I’m Laura Leyshon and I’m Las Palmas’ resident property expert. I work for RE/MAX Cony Overseas, one of the city’s oldest estate agencies and the first RE/MAX office to open in Europe. Cony Overseas has an excellent local reputation and has helped hundreds of foreign buyers and sellers in Las Palmas and all over Gran […]
Guanarteme: Surf City With Excellent Value Property
Guanarteme barrio has changed a lot in the last 25 years since the beachfront promenade was extended and the auditorium and Las Arenas shopping centre built.
The beach here is wilder as it isn’t sheltered by the reef. This makes it popular with surfers but it doesn’t have the flat out impact of the palm-fringed northern end of the beach.
Guanarteme property is mostly apartments in blocks up to five storeys high but there are some older townhouses and beachfront apartments. Since the barrio runs behind the beach, you are only ever five minutes walk from Las Canteras beach.
Guanarteme is a high demand area amongst Las Palmas locals and is also the centre of the city’s surfing scene. It is an excellent area for rental investors looking for rental yield from short-term tourist rentals and residential lettings. Guanarteme is also the main area for people looking to open a Las Palmas hostel and whole buildings do come onto the market.
Guanarteme is definitely up-and-coming with new restaurants and bars appearing all the time. It’s where I live in the city as you get excellent value here.
Santa Catalina: A Square Property Zone By The Beach
Santa Catalina Square is the largest square in the El Puerto district of Las Palmas and is a popular place with foreign visitors.
While it is surrounded by El Puerto, this area is often treated as a separate zone by estate agencies in Las Palmas. That’s because the square, and its surrounding pedestrian streets, give it an atmosphere of its own.
Property in Santa Catalina is almost all apartment blocks. There are a couple of buildings with rooftop swimming pools and some fantastic penthouses with terraces and views.
Santa Catalina is an area on the up as it is the arrival zone for the 1.2 million cruise ship passengers that visit Las Palmas every winter. So far, the square itself has been much improved and Luis Morote Street running past the square down to Las Canteras beach has been pedestrianized.
When considering Santa Catalina, please bear in mind that the city’s carnival is focused in the square so the area is busy and noisy during February. For the rest of the year, it’s the same as the rest of El Puerto.
El Puerto: Las Palmas’ Vast Port District
Sandwiched between the city’s Puerto de La Luz port and Las Canteras beach, El Puerto is the largest property area that is close to the beach.
El Puerto includes the Santa Catalina area around the famous square of the same name. It belnds into La Isleta at the northern end of the beach and into Guanarteme towards the south.
You find all sorts of property here from studios under €50k to vast penthouse apartments worth millions of euros. If you are looking for an apartment close to Las Canteras beach and the city’s amenities, this is a good place to start.
Searching for property in El Puerto can be daunting as there is such a wide range of options and location can make a big difference to the attractiveness of a property.
I’d advise everyone who is looking for property in El Puerto to choose a good estate agent, tell them exactly what you are looking for, and let them find you the best options. Otherwise, you’ll spend a lot of your time looking at unsuitable properties and waiting around for owners.
La Isleta: Low-rise Las Palmas Barrio Close To The Beach
La Isleta is the city’s most northerly barrio and has always had its own identity linked to fishing and the sea.
Some of the houses close to the La Puntilla section of Las Canteras beach are over 100 years old with wonderful Canarian and modernist features such as high, beamed ceilings and wrought-iron balconies. Most property here is lower than four storeys and there are always townhouses for sale.
Demand is higher the closer you are to the beach and this is also where most of the older houses are located. However, La Isleta also has a second section of beachfront properties to the north of Las Canteras beach. This area is rocky rather than sandy and still much more local than the main beach. There are good value seafront properties to be had in the area.
You can but modernised properties in La Isleta but there are also opportunities for refurbishment projects in this barrio.
If you want to live in a house rather than in an apartment and still be close to the beach, La Isleta is the place to look.
