The Orihuela City Council has put up for auction, for the second time this year, three plots of land on the Coast which it intends to sell for 21 million euros (taxes included). This is a repeat of the procedure and practically the same estimated price of the plots as the first attempted sale, which received no bids.
After there was no interest in the sale, the local government said it would reconsider whether to auction the plots again and if necessary to modify the value and conditions of the land. However, the new procedure has been made public with almost the same details. Companies in the construction sector have until 14th September to submit offers.
The new auction announcement appeared on Saturday on the State Procurement platform. The first of the plots, is located in PAU-21, Colinas Golf Resort, has an area of 38,539 square meters, of which 24,194 square meters are buildable, with a starting price of the auction of 14.4 million euros (VAT included). This is one of the areas with the highest land values in Orihuela Costa despite not being on the front line.
The second plot is located in the La Cuerda sector, with an area of 15,861 square meters and 7,726 square meters of buildable area. This urbanisation is located between La Regia and Castillo de Don Juan, on the second line of the Oriolana coast. The starting price is 4.6 million euros (including VAT). The third plot is in the El Garbanzuelo sector (PAU -9), which has 6,951 square meters, with a buildable area of 3,659 square meters and a starting price of 608,000 euros. Located in the north Orihuela Costa on the second line of the coastal stretch and bordering Torrevieja. It is on this last plot, where the exit appraised value was set at one million, where we see the only price reduction.
News of the sale has once again brough mixed emotions. As this council is already sitting on €20,000,000 from the sale of land last year and the Mayor pledged the money would be spent on improvements for the Coast – but will that be the case.
Local political party Partido Independencia Orihuela Costa (PIOC) says ‘now more than ever the mayor should put that money to good use here on the Coast, support local businesses and struggling residents who have been laid off work’.
The party estimates that soon there will be around 5,000 vacant properties for sale here on the coast and that there are an estimated 500 building applications in the pipeline for the coast.
A spokesman for PIOC said: “We will always be viewed as no more than a golden goose for the Orihuela government, so it does look like the coast is for sale at any price.”