Paul Rossiter, Managing Director of Contemporary Villas, admits it is not the best time to be launching a new property company but he believes the niche market it is aimed at along with cheaper land and construction costs means there is demand.
'Six years ago I set up a real estate company, Carrington Estates, specializing in the sale of individual villa plots for self-build along the Costa del Sol. At the time it was a unique untapped niche market but we've enjoyed enormous success and have arguably helped self-build to become mainstream,' he said.
'Contemporary Villas is another such unexplored niche. Pure modern architecture is hard to find in southern Spain, but society is changing and demand is growing,' he added.
He believes that television shows like Channel 4's almost cult television series, Grand Designs, has fuelled a hunger for all things contemporary and brought out the inner architect in many ordinary people.
The idea for Contemporary Villas took seed long before the Spanish property market slowdown but the business has not lost faith. One major reason is that there is a lack of contemporary design in southern Spain but a demand for clean architectural lines from investors seeking something different.
And the downturn has even helped. 'As we're constructing several of our own projects, the gradual reduction in land values has enabled us to buy prime building plots below market value and we'll landbank those we don't immediately develop for future investment,' he said.
'Similarly, as the construction industry is underemployed, build costs are becoming more competitive, there's certainly room for negotiation. And, with so many real estate agents going to the wall it can only help our unique business to stand out from the crowd,' he added.
The villa designs include strict white cubism, the latest in home automation, and stainless steel and glass.
