Property News from Spain

Deciding on the best place to retire in Spain will depend very much on what you want from your retirement. We understand that with so many great places to live in Spain, this task can be a little overwhelming, which is why we want to help you simplify the process. Choosing the best place to retire in Spain will depend on several factors, such as personal preferences, budget, climate, amenities, and location.

Here are some tips to help you make a well-informed decision:

1. Determine your budget: Spain offers a wide range of retirement options, from luxurious coastal resorts to small inland towns. Determine how much you can afford to spend on housing, healthcare, transportation, and daily living expenses.
2. Consider the climate: Spain has a diverse climate, ranging from Mediterranean in the south to subtropical in the north. Consider your preferences for temperature, humidity, and rainfall when choosing a place to retire.
3. Look for amenities: Make a list of amenities that are important to you, such as healthcare facilities, cultural activities, shopping centres, and restaurants. Look for a place that offers the amenities that you need to enjoy your retirement.
4. Choose a location: Decide whether you want to retire in a coastal town, a city, or a rural area. Coastal towns offer a relaxed lifestyle and easy access to beaches, while cities provide more cultural and entertainment options. Rural areas offer a quieter and more peaceful lifestyle.  

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When selling or renting your property in Spain, boosting its market value through renovations can be an excellent investment. Extensive and costly improvements aren't always necessary; small, cost-effective upgrades can make a substantial difference. These enhancements not only increase the sale price but also make the property more appealing to potential tenants or buyers.

By understanding what factors influence property appreciation and strategically implementing effective upgrades, you can achieve a higher profit. Let’s explore some impactful measures and considerations for enhancing your property's value.

1. Kitchen and bathrooms

The kitchen and bathrooms are critical areas that can make or break a sale. They are one of the areas that potential buyers scrutinise. Making it more functional and modern can be a game-changer. Even simple updates like fresh paint and new hardware can make a substantial difference. The cost of a new kitchen can start at approximately €5,000 increasing substantially depending on specifications. If you’re contemplating selling, modernising your existing kitchen often provides a good return, potentially increasing your property's value by about 5%. A renovated bathroom with high-quality fixtures and tiles can increase your property value by 10-20%. A complete bathroom update can range from €10,000 to €20,000. Here are some areas to consider:

• Replacing cabinets: New cabinets can refresh the kitchen’s or bathroom’s look.
• Upgrading countertops: A new worktop can give the kitchen a facelift. For smaller kitchens, white worktops can brighten the area and create a sense of spaciousness. This simple change can modernise your kitchen without a significant expenditure.
• Upgrade taps: Modernising the kitchen taps with more contemporary and practical designs can make a big difference.
• Installing modern appliances: An induction hob or new appliances can update the kitchen.
• Repainting walls: Warm colours can make the kitchen feel more inviting.
• Updating flooring: Changing the floor can modernise the kitchen.
• Swap bathtub for shower tray: A simple and practical upgrade involves replacing the bathtub with a shower tray. This not only saves space but also reduces water consumption, adding both functionality and an eco-friendly appeal.
• Installing a shower screen: instead of a curtain for a modern look.

2. Flooring

Replace old flooring with stylish and durable materials like hardwoods, laminates, or high-quality tiles. If your budget allows, replacing worn parquet flooring can give your home a fresh look. Alternatively, consider refinishing existing flooring.

3. Enhance lighting

Good lighting can exponentially increase the appeal of any living space. Here are ways to let in more natural light:

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Downsizing your home can lead to a more manageable lifestyle and simpler daily routine, especially in a country like Spain, where many enjoy a relaxed and cost-effective living environment. For expats, particularly retirees, downsizing is an appealing choice. Here’s a guide on how to downsize successfully in Spain, covering essential benefits, practical steps for decluttering, choosing an ideal location, and managing the financial and legal considerations unique to Spain.

Why downsize your home when moving to Spain?

For many, transitioning to a smaller home in Spain offers practical and lifestyle advantages that can enhance daily life. Here are the top reasons why downsizing may be the right choice, covering everything from financial benefits to lifestyle enhancements unique to Spain.

A simpler lifestyle for retirement

Downsizing provides the chance to transition to a home that’s easier to manage, especially as you enter retirement. Spain’s renowned retirement benefits and vibrant communities make it an ideal destination. A smaller property lets retirees focus on enjoying their time without the demands of a large home, especially if they opt for a single-story property.

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Moving to Spain when you retire, or buying a holiday home in Spain to live in when you eventually stop working, is one of the better ways to get the best out your new and well-earned free time. You can finally live where you want to and, according to numerous reports, Spain is one of the top 10 choices for pensioners seeking a change of scenery.

