This is the Marbella property market report Q2 2025, our archived edition covering the second quarter of 2025. It formed part of our quarterly analysis of the Marbella residential market, compiled from official Spanish registry and notarial data.

For the current quarter, see the latest Marbella property market report. Reading consecutive editions shows direction, which is more useful than any single quarter alone.

A Market at Full Stretch

The Marbella property market report Q2 2025 covers a market that had moved from recovery into genuine strength. Combined sales across Marbella, Estepona and Benahavís held at historically high levels through the first half of the year, building on a first quarter in which Golden Triangle transactions rose 24.7 per cent year on year, from 1,875 sales to 2,339.

Average asking values across the Golden Triangle reached approximately €4,260 per square metre, more than 12 per cent higher than a year earlier. For context, the Andalusian regional average stood at around €1,857 per square metre and Málaga province at roughly €2,869. The premium this market commands over its own region is not a rounding difference, it is a factor of more than two.

The Story of the Quarter

Q2 2025 was the quarter in which scarcity, rather than demand, became the defining constraint on the market.

Buyer appetite was not the question. Inventory was down an estimated 25 to 30 per cent against 2019, and the properties that did reach the market were absorbed quickly.

The result was pricing power sitting firmly with sellers across almost every segment.

Marbella Sales Volume and Prices

Within the Marbella property market report Q2 2025, Marbella retained its position as the region’s largest and most active market. The first quarter alone saw over 1,200 property sales, a 7.8 per cent increase year on year, and that pace continued steadily into the second quarter.

Price levels set new records. Marbella’s average prices rose roughly 13 per cent during 2024 and the double digit trend persisted into 2025. Ministry of Housing data put the average price per square metre above €3,250 for the first time in late 2024, and by mid 2025 many listings in prime areas exceeded €4,000 per square metre, with average asking prices across the municipality passing €5,000.

At the top of the market the numbers separate entirely. Ultra prime locations such as Puente Romano, Sierra Blanca and the beachfront Golden Mile achieved all time highs north of €10,000 per square metre, and a small number of frontline trophy properties traded above €30,000 per square metre, setting new benchmarks for mainland Spain.

Who Was Buying

Buyer demographics in the Marbella property market report Q2 2025 show foreign investment as the defining feature of the half year. In Málaga province roughly one in every three home purchases was made by a foreign buyer, a record high proportion, and Marbella skews considerably more international than the provincial average.

Nationality and the End User Market

British buyers remained the largest single foreign group at roughly 15 per cent of overseas purchases.

Dutch, Swedish and Norwegian buyers each accounted for meaningful shares, commonly in the range of 5 to 10 per cent of foreign demand, with strong additional activity from Belgium, France and Germany.

Marbella hosts residents of over 150 nationalities, and American, Eastern European and Middle Eastern interest all grew through the period.

The character of that demand matters more than its volume. A high proportion of transactions were completed in cash, and most buyers were end users or long term investors rather than short term speculators. Many were relocating with families, drawn by international schools, safety and quality of life. Low mortgage reliance insulates this market from interest rate movements in a way that most European markets are not.

New Build Against Resale

The Marbella property market report Q2 2025 shows resale homes dominating Marbella’s transactions at roughly 85 to 90 per cent of all sales, and that pattern held firm through the first half. Completed new build sales in Marbella fell around 45 per cent year on year in Q1 2025.

That figure is widely misread. It reflects supply, not demand. Very few new projects were delivered in early 2025, and most new developments in Marbella are effectively sold out off plan long before completion. Official new build figures count only completed and deeded properties, so off plan pre sales are invisible in the statistics. Any newly finished unit was absorbed quickly.

The Supply Squeeze

Supply metrics in the Marbella property market report Q2 2025 show inventory remaining very tight, particularly for quality properties in prime locations. The stock of new homes for sale in Marbella fell by about 11 per cent in 2022 and a further 8 per cent in 2023, leaving developers with very little completed product to offer.

Why Stock Stopped Moving

Resale supply was constrained by owner reluctance rather than by weak demand.

Many owners hold significant equity, enjoy strong rental income or personal use, and face few comparable options to upgrade into given the limited new construction.

That produced a lock up of existing stock, where new listings reached the market more slowly than buyers wanted.

