The ‘crisis’ is adversely affecting the pleasure craft industry, and the results of this problem are evident in Marina del Este, where there are more boats for sale than ever before.
But you won’t always see a ‘se vende’ sign on such boats, as it appears many people are trying to offload their floating dream on the quiet. It would seem that owners do not want to be seen as having to sell a luxury item. However, when maintaining an 8-metre boat in a berth can cost up to 10,000 euros a year, if the financial downturn is causing problems the first items to go are usually the luxury ones.
Of course, this does not just have a bearing on the boat owners, there is a long list of shops, services and staff involved, with some areas of the industry reporting a drop of 70% in their business, and one marina worker in Motril said, “I saw someone sell their yacht for 170,000 euros, when they were actually looking for 450,00 euros.”
The collapse since the ‘boom’ of 2007 has been spectacular in its speed and profundity, with the registration of new boats dropping from 243 in the Granada area in 2007, then 138 in 2008 and now in 2009 up to August just 38.
Having said all the above, Marina del Este is doing better than most, as explained by Manuel Raigón, “Luckily, this port has a high status clientele, and as the port is proportionally small, we have therefore been affected less than others on the coast, although we have had a noticeable increase in late payments.”
Marina de Este has 220 berths, each sold at 3,000 euros per sqm.