Residential property in Puerto Lumbreras
Apartments and houses in the town centre, cave houses and rural properties with land
Puerto Lumbreras is an interesting proposition for those looking at properties in an area which is close to popular tourist areas, but is not itself developed as a tourism destination, so lacks the urbanisations which have been built specifically for sale to those seeking second homes.
It is still, essentially, a "real Spanish" area for this reason, and is slightly inland from the coastal tourist municipalities and so purchasers will find the prices reasonable and the property offering varied.
Puerto Lumbreras has a wide range of properties on offer, but those buying in the municipality will find very limited English language support services, although there are considerably more ex-pat residents in the nearby coastal area of Águilas, and across the border in the Almería province of Andalucía, where there are large populations of foreign property owners in Pulpi, Vera and Huercal Overa.
As is to be expected in a municipality of some 15,000 inhabitants a large proportion of the residential properties in Puerto Lumbreras are flats or apartments in and around the town centre. Some of these are new and some date from the latter part of the 20th century, and as space was not at a premium during the years when the town grew there are also a fair number of one- and two-storey houses in the outskirts of the town.
These are not generally sought by foreign property buyers, as they are typical of modern apartments in any town in Spain, and lack character or a picturesque setting to make them of specific interest.
However, there are a number of older cave house properties in and around the town centre which have been renovated for use as weekend apartments. Cave houses are a totally different type of proposition for foreign buyers as they are energy efficient and characterful, although it is important to ensure that they have been professionally renovated and the land into which they are built is stable as there have been many cases of cave houses collapsing following heavy rain or adverse weather, so be careful if considering a cave house.
From the point of view of northern European buyers, though, the properties which are most commonly of interest are located outside the main town of Puerto Lumbreras, in the countryside around El Esparragal and La Estación. Much of this area is occupied by farmland, but there are also a number of properties and homes which combine modern design and mod cons, including swimming pools, with large plots of land (typically around 5,000 square metres) and attractive prices. The location is not exactly coastal, although Águilas is only around half an hour away, but the climate and wide-open spaces constitute a tempting offer for those who prefer a rural setting and would like to own a reasonable plot of land around their property.
Another attractive rural location is in and around Goñar in the Puerto Adentro area, which straddles the boundary between the Region of Murcia and Andalucía, while the varied landscape of Puerto Lumbreras also caters for people seeking remote mountain properties. In the mountains of Cabezo de la Jara, which lie to the north-west of the town, there are houses from which barely any other sign of human habitation is visible, with the views stretching for miles to peaks which reach well over 1,000 metres above sea level.
It is highly advisable to pay particular attention to the location of the property if buying a property in the agricultural flatlands of the Guadalentín valley, as although this area is not as prone to flooding as it was prior to the construction of the major water infrastructures and dam in Lorca, there can be isolated flooding incidents such as that of 2012 when an intense storm caused widespread flooding and loss of life. In general, if the houses are set on a substantial platform, with steps up to the door, then it is likely that the property is within an area where there has been flooding in the past, so be aware of this if purchasing in the area and take out good insurance.
Click for more information about the Puerto Lumbreras municipality
To see properties for sale across the Murcia region, go to www.spanishpropertypage.com
