Los Barrios - a prestigious hotspot located alongside Alcaidesa and Sotogrande

As the Malaga to Estepona stretch of the Costa del Sol fills up with residential construction projects, property developers are looking further afield for areas in which they can build comfortable yet affordable homes. The area south of Puerto Duquesa has provided several development opportunities, notably the Alcaidesa region, where some impressive residential projects have been completed recently and others are planned, and the San Roque Golf and Country Club, where stunning residential projects are nearing completion and an exclusive commercial centre will open its doors within the next couple of months. Highgrove Mews, a development of 24 luxurious semi-detached homes and two ‘cortijo style’ residences, on the outskirts of Los Barrios, midway between Gibraltar and Algeciras.

Los Barrios, located just off the new motorway leading to Seville, is the latest ‘property hotspot’. It is a typical Andalucian white village, set in the countryside, yet within easy reach of the coast and the lively city of Algeciras with its myriad social and shopping opportunities, including a branch of the renowned Corte Ingles. A leisure and retail park has recently opened in the vicinity of Los Barrios, complete with shops, a multi-screen cinema, a bowling alley and the international standard Guadacorte Park Hotel. Gibraltar, with its tax-free shopping and international finance centre, is also only a 10-minute drive away.

Set just outside Los Barrios, Highgrove Mews has two different designs of semi-detached homes set in their own gardens as well as two ‘cortijo style’ residences set in extensive grounds. The substantial semi-detached homes all have three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a separate toilet, and spacious living rooms leading on to a large terrace overlooking the back garden. Type A houses have integral parking, while type B homes have a parking space in the entrance driveway. Optional ‘dip in’ pools can be installed in some gardens if desired. The ‘cortijo’ properties also have three bedrooms, but are larger and are built in ‘colonial’ style; they have a stunning outlook over Gibraltar Bay.

Solidly constructed, with reinforced concrete foundations and supports, the houses are well insulated and should provide comfortable living. Interior walls are finished with smooth plaster and two coatsof plastic paint. Floors have ceramic tiles and matching skirting, the kitchen and bathrooms having rustic ‘terracotta effect’ ceramic tiles. Bathrooms have half-height ceramic wall tiles with a decorative frieze and are fully fitted, with Roca brand sanitary fittings in either white or a pastel colour, a marble sink surround and an electric water heater. Piping is either PVC (cold water) or insulated copper. Kitchens have full-wall ceramic tiling, again with a decorative frieze, and have the necessary electrical and plumbing fittings so that buyers can install their own choice of wall cabinets and appliances. The rest of the living space is also attractively finished, and a fireplace can be installed in the living room as an optional extra. The gardens are to be handed over complete with fertile topsoil and seeded lawn areas, and they are enclosed by hedges backed by a plastic-coated chain link fence.

Sales in this development have been brisk since launch, although there is still a selection available, the final units being now on release. Prices for the homes in Highgrove Mews are from €227,950 for type A houses and from €213,950 for the type B option, extremely reasonable prices for homes of this quality, particularly when compared to similar types of development in the Malaga-Marbella region. RLS Homes, “the name on the finest homes”, also have in place an attractive method of financing the purchase of any of their new developments – their ‘little by little’ plan. Buyers make payments totalling 20% of the purchase price over a period of 15 months or longer while their homes are being built. When construction is completed an 80% mortgage with affordable interest rates is available to cover the remaining cost. This method of finance helps to keep the prices of RLS developments at a reasonable level.

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