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Property
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not off-plan speculators”. Residents are showing concern at the
number and height of new blocks being squeezed in – 33 more by 2021 - and protestors claim a detrimental effect on Gibraltar’s skyline, loss
the plot might grow further... for a larger development!”
OV’s Butcher plans to build circa 100 more apartments at The Reserve on the side of the Rock where there was once a casino, but four years of site difficulty has frustrated progress. And developer Hepta expects to create a 15-storey high building for up to 77 apartments, 12 duplex penthouses, plus office and retail space at Devil’s Tongue, Queensway. There’s talk too of further land reclamation with a mini eco-city at Coaling Island on Gibraltar’s west side, and 3 - 4 more housing projects near the airport.
The top end of the market remains slow. A UK developer launched The Sanctuary - five luxury villas of up to 1,400m2 with 5-6 beds in a gated community high on the Rock - priced at £8.5–10m. Completed late last year, one has sold so far.
At £10.9m, the most expensive property remains an open plan 4-storey villa, New Aloes - 2014 winner of ‘Best International Property Single Unit’ - built for OV’s Greg Butcher with 7-bedrooms, 865m2 internal space, and garaging for 10 cars!
However, Montegriffo claims: “We are
seeing a lot of high value clients coming into Gibraltar. People are demanding high quality, so Gibraltar is maturing; we have also seen buyers wanting larger spaces, more sophisticated fitting out, better and more amenities.”
The estate agent perceives: “High income people see Gibraltar as something new. Whereas we sometimes ask ‘when is it going to end, when are we going to see an adjustment that goes down rather than consistent growth’, people from overseas suggest we are only just beginning - they can see the margin here.
“A Hong Kong investor suggested our property market could at least double in value in the next 6-10 years. When I checked, between 2000 and 2006 the market pretty much tripled in value. We might think ‘never again’; others see the potential.”In January, the web portal www.Propertygibraltar.com reported: “Without a doubt, the cranes and the constant change in the view of Gibraltar’s skyline signify opportunities as well as building activity and point to prosperity.”
Our commercial property report appears in the next issue.
of light and, of course, views. Yet still more development is envisaged, in addition to several smaller projects of 15+ apartments. The biggest in prospect is the long-awaited Eastside “Bluewater” develop- ment on reclaimed land that UK- based Cameron Developments was to pay the government £86m in 2015 to strategies” for build £1bn-worth of high-end apartments, frontier workers: retail and office space, a marina and 1,100
“Other
Housing minister, government affordable homes.
samantha sacramento
In November, Chief Minister Fabian Picardo, told Parliament Brexit uncertainty had “stalled” progress, but eastside presented “a property lung” and “an opportunity for further expansion and development”. He added: “There is a possibility that
Perspective matters
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24 Gibraltar International
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