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PROPERTY

Where should I move to in Spain – Costa Blanca or Costa del Sol?

Spain’s Costa Blanca and Costa del Sol are two of the most popular areas of the country for foreigners to move to and buy a property in Spain, but trying to decide between the two can be a difficult choice. Here are a few things to consider to help you make a decision.

Published: 13 September 2024 16:41 CEST
Marbella and Calpe, Spain
Costa del Sol vs Costa Blanca. Photo: Photo by Pedro Luis Domínguez Ruiz and Emilio Sanchez.

The Costa Blanca is located on Spain’s eastern coast in the region of Valencia in the province of Alicante. It extends from the town of Dénia in the north to Pilar de la Horadada in the south.

Costa del Sol on the other hand is located on Spain’s southern coast in the region of Andalusia and lies mostly in the province of Málaga. It’s a narrow strip of coast stretching from Manilva in the west all the way until it meets the Costa Tropical in the province of Granada in the east.

Other foreign residents

While this isn’t the most important factor when choosing where to live in Spain, you’ll want to know that there are other foreigners in the same situation as you. This can affect everything from the types of jobs that are available to the schools in the area and the friends you might make.

According to the latest stats from Spain’s Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE), there were 206,934 EU citizens living in Andalusia in 2022 and 92,180 British citizens. While in Valencia, there were 263,340 EU citizens and 87,699 British residents.

This makes the Valencia province and the Costa Blanca slightly more popular with other EU residents. But, Andalusia is slightly more popular with British residents.

READ ALSO: The towns in Spain where Brits outnumber locals

Weather

Weather is one of the major factors which cause people to want to move to Spain, so which costa fairs better when it comes to the climate?

According to the Andalusian Tourist Board, the Costa del Sol enjoys more than 325 days of sunshine per year, while the Costa Blanca Tourism Board claims to enjoy around 320 days of sunshine per year. This makes both costas pretty equal when it comes to hours of sunshine, but what about temperature and rainfall?

According to the latest climate figures, Marbella, one of the most popular cities in the Costa del Sol has an average yearly temperature of 18.3C and 65 days of rain.

Torrevieja, in the Costa Blanca on the other hand, has a similar yearly average temperature of 18.7C and a total of 31 days of rainfall.

While both regions have similar amounts of sunshine and average temperatures it seems that if you live on the Costa del Sol you might see a few more days of rain than if you choose the Costa Blanca. 

However, both regions have far less rain than Spain’s other costas in the north such Catalonia’s Costa Brava and Asturias’ Costa Verde.

The Costa Blanca generally has less rain than the Costa del Sol. Photo: Harry Fabel / Pixabay
 

Property

According to Spanish property giants Idealista, Málaga province is one of the most popular places for foreigners to buy property. Nerja, Estepona, Puerto Banús and Marbella stand out as some of the most popular. 

Other areas where foreigners want to buy include Fuengirola, Mijas, Alhaurin el Grande, Torremolinos and Benalmadena are the most popular foreigners buying average and budget properties.

But it’s Alicante province where demand from foreigners exceeds 50 percent of the total demand in the province. The most popular areas include Los Frutales in Torrevieja; the districts of Moraia de Moravit-Cap Blanc, Paichi and Pinar de Advocat-Cometa and Orihuela. More 70,000 British residents own property in the Alicante area.

READ ALSO: Spain’s Dénia to stop issuing licences for tourist apartments

According to the Colegio Registradores de la Propiedad in both Alicante and Málaga provinces foreigners represent one in four property transactions. 

The latest property stats show that the average price for a property in Málaga reached €3,377 per square metre in August 2024, while properties in the Alicante province reached €2,260 per square metre.

This means that property is generally cheaper on the Costa Blanca than it is on the Costa del Sol, however, the average price of properties in the Costa del Sol is pushed up by the high prices in Marbella and you can still find cheaper properties away from this area.

Houses on the Costa Blanca are generally cheaper than on the Costa del Sol. Photo: panoramicvillascosta / Pixabay
 
 

Cost of living 

Generally speaking overall, the Costa Blanca is slightly cheaper to live in than the Costa del Sol, but it does depend on which areas you live in.

According to cost of living website Numbeo, rent is 11.9 percent higher in than in Alicante. You would need around €3,348.5 in Alicante to maintain the same standard of life that you can have with € in Málaga.

Most of the time the cost of living will depend on which town you move to within each costa. Marbella for example has one of the most expensive costs of living out of the two costas. Rent prices in Marbella are a whopping 205 percent higher than in Alicante, but surprisingly restaurant prices are 7.6 percent lower than in Alicante. 

Groceries are cheaper in Malaga than in Alicante. Photo: Pedro Alvarez / Pixabay

Taxes

While national tax is the same throughout Spain, there are also regional taxes that differ.

For example in the Valencia region, where the Costa Blanca is located, according to the General Council of Economists you pay more for inheritance, donation and Heritage taxes. Valencia is also the region that taxes high earners a lot, but has a progressive system. 