Within Spain, one of the most popular locations for retired life is the Balearic Islands. Mentioned in countless articles, surveys and studies, hailed for its calm and relaxed atmosphere and its delicious regional cuisine, this Mediterranean archipelago never fails to enter 'best places in Spain to retire' lists. Each of the four islands is very different, but the largest, Mallorca,is frequently singled out as the most rewarding and practical for post-work life.

Why spend your retirement in Mallorca?

Mallorca is the largest and most cosmopolitan island in the Balearics. Whilst it's most famous for family holidays and for its nightlife, Mallorca is rich in historic and natural heritage. Artists' colonies, spectacular caves with underground lakes, an enormous 13th-century cathedral in Palma, along with traditional villages deep in the mountains, mean plenty to explore. Now you're retired, you'll have much more time for sightseeing, and you won't have to travel far to do it. Thelongest point-to-point distance in Mallorca, from Andratx to Capdepera or Formentor, is 108 kilometres by road, and the maximum coast-to-coast distance anywhere else is about 71 kilometres.

As a long-established destination for global tourism and foreign residents, the infrastructure is excellent. One of Mallorca's main drawbacks, though, is that it's expensive to buy or rent property in. It's still cheaper than the USA and most of northern Europe, and cheaper than Madrid and Barcelona, but it's probably not the best destination if budget housing is your main priority.

That said, if you're flexible about exact location and property type, there are some very affordable options. In the Calas on the east coast, or the north, centre, and Alcúdia area, you can find prices well below the national average. Also, depending upon your country of origin, Spain is likely to be cheaper for everyday living. Once you've bought your home, you'll probably find your pension stretches further than it did before the move.

If you're hoping to head to Mallorca to live after finishing your working life, you're in good company. The Balearics as a whole is one of the top choices for relocating Spanish pensioners, too. But what makes Mallorca such a hit with retirees?

1. Climate

With an average of 300 days of sunshine per year, summers above 30ºC and winter temperatures in double figures, the Balearics attract new residents from colder northern European climates. Warmer weather is kinder to painful joints, aids circulation, and allows you to spend more of your life outdoors – like this, you tend to move about more, without realising you're 'exercising', and the vitamin D from the sun is crucial for healthy bones and a stronger immune system.

Spain as a whole is warm and dry, but the mainland coastal parts suffer prolonged episodes of torrential rain when the seasons change. The Balearic Islands tend to miss the worst of it.

Sea air from every compass point takes the edge off extreme heat and humidity in high summer. Anywhere in Spain is hot in July and August, but, as an island, Mallorca's temperatures are slightly lower than mainland Mediterranean Spain – but without those chilly sea winds that you often get in coastal northern Europe, or Atlantic Spain....

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What happens if your visa to move to Spain gets denied? What do you do if your temporaryresidence permit renewal is refused? Whether you are already in Spain on an expired visa, are applying to travel to Spain for a holiday, or intend to live there permanently or temporarily, waiting for a response to your application can be nerve-wracking. But if you meet the visa requirements, and have submitted all the correct documents to the Spanish Consulate at home or the immigration authority in Spain, you will probably be fine. Spain issues over two million visas per year.

Some applications do get rejected. This is not necessarily the end of the story, though – many appeals are successful. The best way to increase your chances of having your visa application accepted the first time around is to get a specialist immigration lawyer to help you compile it. If, however, you still get a rejection, legal experts recommend you always consider an appeal before giving up.

Here's a guide to the appeal process for Spain – but first, we'll explore the most common reasons why your visa request might be turned down.

Reasons a visa for Spain might be rejected

Your application for a visa for Spain may be turned down for a number of reasons, but sometimes, a solution is very simple. Even if it's not, you may still have a case for appeal. Where the solution is complex, not obvious, or open to interpretation, use a legal firm with extensive experience in handling immigration issues.

These are some of the most common grounds for visa denial:

Errors and omissions in your application

These could include:

• Not supplying the complete documentation
• Not supplying sworn translations of documents, where requested
• Not giving sufficient evidence of your reasons for wanting to live in Spain
• Not supplying copies of every single page of your passport, or showing a passport with less than a year to run before it expires
• Providing out-of-date paperwork

Fortunately, these issues are relatively easily resolved, but you should still get an immigration law specialist to check nothing is missing before you reapply.

Insufficient financial means

Applying for a visa in your own name means you need to prove savings or annual income in line with the IPREM. This is a Spanish-government set figure used as a base for non-contributory State benefits, and is currently €7,200 per annum.