Well priced and well located homes sold quickly as a result. In desirable areas the average time on market for appropriately priced listings ran well under six months, against a national average of over ten. In the Golden Mile, Nueva Andalucía and beachside gated communities, multiple interested buyers and occasional bidding contests were not unusual.

Relief was anticipated from Marbella’s new general plan, the PGOM, which could unlock potentially more than 13 million square metres of additional urban land. As of the first half of 2025 it had not yet translated into new housing supply, and developers were largely awaiting final planning approvals before committing.

Rental and Investment Metrics

The rental section of the Marbella property market report Q2 2025 describes a market in a phase of extraordinary strength and imbalance. Long term availability sat at historic lows, with rental inventory in Marbella estimated to be down over 20 per cent year on year by early 2025.

Rents responded accordingly. Family areas including Nueva Andalucía, Nagüeles and El Rosario recorded increases on the order of 10 to 15 per cent over the year, and during peak demand periods vacancy rates for suitable long term rentals dropped below 3 per cent. Some tenants extended their search inland to Mijas and Ojén simply to find available homes.

For investors, well located villas and townhouses achieved gross yields of roughly 4 to 6 per cent annually, with apartments typically in the 4 to 5 per cent range. Those are moderate figures against Marbella’s capital values, and most buyers weigh appreciation and personal use alongside income.

The regulatory shift

Andalusia’s Decree 31/2024 tightened the rules on short term tourist rentals. All tourist rental properties now require a VUT licence before advertising, communities of owners may vote to prohibit short term rentals in their buildings, minimum quality and safety standards apply, and fines reach €10,000 for operating without a licence. Any buyer purchasing with rental income in mind must verify both the licence position and the community statutes before committing.

Estepona, the Standout Performer

Estepona was the clear outperformer of the half year in the Marbella property market report Q2 2025. The municipality posted a remarkable 59 per cent increase in transactions in Q1 2025 against the same quarter of 2024, rising from 587 sales to 935. That was the highest growth rate in the region.

The surge was driven by the completion of several new residential developments, which added a wave of new build sales, alongside continued strength in resale. Average prices per square metre in Estepona generally ran 25 to 30 per cent below Marbella town, although that gap has been narrowing as Estepona grows faster.

Estepona also attracts proportionally more Spanish buyers than Marbella, with interest from Madrid and Barcelona residents seeking newer property at lower prices. Its buyer profile is somewhat younger and more value conscious, and the market is steadily repositioning from a secondary market into a primary one.

Benahavis, Scarcity and Prestige

Benahavís recorded around 200 property sales in Q1 2025, up approximately 17 per cent from 171 in Q1 2024. Volumes are naturally far lower than its coastal neighbours, and a single high value transaction moves the percentages more than it would in Marbella.

A Market Built on Scarcity

Benahavis contains some of the most expensive addresses in Spain, including La Zagaleta and El Madroñal.

Many transactions involve luxury villas well above the €2 to €3 million mark, and La Zagaleta routinely sees sales in the €5 to €20 million range.

Local Spanish demand is minimal. The buyer base is predominantly international and high net worth, drawn by privacy, security and space.

British buyers remained an important group, particularly around La Quinta and Los Arqueros, alongside Dutch, Belgian, Scandinavian and German buyers, with a noted presence of Eastern European and Middle Eastern purchasers at the very top end. Because price trends here do not follow a simple linear pattern, headline averages should be treated with caution in this municipality.

What Q2 2025 Meant for Buyers and Sellers

For buyers

Competition was real and choice was limited, particularly in the luxury segment. Buyers who moved decisively on well priced stock did better than those who waited for more options, because the options did not arrive. Anyone buying with rental income in mind needed to check VUT licensing and community rules before committing.

For sellers

Conditions favoured sellers across almost every segment. Scarcity of comparable stock, sub six month selling times on correctly priced homes and record pricing meant that owners of prime property held genuine negotiating power. The caveat, then as now, was that overpriced listings still sat, because buyers at this level are well advised and price aware.

What Q2 2025 Told Us With Hindsight

Read now, the Marbella property market report Q2 2025 marks the point at which supply, rather than demand, became the binding constraint on the Golden Triangle. The scarcity described here persisted through the quarters that followed.

Two observations in this edition proved durable. Estepona’s development led growth continued to outpace its neighbours, and the PGOM’s promised land release remained pending far longer than the market expected, which kept Marbella’s supply constrained well beyond 2025.

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