46% Autonomo Agents are Foreign
Nearly half of all self-employed real estate professionals in Malaga Province are foreign-born. Data from the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration shows that 46% of the province’s independent property workers are international, the highest rate in Spain.
Out of 6,037 self-employed individuals in Malaga’s real estate sector, 2,778 are of foreign origin. This concentration significantly exceeds the figures in other major hubs.
This surprised me. However, the low number also surprises me, only 2,778 autonomo foreigner agents in the whole province? The rest are fully employed?
If we zoom out, roughly 1 in 3 self-employed and contracted/fully employed estate agents in Malaga and Alicante Provinces are foreigners, while the national average for foreign employment in the sector stands at 15.65%.
The high volume of international agents aligns with buyer demographics. In Malaga Province where the Costa del Sol is, 31% of home purchases involve foreign buyers. In Alicante Province (Costa Blanca) international buyers account for over 42% of total transactions (Q4 2025, Land Registry data).
These professionals provide the linguistic and cultural expertise required for international transactions. While sectors like hospitality employ more foreigners in total, real estate maintains the highest percentage of international staff relative to its total workforce in Malaga.
Source: Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration via SUR in English data for July 2025
