Jonathan Irwin: Today, I'm joined by Johan Eckervik, and you're a local estate agent of ... You'd better pronounce the name of your firm for me.
Johan Eckervik: Fastighetsbyrån.
Jonathan Irwin: That's a Swedish firm.
Johan Eckervik: Yes.
Jonathan Irwin: But you deal with buyers from ... Well, from all over Europe, yeah?
Johan Eckervik: All over Europe.
Jonathan Irwin: Okay. Obviously, Swedish buyers are your mainstays. Who else is buying here in Nerja at the moment?
Johan Eckervik: Britons.
Jonathan Irwin: Yeah.
Johan Eckervik: But in smaller number than before, I think.
Jonathan Irwin: Before the idea of Brexit.
Johan Eckervik: Than before ... Yes.
Johan Eckervik: Belgians. Germans. Norwegians.
Jonathan Irwin: What's attracting people to Nerja, then, as opposed to other parts of the Costa Del Sol?
Johan Eckervik: Well, actually, this is very genuine, this town. We don't have many skyscrapers or anything around.
Johan Eckervik: The nature here around is really beautiful, as well.
Jonathan Irwin: It feels very green. The mountains feel like they're part of the town. That's not to say that they haven't got good beaches here, though.
Johan Eckervik: No, they have fantastic beaches here.
Jonathan Irwin: I haven't seen a golf course for a number of miles now. You don't get many golfers here, then?
Johan Eckervik: No. I mean, that you have to drive about 20 kilometers to the nearest.
Jonathan Irwin: Okay. When you come to Malaga Airport, you turn right for all the golf, and you turn left for the nature. Is that a fair assumption?
Johan Eckervik: Well, I don't know if the people in Marbella would agree completely on that, but we say that here!
Jonathan Irwin: The type of buyer, they come to Nerja because they're more interested in the culture. Is it more Spanish here? Do Spaniards still buy here?
Johan Eckervik: Oh, yes. This is mostly a Spanish town, still.
Jonathan Irwin: Okay. What's the market doing at the moment?
Johan Eckervik: Well, the market is actually well down from between say 2008 to 2014. But about 2015, there was a turnaround, and since then, they've been going up.
Jonathan Irwin: How much has it gone up, then? Are we too late, or are there still deals to be done?
Johan Eckervik: Well, I think it's gone up a little bit slower lately, because ... maybe Brexit is affecting that a little bit, and so forth. But it's still going up, definitely.
Jonathan Irwin: Okay. Looking around, there don't seem to be loads of small properties. If I'm looking for, let's say, a two-bedroom property with some outside space, or access to a swimming pool, what sort of budget do I need to have?
Johan Eckervik: Well, depending on where in Nerja, I would say between 200,000 to 350,000 Euros.
Jonathan Irwin: Okay. And proximity to the beach, I'd take it the price is going up?
Johan Eckervik: Well, normally, things go up the nearer the beach you get.
Jonathan Irwin: The Balcon de Europa here, that's a big draw to the area. What's it like at different times of year?
Johan Eckervik: Well, this town actually never dies down.
Jonathan Irwin: Really?
Johan Eckervik: It gets a little bit slower in the winter. Calmer.
Jonathan Irwin: Lastly, how cold does it get here in the winter?
Johan Eckervik: Well, I think the coldest day I experienced in five years time here was 11 degrees Celsius.
Jonathan Irwin: That's not so bad, is it?
Johan Eckervik: That's not so bad, is it?
Jonathan Irwin: And the hottest?
Johan Eckervik: 43 degrees. But that's very rare.
Jonathan Irwin: Okay. So, you can come here throughout the year.
Johan Eckervik: Oh, yes.
Jonathan Irwin: Okay, it may be a bit breezy, but there's still shops open, restaurants open-
Johan Eckervik: Yes.
Jonathan Irwin: ... and trade here?
Johan Eckervik: Yes, yes.
Jonathan Irwin: Johan, thank you very much for your time.
Johan Eckervik: Thank you!
Jonathan Irwin: Great to meet you.
Johan Eckervik: Great to meet you.
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