Costa del Sol Property Market Update February 2026

Something feels different about the Marbella & Costa del Sol property market this year. The frenetic pace we’ve seen recently has cooled, and buyers are taking their time. From what my data is showing, two things stand out: the makeup of agents operating here has changed dramatically, and the buyers still active in the market are sharper than ever.

Let’s start with the agents. Spain’s real estate workforce shrank by around 20,800 agents in late 2025 — and that’s no coincidence. The new Andalucía Agent Registry (RAI) came into force on January 24, 2026, and although the regional government has up to 2 years to put into practice, to some degree it’s doing exactly what it was designed to do: deterring cowboys and less serious actors out of the market.

Now, about those buyers. They’re not overpaying – full stop. Notary data puts the average sale price in Marbella at around €712,000, yet asking prices on the portals regularly run well above that. That gap matters. Properties sitting above market value are just that – sitting. The ones priced correctly? Selling within eight weeks.

There’s also something Sean Woolley from Cloud Nine Spain has been calling the “Turnkey Premium,” and it’s real. There’s a genuine shortage of modern homes you can just move straight into, and buyers are willing to pay extra to skip the renovation headache. It speaks to where buyer priorities are right now, they want immediacy.

One trend I find particularly interesting is the rise of Dutch buyers. In Estepona, they’ve become the largest foreign purchaser group, accounting for roughly 16% of sales. They tend to gravitate towards modern, family-friendly developments, and their presence is only growing.

The Golden Triangle — Marbella, Benahavís, and Estepona — continues to hold its ground. The weighted average price sits at €3,712 per square metre, about €700 above the rest of the coast. Benahavís leads on average sale price at €915,000, which tells you everything about its appeal to high-end buyers.

And then there are American buyers. They’re paying the highest average price per square metre in Spain at €4,381. A strong dollar helps, and media exposure has clearly put the Costa del Sol on their radar in a bigger way. They’re a significant force behind the market’s high-value transactions.

Reports from DM Properties/Knight Frank highlight a critical stabilising factor: the market is not credit-fuelled. They report that nearly 90% of luxury purchases in Marbella are now made without financing, and they say this makes the region largely immune to Eurozone interest rate fluctuations.

International Share: Foreign buyers continue to dominate. In Benahavís, a staggering 83% of all property buyers are international, led by the UK, Netherlands, and a surging North American segment.

So where does this leave us? The Costa del Sol is recalibrating; moving towards something more stable and sustainable. That’s not a bad thing. In a market like this, good data and professional advice are the difference between a smart decision and an expensive mistake.