Affordable Andalucia

This 12th-century alcazar is just one of the ancient moorish buildings in Jerez today.

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Friday, Jan. 4, 2008
Jerez de la Frontera, Spain

Learn more about Spain in International Living Postcards--your daily escape

Breakfast for $2.65. A tapas supper--battered hake and potato salad--for $5. Glasses of straw-colored fino sherry for less than $2.

Spain, expensive? Not in Jerez de la Frontera, where many apartments are in the $110,000 to $220,000 bracket.

In Andalucia’s Cadiz province, Jerez is an elegant city with narrow streets, shady plazas, and hole-in-the-wall bars; its attractions include authentic flamenco, sherry bodegas, and purebred Andalucian horses.

Old mansions come with flower-filled patio courtyards. The crown on the ancient center is an alcazar--a 12th-century Moorish fortress with orange tree terraces and Arab baths. There are a couple of gypsy neighborhoods where flamenco remains a living tradition.

Recently, Spain has been suffering major jitters when it comes to property. Oversupply on the coasts means a glut of properties now languish unsold. According to La Luz, an expat magazine for Cadiz province, one Andalucia business organization estimates 40% of real estate agents ceased trading in the past six months.

But Jerez isn’t the Costa del Sol; you won't find identikit holiday homes here. If you’re seeking lifestyle rather than quick profit, this is one of Spain’s most inexpensive cities--real estate here costs 1,473 euro ($2,165) per square meter, the cheapest in Spain according to one leading agency’s analysis of 15 Spanish cities.

Usually retaining the original facade, local builders are transforming grand old city center houses into contemporary apartments. One is a 60-square-meter apartment with additional patio of almost 24 square meters for 165,000 euro ($242,000).

I called into Mercers’ real estate agency and the staff was all busy with client viewings, which indicates the Jerez market is still fairly active. An undoubted attraction for buyers is the shortage of quality short-term rentals.

To get one of those $2.65 breakfasts, join the postal workers in Bar Sherry on Calle Medina. Like most Jerez cafe-bars, there’s only one breakfast choice: molletes. These soft rolls are toasted under a grill, and the classic way to eat them is with a drizzling of olive oil and fresh tomato pulp. The price includes coffee, too.

Steenie Harvey
Roving Europe Editor, International Living

P.S. To contact Mercers Ltd., e-mail jerez@spanishproperty.co.uk.

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