Ever considered buying a holiday cave?

Well, strange as it may sound, "casas-cuevas" are already a very popular option with overseas buyers looking to purchase their first holiday property in Spain...

Cave homes date back to the 8th century when the Arab communities replicated their cave dwelling traditions in the provinces of southern Spain. Right up until the 1950s tens of thousands of native farming communities lived in these caves but with the advent of tourism in the early 1960s a mass exodus of the workforce to the lucrative coasts meant that many caves were simply abandoned.

Over the last decade, however, interest in these “casas-cuevas” has been strong from overseas buyers keen to purchase their first property in Spain. The province of Granada has the largest cave dwelling population in Europe and property developers have transformed hundreds of untouched or partly re-formed cave houses into modern holiday and second homes.

Going underground

Cave houses by virtue of their "construction" maintain a steady temperature of around 20 degrees centigrade all the year round. This natural air conditioning system is an attractive feature as temperatures can often reach 40 degrees in the summer months. All modern conveniences including electricity, plumbing and heating and even Jacuzzis and broadband are available in cave homes and regular ventilation ensures a damp free property.

As each cave home has been hand carved this creates a unique character for the property. Rooms tend to reflect the contours of the rock and the soft stone means that another room can be carved out as you need it so expansion is not a problem. But if you're not happy with the designs on offer, you could join the growing number of people commissioning specially trained architects to design and "build" a new cave home from scratch.

And for those people concerned about the environment, it's good news too. These dwellings can be considered to be ecologically sustainable or “green” as they have been dug out of the soft sandstone resulting in minimal impact on the local environment. There is limited need for or use of man-made products such as concrete, insulation fibres or plastics and the year round even temperatures and rock formed walls lend themselves to natural materials, such as wood, cane, cotton and linen to create an elegant, eco home.

Taking advantage of the natural situation of a cave home will result in less energy consumption and hence lower running costs. Council tax rates are approximately 75 euros (£51) per year and the Spanish government is also playing its part in encouraging cave home occupation by offering grants to contribute to the costs of installing renewable energy systems such as solar panels. Many local craftsmen are busy producing furniture to suit the cave dwellings and the prices enable anyone to have a designer home for the price of a designer room in the UK.

Cool cave hot spots

Within Granada there are three separate concentrations of cave houses, the historic Albaycin and Sacromonte neighborhoods of Granada City, Gaudix and Baza. The Albaycin and Sacromonte are adjacent hillside neighborhoods, both of which form part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site along with the Alhambra Palace. The cave dwelling population of the areas is rapidly increasing and some cave houses are extremely large, having ten or more rooms.

So, what makes a 21st century cave home a good investment? Christina Sanchez of 1 Casa comments, “Cave homes present the ideal opportunity for buyers to get onto the Spanish property ladder. Prices start from only 23,000 euros or £15,000 and with modernization and good styling can sell for up to 350,000 euros (£215,000) in some areas.”