Property for sale in Murcia

Buying a house in Murcia can mean two very different things. The city itself lies flat in the valley of the Segura and runs all year on government, university and trade, with no tourist season. But the municipality is much larger than the city: around the centre lie dozens of pedanías, villages that belong to Murcia administratively. To the south the Carrascoy and El Valle ridge closes off the valley, and beyond it lie the airport at Corvera, Sucina and a series of golf resorts, all still within the municipality of Murcia.

In the city, El Carmen, across the river, is the large district around the high-speed rail station. In the north are newer residential areas with parks, along the tram line to the universities. At the foot of the mountains to the south lie pedanías such as La Alberca and El Palmar, where the British school is too. Beyond the mountains lie the resorts: Altaona near Baños y Mendigo, Hacienda Riquelme near Sucina and Corvera Golf. Mind the names: Altorreal, often offered as Murcia, belongs to Molina de Segura, a different municipality.

In the city you mainly buy flats, often in older blocks in the centre and El Carmen, in newer buildings on the edges. In the pedanías at the foot of the mountains you also find detached houses with land. On the resorts beyond the mountains it is villas and linked houses around a golf course, partly new builds. So an advert saying "Murcia" can be a city flat or a villa a fair drive from the centre. With an old building, ask about the technical inspection and planned renovations; new builds are on the new-build page for Murcia.

Murcia suits people who want to live in a real Spanish city, with university, hospitals and culture close by, and those who work or study there rather than spend the winter. It also suits frequent flyers: the airport is in the municipality itself. It suits those who want the sea round the corner less well; the coast at Los Alcázares is about three quarters of an hour away by car. And the summers are hot, as Murcia is one of the warmest places in Spain: with a home, look at cooling, insulation and orientation. Around the station the railway is being put underground; expect building work there.

The regional airport is at Corvera, within the municipality, twenty minutes to half an hour from the centre. The high-speed train runs from El Carmen to Madrid, and trains also go to Alicante and Cartagena. The A-30 takes you to Cartagena and the RM-19 to the Mar Menor. The city has several large public hospitals, each for its own part of the municipality; which one is yours depends on the address. A second British school is on a golf resort near Torre-Pacheco. Read more about the coast on the page about the Costa Cálida.