For British buyers, Spain remains the most popular country by far for Brits purchasing a home abroad. With an excellent, sunny climate, fabulous beaches, plenty of cheap flights from the UK and a low cost of living, it is easy to see why property in Spain is so popular.

It is a country of great contrasts, and parts of the north can resemble Scotland, while the south can have a north African feel. In the beach resorts, especially popular with the British, many buyers appreciate English being widely spoken and the strong British presence.

Most buyers look for properties for sale in southern Spain, where the climate is sunniest and hottest. In the southern Costas temperatures average the low 20s centigrade by late spring, peaking in the mid-30s and then falling back to the low 20s during October.

People buying properties in Spain tend to buy recently or newly built villas and apartments on developments, which is unlike the French market where British buyers almost all buy period homes.

In many regions, Spanish property represents very good value. Spain’s property market, like many others, suffered because of the global downturn and if you do a web search for ‘property prices southern Spain’ you will see that they have become even keener than before, both for resale properties in Spain and new-build deals.

Buyers looking for coastal property in Spain have a huge choice, with there being 2,125 km/1,320 miles of coastline. The Costa Blanca and the Costa del Sol remain firm favourites, having the best accessibility by air and a good selection of properties at all budgets (although some areas are very overdeveloped) but other costas have been rapidly rising in popularity in recent years, including the Costa Brava, Costa Dorada and the Costa de la Luz. The Balerics (Menorca, Mallorca and Ibiza) and the Canary Islands (Tenerife, Gran Canaria and Lanzarote) are very popular, while city lovers are increasingly focusing on Barcelona, Madrid, Valencia, Seville and Granada.

The northern Spanish coast has become more popular in recent years too, especially as there are ferry services to the UK from here, however the climate is much cooler and wetter than in the south.

By Ben West