Property for sale in Torre-Pacheco

Buying a house in Torre-Pacheco means buying in the hinterland of the Mar Menor. The municipality lies on the plain of the Campo de Cartagena, among greenhouses and irrigated fields, and has had no coast since Los Alcázares became a municipality of its own. Besides the town there is a string of smaller villages, such as Roldán, Balsicas and Dolores. Most foreign buyers come here for the resorts outside the centre; the town itself runs all year on farming and trade. The landmark on the flat land is the Cabezo Gordo, a lone hill where Neanderthal remains have been found.

The resorts look alike in adverts, but they differ considerably. Mar Menor Golf Resort and La Torre Golf Resort are both built around a golf course; La Torre, near Roldán, also has a British school. In Santa Rosalía it is not about golf but about a man-made lagoon with small sandy beaches, towards the boundary with Los Alcázares. If you would rather live among Spanish neighbours, look in the town itself, in Balsicas with its station or in Roldán. Adverts often say "Mar Menor", but all these places belong to Torre-Pacheco.

On the golf resorts you buy flats, linked houses and villas around the course, mostly built early this century. In Santa Rosalía it is homes around the lagoon, often a villa or a linked house with its own outdoor space. In the town and the smaller villages you find flats and village houses, and in the countryside rural homes among the fields. With a home on farmland, have an adviser check what has been built and what is licensed. What is being built now is on the new-build page for Torre-Pacheco.

Torre-Pacheco suits people who want to play golf from the front door, live close to Murcia airport and find the coast a quarter of an hour away by car close enough. It suits those who want to live by the water less well; for that, look in Los Alcázares or San Javier. The land around is farmed intensively, partly under greenhouses, and that is part of the view. Nor should you count on inland being dry by default: Torre-Pacheco was hit hard by heavy rain and is part of a state scheme to protect homes against flooding. Have each address checked for a flood zone.

Torre-Pacheco is closer to Corvera airport than the coastal towns, about twenty minutes by car. The A-30 between Murcia and Cartagena runs past the municipality, and the RM-19 takes you via Balsicas to the AP-7. There are two railway stations on the line between Murcia and Cartagena: in the town and in Balsicas. The public hospital for this area is at Pozo Aledo, just over the boundary with San Javier, and the town has an urgent care centre. Read more about the lagoon and the neighbouring municipalities on the page about the Costa Cálida.