Malaga Property Report September 2023

Welcome to the latest Guide to Malaga report on the Malaga property market. In it, we take a snapshot of the situation in the city with the latest data available. Our report offers insight into prices for property in Malaga, the latest sales figures and what sort of return you can expect from buy-to-let. And we include highlights from recent reports on the market in the city.

Why a Malaga Property Report?

Malaga province has been a popular location for foreigners to buy property for decades. But homes in Malaga city are recent arrivals on the must-buy list. Since Guide to Malaga began back in September 2015, we have noticed an exponential rise in interest in the city’s property market.

Post lockdown it appears to be even higher- we’ve had more emails than ever asking for advice on where, what and how to buy. Interest is high among Northern Europeans keen to buy in Malaga. We’ve compiled this report in response to this demand for information. And as always, if you need any more, get in touch.

Property prices in Malaga

Figures for changes in property prices in Spain always tag behind in time so many are often at least 3 months old. In this Malaga Property Report we quote the latest available.

Average prices

In Q2 2023 (latest available), the average price per m² in Malaga was €2,375. This is up 8.2% in the year, according to the Registrars Association latest quarterly review. Figures are based on prices registered in title deeds. 

Tinsa (Spain’s largest valuation company whose data is also based on valuations) reports that prices went up by 11.9% in the year to Q2 2023 in Malaga city, compared to a national rate of 4.8% and a provincial rate of 8.2%. Prices stood on average at 10.1% below their peak in Q4 2008.

Malaga city and province both posted some of the highest quarter-on-quarter increases for any coastal or resort location in Spain. Statistics from Idealista show a rise of 13.7% in asking prices in the city since August 2022. According to Idealista, asking prices for Malaga property for sale averaged €2,594 per m² in August this year. 

New-build prices in Malaga 

Off-plan and new properties tend to come with higher price tags than resale homes, a trend clearly visible in the city. According to the latest report from the OMAU (Q1 2023, latest available), prices for new builds rose by 14.51% in the year to reach an average of €3,954 per m² at the end of March.

The most expensive new properties were in the east of Malaga (€5,872 per m²), although those in the west, particularly around Malaga Towers, weren’t far behind (€5,370 per m²) and a rise of 14.09% in the year. 

Biggest price hikes

The areas with the highest annual price rises were East (up 13.4%) and Centre (up 18.8%) in the year to August 2023. These figures confirm that demand remains high in central parts of the city. As usual, the East had the most expensive property with a square metre price at €3,626, with the Centro (€3,479) not very far behind.

The main district with the cheapest property was Ciudad Jardín (north of the city centre). Here, a square metre had an average value of €1,463 in Q2 this year. However, prices here rose by 10.8% in the year, suggesting strong demand. (Figures from Tinsa and based on valuations.)

Property sales in Malaga

The latest statistics (Q2 2023) for Malaga province from the Registrars Association are as follows:

• Sales totalled 8,931 between April and June, down by 4.3% compared to Q1 2023 and also down (-5%) compared to Q2 2022. The annual figure is, yet again, well ahead of the same period in 2019, indicating that the property market has exceeded pre-pandemic levels. 
• Purchases of new-build properties in Malaga were the third highest in Spain, behind just Madrid and Barcelona. 
• Foreigners accounted for 33.31% of all purchases, the third-highest in Spain and over 5% higher than Q2 2029. British buyers made up the largest percentage
• Malaga had the second-highest number of sales per supply per 1,000 properties, according to Tinsa’s Q2 report. The province registered 43.4 sales per 1,000 properties on the market, compared to a national average of 26.9. 
• The province had the fifth-highest sales after Madrid, Barcelona, Alicante and Valencia. 
• Property sales remain brisk in the city, with transactions taking a lot less than the national average. According to Idealista, 20% of properties for sale in Malaga on the portal in June found a buyer in less than a week (12% is the Spanish average). 35% of the rest took less than a month.

Rental returns in Malaga

The Tinsa Q2 2023 report found that Malaga city offers a 4.4% return with the highest (6.1%) in Churriana and the lowest in Puerto de la Torre (3.7%) and the East (3.9%).  

Rental rates continue to skyrocket and have soared by 20.2% since August last year and in September 2023, the average rent per square metre was €12.80 (Idealista). The most expensive rental properties in Malaga were in the Centre (€13.90) and the East (€15.00).

Malaga province has 31,736 holiday lets according to INE calculations, the second-highest in the country and well ahead of destinations such as the Balearics and Barcelona. 

Where’s the property market in Malaga going?

Despite rising interest rates and higher mortgage costs, house prices in Malaga continue to rise ahead of the national average. The latest quarterly uptick was one of the highest in Spain.

Demand also continues to grow and supply is now an obstacle – all the agents we have spoken to report that new listings are few and far between in the city, particularly in sought-after areas. 

When we compiled this report, we noticed that there was no sales data for some districts in Malaga, for example, Carretera de Cádiz. This absence indicates that there wasn’t enough on the market to produce a representative sample. Supply is therefore low.

As to whether you should buy now, the answer will, as always, depend on your personal circumstances. Some buyers may want to take advantage of rising rental rates and tourism by investing in buy-to-let short or long-term. Others might like to wait and see. 

Whatever your reason and your timeline, one thing’s for sure – Malaga is a great place to live whether you buy or rent!

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