March 28, 2026

Ranked: Costa del Sol New Build Hotspots

By Alfredo Bloy-Dawson

Roughly a third of all homes sold in Fuengirola (28%)  are new, the highest shares of market activity for new development on the Costa del Sol*, according to official Notary data. This activity is likely driven by the Higueron area, which serves as a major hub for numerous new residential projects within the municipality. Estepona follows with 26% of the market, consisting of new builds.

On the other side of the spectrum, the lowest activity occurs in Benahavis at 3% and Sotogrande (PC 11310) at 3% where 97% of all properties sold are resales.

Some might assume that these Benahavis and Sotogrande may be so low because they are two of the areas where more villas are sold as a percentage than the other areas,and villas typically are resales (even if renovated)  however in both areas, the majority of transactions are of apartments. Benahavis at 78% and Sotogrande (PC 11310) 68%. 

Torremolinos shows 22% of transactions as new construction. Casares and Malaga City maintain moderate levels of development. New housing makes up 16% of sales in Casares and 16% in Malaga.

Mijas, Marbella, and Manilva see lower shares. Mijas records 10%, while Marbella and Manilva stay at 9% and 10% respectively.

Zooming out to Malaga Province, new build sales account for 14.2% of all properties sold.

It should be noted that new build sales are counted by agents at the stage of reservation but are only notarised at completion, so this data reflect reservations which may have taken place 18-24 months previously and less of a sign of current market activity.
LocationNew (%)Resales (%)
Fuengirola28%72%
Estepona26%74%
Torremolinos22%78%
Casares16%84%
Málaga16%84%
Mijas10%90%
Manilva10%90%
Marbella9%91%
Benalmádena9%91%
Benahavís3%97%
Sotogrande (PC 11310)3%97%

*Malaga City to Sotogrande plus Benahavis

Source: Spain’s Notaries for the 12 months to January 2026

Statistical methodology by Spains Notaries in calculating this information is available here