A lone immigrant needs annual income or savings of at least four times the IPREM, or €28,800. For each additional household member, a further €7,200 per year must be added.

It is always advisable to try to show a higher figure if you can, especially in light of exchange rates. You may have calculated your income correctly, but a rate change could put you below the threshold.

Income requirements are much lower for a family reunification visa, but sufficient proof is needed if the sponsor is a non-EU citizen.

Family reunification: Insufficient proof of dependence or relationship

This may jeopardise your application if it is missing or incomplete. Take a look at our comprehensive article on how to apply for a family reunification visa and all paperwork needed.

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If you're looking to move to or buy a holiday home in Spain, you've made a great choice. Deciding exactly where in Spain, though, can be far more challenging: The options are endless, so how do you narrow it down?

The popular Costa Blanca is highly varied with something for everyone, so where would be the best area for the life you want to lead?

The 'two Costa Blancas'

One of Spain's earliest destinations for foreign holidaymakers and now home to a long-established multi-national community, the Costa Blanca is as richly diverse as its inhabitants, who have unofficially divided 244 kilometres of the Alicante-province coastline into "North Costa Blanca" and "South Costa Blanca".

This article focuses on the North Costa Blanca, which extends from just above Alicante city to the border with Valencia province.

Finding the right lifestyle-location match is crucial, so here's an overview of life on the North Costa Blanca to aid your decision-making – but check out Best places to live on the South Costa Blanca, too, as a comparison.

How is the North Costa Blanca different from the South?

The North Costa Blanca - comprising the districts of Marina Baixa and Marina Alta - is more 'traditionally Spanish' than the South, and European expatriates are fewer and more scattered. The advantage of the North Costa Blanca for foreign residents is that it's a 'gateway' to an authentic Spanish lifestyle, yet with a safety net.

The main features that make the North Costa Blanca different are:

• Fewer urbanisations

Urbanisations (purpose-built residential complexes) become fewer, smaller and farther apart the more northwards you travel, and are much closer to the main hub of their towns and villages.

• Fewer expatriates

Costa Blanca urbanisations usually have an exceptionally-high foreigner population, normally from northern Europe, whilst Spanish-owned properties on them are predominantly summer homes. The South Costa Blanca's extensive villa and apartment complexes therefore mean considerably more expatriates than in the north.

• More villages, much smaller towns

The North Costa Blanca is mostly made up of lots of villages a short distance apart and very well-connected to each other, whilst the southern half is much more densely populated. The North only has one town of more than 50,000 inhabitants – Benidorm – whereas the south has several big towns and two cities.

• More rural

Generally, the north is greener, more forested, rural and mountainous, whilst the south, certainly along the coast, is flatter and more arid.

• Greater national mix in foreign communities

Areas with a high foreigner population in the North are more culturally-diverse. The large, multinational European communities are often outnumbered by expatriates from elsewhere in the world, opening up a world of diverse cultural exchange.

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Building on the Q1 2025 review, the Spanish property market has continued to demonstrate remarkable resilience and dynamic shifts throughout the second quarter of 2025. The average value of completed properties, encompassing both new builds and resales, recorded a substantial year-on-year increase of 9.8% and a quarter-on-quarter increase of 2.6% with a real annual growth of 7.7% when adjusted for inflation.

This sustained strength is underpinned by a compelling interplay of economic factors, including resilient employment and robust demand, significantly influenced by easing mortgage costs following the European Central Bank's 25-basis-point reduction in key interest rates. This widespread growth throughout the first half of the year underscores the broad-based strength of the market.

At the regional level, the momentum was particularly evident, with year-on-year growth accelerating or remaining high in 16 of Spain's 19 autonomous regions. Four regions stood out with exceptional growth exceeding 10%: Madrid led with a 16.1% increase, followed by the Balearic Islands at 14.4%, Cantabria at 14.1%, and Asturias at 11.6%. Notably, the Balearic Islands (25.3%) and Madrid (6.8%) have now surpassed their 2007 property bubble peaks in nominal terms, though they remain below their inflation-adjusted peaks (9% below in the Balearics and 24% below in Madrid, considering CPI at 2.3% in June 2025). The "Madrid effect" is also creating a ripple effect, activating prices in surrounding provinces like Toledo, Segovia, Guadalajara, and Ávila as buyers seek more accessible options.

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Málaga, a vibrant province on Spain's Costa del Sol, offers an enticing array of apartments with breathtaking sea views. Combining urban sophistication with easy access to stunning beaches, purchasing a sea view apartment in Málaga provides an unparalleled lifestyle and can also be a smart investment opportunity.

