more than £190,000.

The development around it has an indoor swimming pool and gold course complete with clubhouse and is only forty minutes from the Pradollano ski resort in the Sierra Nevada in one direction and same distance from the beach on the Costa Tropical in the other. "I have many friends in Malaga who come to Granada every year to ski," says Harding.

If you would like to be closer to the slopes, you might like to consider a home in one of the pretty little villages en route to the ski station, such as Monachil, Pinos Genil or pretty Guejar Sierra, which is about half way between city and resort. Eighteen months ago, Sean Lundy, 35, a civil servant from London, bought a two-bed off-plan apartment from Granada Estates in Guejar which is due to be finished by the end of this year, for £66,000.

"We are not yet paying the mortgage and it has already appreciated," says Lundy. "I think it is now worth £76,000. The village has shops and a school – and is only 20 minutes from Granada and all its nightlife as well as 20 minutes from the skiing."

Lundy plans to use the apartment during the school holidays with his wife and son and rent it out the rest of the time. Homes close to the ski resort are few and far between and tend to be old fincas or cortijos (farm houses with land), often not in very good condition with poor access.

Paul Martin, managing director of Granada Properties, said: "When houses do become available close to the resort they tend to be very expensive usually selling for between £200,000 to £420,000 for a fairly basic two or three-bed house. It is almost impossible now to obtain planning permission to build new houses up there". More apartments are available to buy in the ski village itself. The average price for a two-bed apartment is about £100,000. The cheapest would be £30,000.

If you are something of a culture vulture and don't mind a 30-minute drive up to the resort each day, you might prefer Granada itself. For sheer atmosphere and charm you cannot beat the alluring old districts or "barrios" of the city.

In the ancient arab quarter of Albaycin and gypsy district of Sacromonte, white-washed houses hug winding medieval lanes that wend around the Alhambra. Unsurprisingly these are some of the most sought-after and expensive homes you can buy in the area. In upper Albaycin – on the top of a hill with fabulous views prices are the highest. A "Carmen" – which is a traditional Andalucian house with wooden floors, beams, a garden and a pool – would cost about £405,000, while a one-bed apartment starts from about £140,000 and could be rented out as a short-stay holiday let for £42 to £60 a night.

Barbara Wood of consultants The Property Finders, said: "You might find the skiing market for rentals in the city a bit hit and miss, unless you are close to the south side and an access point."

Happily, access will be improving though, because there are plans to link Granada by gondola to the ski station 13 miles away with proposed stops at the villages of Monachil and Purche.

Polaris World builds new town, Brits taking over?

A giant new town due to arise out of the dry landscape of south-eastern Spain is at the centre of a battle over claims that traditional communities are being buried under a flood of golfing British expatriates and others looking for houses abroad.

With work due to start on eight golf courses and 60,000 houses, people in the country town of Alhama de Murcia are worried that their 17,000-strong community will soon be unrecognisable. A rebellion in the ruling group in the town hall has temporarily stopped some of the projects, which will increase the size of the town twelvefold.

"People are frightened," said a rebel councillor, Teresa Rodríguez, whose refusal to support her own party has temporarily blocked the plans. "It didn't seem right to me that some 120,000 people should come like that, all at once."

But, with Ms Rodríguez reportedly due to be expelled from her party, it seems likely that the new roads, waterways, golfing greens and villas will soon be built.

The row comes as Spain prays for enough winter rainfall to overcome a severe drought that started last year.

The region of Murcia has been one of the areas worst-affected by a severe drought that began last year, with environmentalists blaming water-hungry golf courses for consuming a vital resource.

The Polaris World company, which plans to build many of the new homes and three golf courses, says a private desalination plant and recycling will make its projects self-sufficient in water.

The company, which has a London office, told the Guardian that three Alhama developments where houses were already being sold "off plan" had all the permits they needed. A Socialist councillor, José Espadas, denied this.

The number of UK residents intending to buy property abroad is set to double from 5% to 10%, a recent Barclays bank survey found. A third of future buyers said they wanted a property in Spain.

My Rant

Brits have always liked the Spanish Costas and Murcia has become a favourite buying spot for many over the last few years. I remember thinking that La Torre and El Valle could add value to the area, which is dominated by farm land and industrial units. However when the other 7 resorts popped up, my feelings changed and now a new town, its a bit much. Many Polaris properties have come up for resale and are now on the market, is there really demand for 60,000 new homes, doubtful and what about the locals that cant afford these homes...