Murcia

Murcia was founded in 825 by the emir of Cordoba, Abd ar-Rahman II when Spain was ruled by the Umayyad Caliph. The town was well fortified and prospered under Moorish rules, but by the 13th century it had been conquered by Christian forces. While Murcia declined in importance due to ongoing wars, it rebounded in the 16th and 18th centuries.

Today, Murcia is the seventh largest city in Spain and an important services center for the Murcia Region. The economy is dominated by agriculture—lemons and oranges in particular—as evidenced by the countless orchards covering the landscape just outside of the city, and by education, thanks in large part to the University of Murcia, one of the oldest universities in Spain. Finally, due to its great climate and proximity to the Mediterranean, tourism generates a lot of business in Murcia.

From a real estate perspective, Murcia is enticing for a number of reasons. For one, the large student population ensures there are always plenty of people looking for medium-term rentals close to campus. This particular type of demand also has the benefit of remaining high even in economic downturns.

Secondly, Murcia is an important tourist destination, both in its own right and as an access point to the beaches and resorts located along the nearby Mediterranean Sea. The region attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists every year, especially from Northern Europe who are looking for sun and warmth, which Murcia provides in abundance. Murcia is also extremely popular with expats from the United Kingdom, Northern Europe, and even the United States who need more long-term property options. As a result, by investing in real estate in a desirable area of the city, you will have a potentially large pool of tenants or future buyers not just locally, but from abroad as well.

Finally, Murcia real estate is highly affordable. In the city center, prices are typically just €2,400 per square meter and only €1,475 per square meter outside of the city center. Those are very low prices compared to many other large Western European cities.