Market Update H1 2025 of Marbella Real Estate
PRICE TRENDS, DEMAND AND OVERALL MARKET CONDITIONS IN THE PREMIUM REAL ESTATE MARKET OF COSTA DEL SOL
Towards the end of 2024 it seemed like the highly buoyant pace that had characterized
the property market since 2022 was beginning to lose some steam. Talk to real estate agents on the Costa del Sol and many will tell you that the closing quarter of 2024 felt like a bit of a slow-down, with a non-dramatic yet noticeable drop in enquiries, leads and ultimately completed transactions.
Given this, many expected to see a consolidation of this trend in 2025, but contrary to expectations the new year saw a relatively sharp upturn in demand, resulting in Q1 2025 figures that were in fact even better than those of the same period in 2024. That said, the rally ran out of steam a little in the second quarter as sales dropped a bit below the level of the same period in 2024.
It would seem that demand continues to be resilient and is nowhere near exhausted, yet
as we write this report the third quarter of the year is well under way and now the feeling
among a good proportion of the industry professionals on the ground is that the volume of leads and sales is once again slowing down. We will have to wait for the Q3 statistics to confirm is this is indeed the case or if it is just down to increased competition.
Read our H1 2025 Market Update here:
Read our Previous 2025 Market Report
Read our 2024 Market Report:
- Table of contents
- 01. First Half of 2025
- 02. What They Buy – New vs Resale
- 03. Where They Buy – Strongest Areas
- 04. Lifestyle Motivations and Trends
- 05. Supply – What is Available
- 06. Internal Factors
- 07. In Summary – Looking Ahead
01. First Half of 2025
In purely quantitative terms, some 360,000 properties were sold in Spain in the first half of 2025, 20% up on H1 2024, and foreign buyers having been a vital part of this growth, with their share of the market now reaching an all-time high (Source: El País). In the first of 2025, 20% up on H1 2024, and foreign buyers having been a vital part of this growth, with their share of the market now reaching an all-time high (Source: El País). In the first half of 2025, this meant a total of 33,134 Spanish properties purchased by international buyers, 50% above the long-term average! While Spanish domestic demand (at 146,956 transactions) was also buoyant, up 18% on the decade average, it is the foreign appetite for Spanish real estate that stands out, making the first half of 2025 the best on record in that regard
Demand – Buyer Characteristics
Year on year there tend not to be dramatic changes in the make-up of the buying public of properties on the Costa del Sol, yet the micro trends that stand out in 2025 thus far are the following:
- Foreign buyers continue to drive sales, particularly in the upper segment of the
market - British buyers still represent the largest group by nationality, but this year has
seen a flagging of Russian and Belgian buyers (down 10.6% and 2% respectively)
and a sharp revival of Dutch buyers (up 26%) - The Ukrainian (+26.3%), US (+25%) and Polish markets continued to grow rapidly,
with sales to Poles up 43.7%!
02. What They Buy – New vs Resale
Even though the new-build market is the most dynamic and grows the fastest, resales continue to make up the larger share of properties sold. Interestingly, the nationalities that are driving a lot of the growth in the market (the Dutch, Belgians and Poles in particular) have a preference for modern newly built properties.
The Dutch (29,78%), Poles (30,86%) and Belgians (32,39%) are the nations with thegreatest hunger for modern homes (Source: Registradores 2024 annual report)
03. Where They Buy – Strongest Areas
The top end of the market consistently favours prime locations such as the Golden Mile, Sierra Blanca, as well as Los Monteros, Guadalmina and La Zagaleta, yet high €/m2 prices and limited availability in areas such as the Golden Mile are driving mid-range sales to new growth zones such as Estepona, the New Golden Mile and Mijas. Nueva Andalucía continues to be in demand, with areas such as Real de La Quinta and El Madroñal experiencing rapid growth and a revival respectively.
04. Lifestyle Motivations and Trends
Increasingly, people buy a home in Marbella not just for the bricks and mortar but the entire lifestyle package it makes possible. This has been so for some time, but lately such a property is not just the point from which to access the Marbella lifestyle – it is where it begins. In other words, luxury apartment complexes are following large villas in providing a growing range of resort-style amenities that have now expanded beyond swimming pools, spas and gyms to also include restaurants/clubhouses, coworking spaces, staffed receptions and on-site concierge services.
Overlaying this are time-honoured requirements such as security, accessibility andviews that continue to be prime considerations for homebuyers.
