As a professional Real Estate agent in Spain, it's important to keep a finger firmly on the property market's pulse. It really does help being in touch with property market trends when it comes to looking at important factors such as:
- What demographics are looking for which types of properties?
- What demographics are looking to sell their properties?
- Are there certain times of the year that are more popular than others for certain demographics of buyers to look at buying properties in Spain?
- Are there certain areas that certain demographics are more interested in buying?
Obviously, this is just working on averages and respect that every buyer or seller we come across has their own unique preferences. However, it does help us get a good understanding of where we need to market your property for sale to ensure your property is easily found by as many potential as buyers as possible.
Remember: the more potential buyers that see your property, the more enquiries we receive, leading to more viewings and more offers... resulting in achieving a quicker and higher sale for your property!
Here's a quick summary of some observations we've made while carrying out our own research on property trends specifically on the Costa del Sol.
The most popular Nationalities of Property Buyers on the Costa del Sol
In 2022, the region of Andalucia had its biggest-ever number of overseas property buyers... a staggering 28,379 which was 25% up on the year before. Of the 8 provinces in Andalucia, Málaga (classed as the Costa del Sol) accounted for 30% of those sales. Nearly 40% of those sales were to foreigners! Source: Portada | Ministerio de Transportes, Movilidad y Agenda Urbana (mitma.gob.es)
The most popular nationalities of buyers who buy property in Spain are British, followed by Germans and French.
More specifically, though... the top buyers on the Costa del Sol are the British and Scandinavian. We have actually found a considerable increase in enquiries coming from America, too.
From looking at our own website visitors, the majority of our visitors who view our website from outside of Spain are (in descending order):
- United Kingdom
- United States of America
- Netherlands
- Belgium
- Germany
- Ireland
- Sweden
- France
- Canada
Popular Areas of the Costa del Sol by Nationality
The Property Portal, Idealista, conducted a study in 2021 for where property searchers are coming from (based on the buyer's IP address shows where they are browsing from).
The results showed that would-be buyers from the UK searched mainly for properties for sale in Malaga, Estepona and Torremolinos. Whereas buyers from Sweden searched mainly for properties for sale in Marbella, Nerja and Fuengirola.
We have found that American buyers look for rural villas around Malaga and Marbella with open-plan living spaces that are close to amenities and have a good internet connection.
Popular Types of Properties on the Costa del Sol
What types of properties do people search for? As you probably guessed, it's "villas on the Costa del Sol". This reflects the age-old quintessential dream of owning that white-washed holiday home in the sun in Spain!
However, searches specifically for "fincas" and "inland rural properties" are on the rise. This is probably due to more people being educated on what a "finca" is and the growing trend towards being "self-sustainable" and the desire to live in a more tranquil environment. The improvements in internet connectivity both wired and via satellite has also helped open up the rural property market in Spain.
Conclusion
Costa del Sol remains to be one of the most desirable places in Europe to live and work. This is due to the climate, abundance of things to do, infrastructure around healthcare, transport and education, ability to work remotely and so much more. It is safe to say that if you are looking at investing in Spain, we would highly advise you to come and look around some properties we have for sale here on the Costa del Sol. Get in touch if you would like an informal chat or would like to view any of our properties for sale.
