It appears that the market is continuing to feel the positive impact of some key recent developments such as the return of the core British market, the appearance of new emerging markets which are driven by favorable and innovative legal and tax structures, as well as the increasing availability of mortgage financing.

The survey found an overall positive mood in the market with the activities of so-called ‘bargain hunters’ dropping considerably during the first four months of the year, while at the same time enquiries, offers and even transactions were all up.

The data was gathered from 10 leading real estate agents in the region and was complete in May, researching market confidence, performance and market trends.

It appears that the interest from the ‘end users’ is increasing constantly, these accounting for 80% of all enquiries. By far the most popular property types are still villas and apartments, with 77% of respondents reporting enquiry levels for these two types of properties being up.

The good news is that the market stabilization trend that started during 2012 seems to be continuing into 2013 as evidenced by the lack of change in the prices of apartments on the coastal strip and the prices for stand-alone detached villas decreasing by just 2%.

Despite the presence and penetration of the Internet in all facets of life, it only accounts for 27% of all leads, with walk-ins and word of mouth still accounting for half of the leads and 18% being generated by overseas agent contact.

While the growing sales volumes are being fuelled by the returning of the traditional British market, the Swedish make up 10% of the market with the Russians and Chinese making up for 15% between them, and this is a sign that the Government’s Golden Visa Scheme and the Non Habitual Regime are actually helping by stimulating demand.