Andalusia the other hand, where the Costa del Sol is located, has some of the lowest inheritance and donation taxes in Spain. Despite this, Andalusia does have relatively high personal income tax rates in Spain. 

IBI tax known Impuesto sobre Bienes Inmuebles or property tax in each region completely depends on where you live within the Costa del Sol or the Costa Blanca. If you live in a small village or more rural location, you will generally pay less than if you live in the big cities or popular resorts. 

Therefore, if you’re a very high earner, you may save more in tax by moving to the Costa del Sol rather than the Costa Blanca, and if you’re a low earner, then it may pay to move to the Costa Blanca, rather than the Costa del Sol. Make sure to discuss your individual circumstances with a gestor or a lawyer first who can advise you on which region you would pay the least amount of tax in. 

Andalusia has some of the lowest inheritance and donation taxes in Spain. Photo: Steve Buissinne / Pixabay
 

International schools

If you plan on moving to Spain with your family, then you’ll want to know which region offers the best education options for your kids. Public education is generally considered to be good in Spain, but if you want your kids to get an education in English and to get internationally recognised qualifications, such as the International Baccalaureate or IB, then you’ll want to choose a good international school. 

According to the International Schools Database, there are 25 international schools on the Costa Blanca and 37 on the Costa del Sol. 

In 2024, three out of the top five international schools on the Costa del Sol were named the best of their kind in the country in a ranking from Spanish national newspaper El Mundo. These included Aloha College, British School Málaga and Laude San Pedro International College. This means that the Costa del Sol currently offers the best international education in Spain. 

International schools in Spain

International schools are better on the Costa del Sol. Photo: klimkin / Pixabay

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PROPERTY

Spain’s plan to limit temporary accommodation rejected

Spain's left-wing government had planned to tighten its grip on temporary accommodation rentals as a potential means of making more long-term rentals available, but the country's right-wing parties on Tuesday rejected the proposal in parliament.

Published: 18 September 2024 11:53 CEST
Spain's plan to limit temporary accommodation rejected

If passed, the new law would have meant that anyone who wanted to temporarily rent a property would have to explain why and provide a valid reason.

For example, students or researchers would have to show the research contract or course booking to show it would only last a few months.

It would have also meant that if more than six months passed or more than two consecutive contracts issued, it will have automatically become a long-term habitual residence instead.

On Tuesday September 17th, the proposal was ultimately rejected in the Spanish Congress, voted against by Spain’s three main right-wing parties – Catalan nationalists Junts, Spain’s main opposition party the PP and far-right Vox.

The aim in part was to try and rectify the controversial Housing Law, which came into effect in 2023.

In most people’s eyes, the legislation has failed as landlords have found several loopholes to get around the restrictions, prices have continued to increase and the stock of rental properties is even more diminished.

READ ALSO: Has Spain’s Housing Law completely failed to control rents?

As a result of the fear of heightened regulation for landlords, many have left the traditional market and turned to tourist rentals or temporary accommodation instead, which are far more lucrative. 

This has had the opposite effect, increasing rental prices instead of stabilising or decreasing them.

READ MORE: Why landlords in Spain leave their flats empty rather than rent long-term

Seasonal contracts and room rentals allow landlords to raise prices every six or nine months and they not subject to the price limitations of the housing law.

The idea of this new law was to try and set the maximum duration of a temporary rental contracts at six months in order to avoid this, but it could have potentially also caused problems for many who need this type accommodation such as students, digital nomads, those living here on a short term basis etc. 

During the debate, Sumar’s spokesperson, Íñigo Errejón, defended the law saying that it is a “solvent”, “fair” and “precise” proposal, which will help “correct an abuse” and “close the gap through which “Landlords can use to avoid the LAU (Urban Leasing Law) and rent regulation”.  

Far-left party Podemos blamed the ruling PSOE for having left this “hole” in the housing law, but also agreed that the restrictions on temporary accommodation were needed to try and rectify this.

READ ALSO: Has Spain’s Housing Law completely failed to control rents?

Junts (Catalonia’s main pro-independence party) and the PNV, the Basque nationalist party, were firmly against it. They agreed that the problem must be solved and that “accessible decent housing was needed”, but raised the situation of students, interns, residents or workers who need housing for flexible periods.

Junts party member Marta Madrenas warned of the harmful effects that this limitation on temporary rentals can have for university cities such as Girona.

Vox and the PP meanwhile argued that they don’t want to help cover up the mistakes made by the left with regards to the Housing Law.

Vox deputy Ignacio Hoces stated that the increase in seasonal rentals has occurred due to the “failure” of the Housing Law, since this has caused rental prices to “skyrocketed” by 13 percent and the supply to be reduced by 15 percent.

Temporary accommodation, referred to as alquiler temporal or alquiler de temporada in Spanish, is considered to be anything that’s longer than a month but shorter than a year, middle ground between short-term and long-term rentals. It is also referred to as monthly accommodation or seasonal accommodation.

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