More and more people are dreaming of living on the sea coast and enjoying the sound of Mediterranean waves. Less of them know and are ready for the nuances of resort real estate. Others waste time while trying to choose between different types of estates.
Additionally, coronavirus impacted the real estate market, and it is not clear, which property one should invest in. Apartments, chalets, duplexes, townhouses, bungalows in Costa Blanca — all this variety can make potential homeowners a bit frustrated.
Together with our expert, CEO Virto Property, Sergey Sinyugin, we will explain in detail the differences, and help you save some time while choosing a suitable property.
Chalet VS Villa
Let’s start with those terms that are clear to everyone. A detached house has four walls, one owner (without neighbours), and a piece of land. The Spaniards call such houses chalets. Foreigners may confuse such a building with a villa. However, there are differences in the size of the site and location.
Villas, as a rule, are located in the suburbs or outside villages. Chalets can be found in quiet areas of a private estate. Nevertheless, chalets in the mountains are also becoming popular, especially in the south of the country, in the Andalusia region as well as in Valencia including Costa Blanca.
Chalets, unlike villas, can be one-storey with an area from 40 m² to 150 m². The piece of land can be up to 500 m² but, usually, is much smaller. Typically, chalets are located together, with a communal area and a swimming pool. Sometimes everyone has their own swimming pool.
One of the advantages is the absence of neighbours behind the wall. The owner also does not have an obligation to pay utility bills for cleaning the entrance, landscaping the territory, lighting, and other services like in apartments in multi-storey buildings.
The chalet was originally a one-storey building. Today in Costa Blanca, two- and three-storey options often appear. Typically on the ground floor, there will be a terrace, a guest room, a first bathroom, a kitchen, and a laundry room. There is a master bedroom, a children’s room, and a second bathroom on the second floor.
Be aware that chalets have very low foundations due to the hot climate. Sometimes the foundation is even painted or marked with decorative tiles.
Bungalow, Duplex, and Townhouse
This is where the real confusion of the terms starts. Let’s figure it out together with our expert Sergey Sinyugin, CEO Virto Property.
Imagine houses connected by joint walls. Together they form one long, most often two-storey house. This type of real estate is divided into bungalows. The lower bungalow on the ground floor has a piece of land; the upper bungalow (on the 1st floor) has an exit to the roof terrace.
Each has its separate entrance. Foreigners who enjoy having their solarium (on a flat roof) and sunbathing often choose the upper floor. Those who are looking for a parking space, as well as a barbecue area, prefer to settle closer to the ground. The bungalow is roughly the size of a three-room apartment. Typically, there are neighbours on the sides or top/bottom.
The piece of land can vary from 20 to 800 m². In Spain, part of the courtyard is laid out with tiles, a barbecue area is organised, and there is a dining table nearby. A hose with water is also available.
It is essential to know that from the end of May to the end of September, the “barbecue season” in Costa Blanca is not on due to a high risk of fire. But from October to May, thousands of parks and squares in Valencia and Spain, in general, are equipped for frying meat and fish. There are barbecues, water supplies, and playgrounds for children.
Thus, in the summer, you can have a barbecue on your site, so the land is a must for fried meat lovers. Some people build mini car-parks on their sites or plant lemons and oranges.
Option two: if the upper and lower bungalows are combined into one property for one owner, this is no longer a bungalow but a duplex (about 100 m²). Now the owner has two floors, a piece of land, and a roof terrace. Neighbours are also now on both sides.
The above types of real estate are often called townhouses. A horizontal townhouse is a bungalow; a vertical one is a duplex, and a corner one is a quad.
The approximate costs of these different types of housing are below:
- apartments: from €35,000
- top floor bungalow: from €65,000
- ground floor bungalow: from €70,000
- duplexes: from €90,000
- quads: from €100,000
- chalets: from €150,000
- villas: from €250,000.
Prices depend on their location, materials, and other factors. For example, a chalet in a rural area is cheaper than in a city. Housing located in urbanised areas of Costa Blanca is 20% more expensive.
