Lanzarote
The property portfolio
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AFFORDABLE Price: €274,000 (£232,242) Location: La Carabela, Playa Blanca Description: This detached, two-tothree-bedroom house comes with two bathrooms, two lounges and a garden with a private pool.
a short drive along near-empty roads away from just about anywhere else on the island for lunch.
THE EXPERT’S OPINION Alan and Trisha Harper took over the Playa Blanca office of the Estupendo (grupoestupendo.com) group of estate agents seven years ago and in that time have seen business boom. Lanzarote’s house prices have always been at the top end of the market, but the worldwide economic crisis has taken its toll. “Prices are around 25% lower now than pre-crisis,” explains Trisha. “They seem to be stabilising – we’re seeing a steadier picture, so they probably will start to rise, but we don’t expect them to get to the inflated levels they were at before the recession hit.”
SPLASH OUT Price: €449,000 (£380,470) Location: Puerto del Carmen Description: This three-bedroom villa features en suite bathrooms, a spacious living area and a large private pool with poolside bar.
Chatting to 41-year-old John Beckley and Hellen Le Fevre (44), reveals it was Lanzarote’s secure environment for their children, 9-year-old Gabrielle and Vincent, 5, that was the main attraction of living on the island. “It’s just so safe here,” says Hellen. John agrees: “Everyone is so friendly and there’s a real community feel wherever you go. Everyone knows everyone else.” John and Hellen have been living on Lanzarote for the past 18 months and currently live in the east coast resort of Costa Teguise, where John is Marketing Manager at Sands Beach Resort. Lanzarote’s year-round sunshine and low rainfall are ideal for residents who love an active, healthy lifestyle. As we chat poolside at the beautiful Hotel Princesa Yaiza in Playa Blanca, John reveals he’s feeling the effects of running the Yaiza Extreme race that day. “It’s a long time since I last ran 10km!” he laughs. “There are sporting events almost every weekend here, and big annual events like Ironman. The island is great for windsurfing, cycling… just about every sport.”
grupoestupendo.com
he most northerly of the Canary Islands, Lanzarote is renowned for its dramatic volcanic landscape. Less populated and urbanised than some of the Canaries, Lanzarote’s development has largely been kept in synch with the environment, thanks to the efforts of the island’s world-renowned architect, César Manrique. Housing is uniformly white, low-rise and constructed using local materials, giving the island a quasi North African beauty. Most British incomers settling on the island – young families relocating and mature couples looking to escape the winter – choose to live around the southern coastal resort developments of Puerto del Carmen, Costa Teguise and Playa Blanca, with their palmlined promenades, where they’re just
THE RESIDENTS’ OPINION
THOMAS COOK TRAVEL
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