Why choose an apartment with a sea view in Málaga?

Sea view apartments in Málaga offer daily pleasures, from waking up to the Mediterranean, to enjoying sunsets from your balcony. Beyond personal enjoyment, they’re also a smart investment. The popularity of this region as a tourist destination and a desirable place to live ensures strong rental demand, and these sea view properties tend to hold or increase their value over time.

Málaga’s coastal property market offers something for every taste. With more than 15,000 sea view apartments for sale, you’ll find a wide range of options to match your lifestyle and budget. Choose from modern sea view apartments in luxury developments with pools and gyms, or go for renovated apartments along the coast that combine Spanish charm with contemporary comfort.

Prime locations for sea view apartments in Málaga

While Málaga city offers appealing options, the province truly shines with its array of coastal gems, each possessing a distinct character and appeal for those seeking to buy a sea view apartment.

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The Spanish property market, with its diverse regions and potential for value growth, continues to attract investors from around the globe. One particular strategy gaining traction is 'house flipping' – the process of buying a property, renovating it, and selling it on relatively quickly to generate a profit. Known locally as the "buy, renovate, and sell" model, this approach is an active investment strategy that demands considerably more effort and involvement than passive buy-to-let investing.

Why is real estate flipping capturing attention in Spain right now? Several factors contribute to its appeal. Real estate investment, particularly in tangible assets, is seen by some experts as a prudent move during periods of economic uncertainty, potentially offering better returns than traditional low-interest savings accounts. Furthermore, Spain's real estate market has a significant stock of properties requiring modernisation or refurbishment, presenting opportunities for investors to add substantial value. The potential for relatively short investment cycles also appeals to those seeking quicker capital returns compared to long-term holds.

However, it is crucial to approach house flipping in Spain with a realistic perspective. While the potential rewards can be significant, success is far from guaranteed. It demands meticulous planning, accurate financial forecasting, deep market understanding, and efficient project execution.

Finding and acquiring your flip candidate in Spain

The adage holds particularly true in house flipping: location is paramount. Identifying the right area is the bedrock of a successful flip. This involves pinpointing neighbourhoods or towns with demonstrable growth potential, rising property values, and strong buyer demand. While major cities like Madrid and Barcelona, or popular coastal areas such as the Costa del Sol and Valencia, are often cited as hotspots, it's vital to recognise that the Spanish property market is not monolithic. Growth rates and demand can vary significantly not just between regions, but between adjacent towns or even different parts of the same city.

Effective market research goes beyond identifying general trends. It requires delving into local specifics. Analysing data from property portals, consulting with knowledgeable local estate agents, understanding demographic shifts, and being aware of planned infrastructure developments (like new transport links or amenities) are all essential components. A deep understanding of the hyper-local market is non-negotiable. This is because regional variations significantly impact key aspects of a flip. For instance, property transfer taxes differ between autonomous communities, renovation costs (labour and materials) fluctuate geographically, and buyer preferences can be distinct. A real estate flipping strategy that proves profitable in a bustling tourist area on the coast might be entirely unsuitable for a quiet inland village or even a different city.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

Málaga, a vibrant province on Spain's Costa del Sol, offers an enticing array of apartments with breathtaking sea views. Combining urban sophistication with easy access to stunning beaches, purchasing a sea view apartment in Málaga provides an unparalleled lifestyle and can also be a smart investment opportunity.

Why choose an apartment with a sea view in Málaga?

Sea view apartments in Málaga offer daily pleasures, from waking up to the Mediterranean, to enjoying sunsets from your balcony. Beyond personal enjoyment, they’re also a smart investment. The popularity of this region as a tourist destination and a desirable place to live ensures strong rental demand, and these sea view properties tend to hold or increase their value over time.

Málaga’s coastal property market offers something for every taste. With more than 15,000 sea view apartments for sale, you’ll find a wide range of options to match your lifestyle and budget. Choose from modern sea view apartments in luxury developments with pools and gyms, or go for renovated apartments along the coast that combine Spanish charm with contemporary comfort.

Prime locations for sea view apartments in Málaga

While Málaga city offers appealing options, the province truly shines with its array of coastal gems, each possessing a distinct character and appeal for those seeking to buy a sea view apartment. From luxurious resorts to traditional white villages, the diverse coastline of Málaga province caters to every taste and investment goal. Locations like Marbella, Estepona, Fuengirola, Benalmádena, Mijas Costa, Nerja, and Torrox offer a wide variety of sea view apartments and their own unique appeal, making location a key factor in finding your ideal Mediterranean home.

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