Lifestyle buyers drawn to Spanish province

The economic downturn in Spain is not putting foreigners off buying homes in Alicante, it has been revealed.

According to the Costa Blanca News, the province is attracting a similar number of overseas property buyers as Barcelona.

This, it stated, puts it "well ahead" of other popular destinations, including Murcia and Malaga.

The newspaper has largely attributed this to an influx of migrants who wish to establish a full-time residence in Spain.

Commenting on this trend, it said: "A key factor is that the majority of property transactions involved expats already living in the area rather than those buying holiday homes."

This comes after Homes Overseas said house prices in some parts of the country are dropping as a result of the credit crunch.

According to the publication, overseas property buyers could take advantage of the current state of the market by buying a residence at a knock-down price.