Can Foreigners buy property in Marbella?

It may seem like a strange question but some people who are planning to buy property in Marbella ask it. That question is can foreigners buy property in Marbella? Most of the people who ask this question are from abroad and are thinking of purchasing property in Marbella. They are clearly not familiar with Marbella since if they were they would not have asked such questions. Those who are familiar with Marbella can clearly see that the vast majority of those buying Marbella Spain real estate are foreigners.

Costa del Sol and Marbella are very attractive to property buyers from all over the world. These attractions stem from the quality of life and climate the area offers. Let’s now look deeper into foreign buyers of property in Marbella and other related questions.

Foreign buyers’ profile

When we look at the exact numbers of foreign buyers for Andalucía, we can see that they are a total of 15% of all property buyers for Andalucía. This is a significant number for the whole region, but the numbers increase as we focus more on the coastal areas such as Costa del Sol and Marbella. When we look at the total number of property buyers in the province of Malaga, we can see that the amount is more than double that of Andalucía. In the province of Malaga, the total number of foreign buyers is nearly 34%.

Although there are not any specific figures for areas such as Marbella, Estepona, Sotogrande and Benahavis and Costa del Sol in general you can be assured that these numbers increase significantly in these areas.

In the past the British amounted to the largest share of foreign buyers by far. Although British are still the leading country when it comes to buying property in the area their share is not as much as before. Moroccans Dutch, Belgians, and Swedes are also other nationalities buying a lots of homes on Costa del Sol. Overall  British buyers are still the highest followed by Polish and  Ukrainian buyers and then the Belgians.

The Growth of buyers from Eastern Europe

The eastern European market has shown significant growth recently also. Buyers from countries such as Poland, Czech Republic, Romania and Baltic nations have been steadily growing. The Ukrainian buyers have also been growing for the last two years. The Russian market has been showing signs of a slight growth although not as much as few years ago.

All indications point to the growth of the buyers from Eastern European countries.

Traditional markets

The growth of Costa del Sol property market during that last 50 years or so has been impacted by certain countries. We can label these the more traditional markets. These countries include UK, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, France, and Arabic countries. These countries and markets still play a significant part when it comes to buying Costa del Sol homes. There has also been a significant increase of Italian buyers in recent years also looking to purchase Costa del Sol properties.

The Growth of the American Market

In the past the American market did not play a role in shaping the Costa del Sol property Market. But things have changed in recent years and the American market to be more specific the North American market has been growing steadily. In a short period of time buyers from America have come to make up close to 2% of the buyers of Costa del Sol properties. American buyers tend to like more the areas within the Malaga center most and their increase and presence is more visible there.

What ages are the buyers of Costa del Sol properties?

In the past the average age of buyers of Costa del Sol properties was older. But recently things have changed, and we can see more younger buyers purchasing homes on Costa del Sol. The trend to younger buyers was greatly impacted in the post-Covid period. Due to more younger buyers working remote buying properties and living on Costa del Sol become a more attractive option for them.

We can see younger people coming to live and work on Costa del Sol and establish themselves in the area. Marbella being a good place to live  seems to be the most favorite location for these younger workers and Millennials.

What are the property prices like?

The high demand for properties has kept the property market healthy. Property prices have grown due to high demand. More specifically the province of Malaga has shown an increase in property prices of 5.8% which is higher than the Spanish national average of 5.3%. The property prices have even shown a higher increase in the Marvella, Estepona and Benahavis areas. We ca see that for example in Marbella prices have increased by 18.6%, in Estepona by 19.3% and in Benahavis buy 7.5% in 2023.

Buyers have higher expectations and demands

Looking back at the quality of construction of Costa del Sol properties 20 or 30 years there was a lot of disparity. In the past you had some properties that were built to the high standards and some that were not. This has changed today, and byers demand much more when it comes to quality of construction. Due to this these most new developments offer the highest standards of living. Of course, in the past the prices were not as high as now so those that were purchasing cheap properties in Marbella did not demand the highest standards when it comes to construction.

But with the increasing prices of Costa del Sol & Marbella properties those buying homes demand much more when it comes to quality. Today many new built homes come with modern amenities. They include things like gyms, homes automation systems. Today many of the developers and constructors focus more on offering a certain lifestyle which is integrated into their design. In the past most developments came with facilities like swimming pools. That has changed and today new developments offer much more than just swimming pools.

New developments on Costa del Sol offer much more amenities now. These amenities include 24 hours security, gated communities, heated pools, gyms , spas , cafes and concierges’ services. In addition, we must also mention that new developments also focus on lowering the maintenance costs by using more energy efficient systems. This energy efficiency systems are also integrated with more environmentally friendly construction and management.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]