05. Supply – What is Available
In recent years, property developers have battled rising land acquisition and building costs, which together with buyer demand worked to drive up property prices in the Golden Triangle area of Marbella, Benahavis and Estepona. Building costs have, however, been stabilising for some time now, making planning and construction delays (often caused by shortages of skilled workers) perhaps the main challenge for developers at present.
There are many new projects under development across the Costa del Sol right now, enabling the supply of modern homes to catch up with demand for them. Sales remain strong, with the best projects selling out before construction commences, yet developers are driven by a strong sense of competition to attempt to make their offering stand out, and up to now this has resulted in a gradual evolution of design styles but above all a growing range of amenities and services that is turning especially apartment complexes into veritable residential resorts.
The relatively recent trend of cross-branded projects carrying international luxury brands, as well as the serviced home concept of properties being provided with the benefit of hotel and concierge services is also gearing up, yet it remains to be seen if it will ultimately be as successful here as in other luxury destinations such as Dubai and Florida.
300 new developments
Over 300 new developments of varying sizes are under way in Málaga province, with approximately 8,000 new homes expected to be completed in 2025 – an increase of 16.75% over the 6,853 built last year.
Price Trends
Property prices have risen steadily over the past few years, particularly during the post Covid boom that we still appear to be in, yet more recently there has been the beginnings of some resistance from buyers. Put differently, where price has not been the main consideration of buyers until now and demand was highly price elastic, just recently the point appea-
Top locations such as the Golden Mile have long been immune to this, but even here levels of €30,000-plus per square metre seem to represent a barrier beyond which most are not prepared to go. One can therefore begin to expect a gradual slowing down of price increases, and this can be considered to be a positive development, as it is the much-needed escape valve that stops of market from overheating and allows it to remain sustainable for some time.
06. Internal Factors
If demand remains resilient, supply is now keeping up and price increases are beginning to ease o a little, then the other local factors affecting the market include both a seriesof challenges and boosts/opportunities.
Challenges to growth
Spain continues to have one of the fastest growing economies in Europe, with inflation largely under control and job creation in a healthy state – as a result of which there has also been growth in mortgages issued and property sales on a national level.
- The well-documented length of time required to obtain building licences in
municipalities such as Marbella, coupled with a slowing in others such as
Estepona provides a challenge for those areas while also promoting others, such
as Benahavis, San Roque, Manilva and Mijas, where both land availability, cost
and planning permission are more favourable
- Once again, the Costa del Sol appears to be a victim of its own success – such
has been the influx of new homeowners, tourists and residents in the area that
infrastructure in the form of roads, parking, water supply and the urban
infrastructure in general are struggling and will require a major investment to
keep up
- The rapid rise in rental rates has priced many of out the long-term rental market,
and this in turn has made it difficult to attract the labour force necessary to
support rapid growth in sectors such as construction and tourism
- The Spanish government’s attempts to deal with housing shortages and cost
have involved restrictive measures aimed at limiting the number of properties
available for short-term holiday lets, and while some of the proposals never
made it into law, the holiday rental market has become more demanding to
navigate
Growth opportunities and External factors
- The government’s decision to end the Golden Visa scheme has not had a major
impact on the local market beyond spurring buying activity before the
programme ended
- Spain continues to have one of the fastest growing economies in Europe, with
inflation largely under control and job creation in a healthy state – as a result of
which there has also been growth in mortgages issued and property sales on a
national level
- Many of the factors driving growth potential in the region are related to its unique
lifestyle proposition, which includes not only the climate, lifestyle, luxury
services and good connectivity, but also very importantly security. The Costa del
Sol is far removed from major international flashpoints and this together with its
glamorous lifestyle allure has been an important factor in making it a favoured
destination for buyers from Northern and Eastern Europe, North America and the
Middle East
Projected 2025 GDP growth and inflation for Spain both stand at 2.4% (Source: Bank of Spain)
07. In Summary – Looking Ahead
The first half of 2025 has seen continued strong market activity, some would even say well above expectations. We will have to wait for the release of Q3 statistics to see if there is something of a slowing down under way, as was the case in the closing months of 2024, but overall, the market continues to feel healthy, there is no sense of a bubble and the source of buyers is highly diversified. The slowing down of price rises is a positive trend and many of the factors that make Marbella so desirable continue to stimulate demand, yet it is the quality proposition that the Costa del Sol will need to focus its energies upon in the coming years – and this involves investing in the road network, the availability of parking, modern transport systems, water supply and the continued beautification of the coastal region’s towns. After all, the effort demanded to maintain a five-star brand such as Marbella is well rewarded.
