The Best Places to Buy Property in Spain
(mainland)
 Want to avoid your fellow countrymen - and the Robin Hood pubs that spring up around them? Go for somewhere with a low Brit-alert score, such as the Costa Verde. Looking for a property bargain? Choose a region that scores highly in terms of value for money: property on the Costa Blanca rates better than on the highly developed and expensive Costa del Sol.
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Choose one of the following:
Costa Brava (north Catalonia)
 Home and inspiration to the surrealist artist Salvador Dali, the "wild coast" is dramatic around places such as Cadaques, at the tail end of the Pyrenees, where pine-covered hills run down to the clear blue waters of the Mediterranean. There are also spots such as the picturesque medieval village of Pals, with its miles of wide-open beach, where you can find your own private stretch of sand in mid-August.
A little inland, the Emporda region is anything but wild: this is some of Spain's most serenely beautiful countryside, leading to comparisons with Tuscany. It has traditionally been one of the country's richest regions, hence the well-tended farms, affluent villages and imposing country mansions, or masias.
The location is difficult to beat. Just across the border from France, you can enjoy Gallic delights without having to live among the French. Hill-walking, mountain-biking and skiing are an hour's drive away in the Pyrenees, while Barcelona and Gerona are close enough for culture vultures and shopaholics. You can fly into either city's airport, or that of Perpignan in France. Soon a TGV-style fast train will also link London and Paris with Gerona and Barcelona.
 Prices have risen 16% over the past 12 months, driven by bullish locals enjoying another year of good economic growth. British buyers are increasingly those with serious budgets, as Willem Boerhof, of Your House in Spain, explains. "New luxury villas in Begur costing 1.5m (£1m) are getting much more attention from buyers than the cheaper stuff.
British buyers with lower budgets are drifting away as they find they can't afford the area.
Those who can afford it are prepared to pay for something special." Good-quality coastal apartments start at €300,000 (£200,000); villas, at £400,000. Masias in the interior start at about £550,000.
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