Asking prices on the Costa del Sol reached a record in September 2026, and the number of homes sold fell. Both are true at the same time, and the second does not cancel the first. This page sets out the figures published in the last fortnight by the property portal Idealista, the national statistics office and the land registrars, gives the September price for each of the main towns, and explains what a market with rising prices and fewer sales means for someone deciding whether to buy this winter. The broader reading of 2026 as a whole is in is now a good time to buy on the Costa del Sol.
What was published this week
On 2 October 2026 Idealista published its asking-price report for the third quarter of the year. An asking price is the price a seller advertises, not the price a home sells for, so these figures measure what sellers want rather than what buyers pay. Across Spain, the average asking price for a resale home rose 11.8% in a year to 2,930 euros per square metre (Idealista, 2 October 2026). Málaga province rose less, by 6.6%, but to a higher level: 4,317 euros per square metre, the highest the portal has recorded for the province. Málaga city rose 4.1% in the year and was one of eleven provincial capitals at a record price in September.
Idealista’s spokesperson put the slower rise down to buyers dropping out. In his words, the high prices reached by housing have pushed part of the demand out of the market, and together with dearer borrowing that has reduced the number of sales, which in turn slows the rate at which prices rise.
The sales figures bear that out. The national statistics office recorded 61,417 home sales in Spain in July 2026, 5.1% fewer than in July 2025, and sales for the year to July were 3% below the same months of 2025 (Idealista on the INE figures, 25 September 2026). In Andalucía sales fell 5.5%. In Málaga province they fell 14.7%, the second-largest fall of any province in the region (El Conciso on the INE figures, 25 September 2026).
The September 2026 price, town by town
These are Idealista’s September 2026 asking prices per square metre for the main towns of the western Costa del Sol, with the change over twelve months (Área Costa del Sol on the Idealista figures, 4 October 2026).
| Town | September 2026, €/m² | Change in a year |
|---|---|---|
| Marbella | 5,967 | +3.2% |
| Benahavís | 5,602 | +6.5% |
| Estepona | 5,021 | +17.1% |
| Fuengirola | 4,452 | +1.1% |
| Torremolinos | 4,199 | +7.1% |
| Benalmádena | 4,188 | +5.1% |
| Mijas | 3,717 | +8.5% |
| Manilva | 3,043 | +11.3% |
Three things stand out. Marbella, the most expensive town on the coast, rose the least. Estepona rose the most and is now above 5,000 euros per square metre for the first time. Fuengirola, which rose 14% in the year to February 2026, has been almost flat since. On these averages an 80 square metre flat costs about 477,000 euros in Marbella, 402,000 in Estepona, 356,000 in Fuengirola and 297,000 in Mijas. Idealista’s own figure for a typical two-bedroom flat of that size across the whole province is 345,360 euros (The Olive Press, 2 October 2026). What those averages buy in each town, and where a given budget goes furthest, is set out in what your money buys, town by town.
What homes actually sold for
Asking prices are one measure. The land registrars publish the prices in signed deeds, which is what buyers actually paid. For the second quarter of 2026 the registrars put the average registered price in Spain at 2,487 euros per square metre, 9.2% higher than a year earlier and a record (Colegio de Registradores, second quarter 2026). In Málaga province the registered average was 3,347 euros per square metre. The gap between that and the 4,317 euro asking average is partly timing, since the registrars’ figure is a quarter older, and partly the ordinary difference between what is advertised and what is agreed.
The registrars also count who is buying. Between April and June 2026 foreign buyers bought 3,474 homes in Málaga province, 37% of all sales there and a fifth more than in the same months of 2025. Across Spain foreign buyers took just under 16% of sales, the highest share on record. British, Dutch and German buyers were the three largest groups nationally, each with about 6% to 7% of foreign purchases. So the fall in sales is not a fall in international demand. It is Spanish buyers, and buyers who need a large mortgage, who are being priced out.
Why borrowing matters here
The twelve-month Euribor is the reference rate that most Spanish variable mortgages follow. It averaged 3.24% in September 2026 against 2.17% in September 2025 (Infobae, 30 September 2026). The average rate on new mortgages registered in July 2026 was 3.01%, the first time it had been above 3% in seventeen months, and the number of new mortgages fell 3.5% in a year (INE, mortgage statistics for July 2026). A buyer borrowing 70% of the price feels that directly. A buyer paying mostly in cash, which describes many international buyers, does not. What a non-resident mortgage costs now is worked through in Euribor back above 3%: the cost of a Spanish mortgage in October 2026.
What this means if you are buying
Rising prices with falling sales is a particular kind of market, and it rewards a particular way of buying.
- There is more time than there was. When sales slow, homes stay on the market longer. A seller whose home has been listed since the spring is in a different position from one who listed last week, and the listing date is one of the first things to establish.
- The asking price is a starting point, not a measure of value. Idealista’s own figures show sellers asking more while fewer buyers agree to pay it. The price that matters is what comparable homes in the same building or urbanisation sold for, which is in the registered deeds, not on the portal.
- Estepona’s rise changes the comparison. A year ago Estepona was clearly cheaper than Marbella. At 5,021 against 5,967 euros per square metre the gap has narrowed, and Mijas, Benalmádena and Fuengirola now offer a larger saving against both. The case for each is set out in Marbella at 6,000 euros a square metre: where buyers are looking instead.
- Realistically priced homes still sell quickly. Record foreign demand means a well-priced home in a sought-after spot does not wait for a slow market. The preparation, meaning the NIE number, a lawyer, proof of funds and a clear brief, should be done before the search starts. The steps are in the Spanish buying process in plain English.
- The costs on top have not changed. Transfer tax, notary, registry and legal fees are the same as a year ago and are worked line by line in what a Costa del Sol purchase really costs.
The new developments on file, each with its developer’s current price list, are on the new developments page.
How I handle it
My approach is the same at every price point: proper research on the property and its area, a straight assessment of what it is genuinely worth, and careful negotiation on your behalf. In a market like this one that means establishing how long a home has been for sale and at what prices, checking the registered sales for comparable homes before any offer is made, and saying plainly when an asking price is above what the evidence supports. If you are deciding whether to buy this winter, that is part of the buying service, and you can book a call to talk it through.
Figures checked on 4 October 2026 against the sources linked above. Asking prices are what sellers advertise and registered prices are what buyers paid. Both move, so treat this page as a dated reading of the evidence.
Common questions
Are property prices on the Costa del Sol still rising in October 2026?
Why are sales falling if prices are rising?
Does a fall in sales mean prices will fall?
What does a two-bedroom flat cost in Málaga province now?
Are international buyers still buying on the Costa del Sol?
What this relates to
