What €300,000 buys today in each Costa del Sol municipality
You have €300,000 and you want to buy on the Costa del Sol. You open a portal, filter by that price and get 4,000 listings spread between Manilva and Nerja. One is a 100 m² apartment with two terraces. Another is a 48 m² studio with no lift. They cost the same.
It is not that one is a bargain and the other a rip-off. It is that on this coast the price per square metre doubles across forty kilometres, and €300,000 means different things depending on where along the road you get off.
This article puts numbers to that difference: how many square metres €300,000 buys in each municipality, what kind of property that gets you in each place, and — the part almost nobody works out before falling in love with a flat — how much of those €300,000 goes on taxes and fees before you hold the keys.
Quick summary: what €300,000 buys
- The same money buys twice the home depending on where. €300,000 gets you around 100 m² in Manilva and around 49 m² in Nueva Andalucía. Same figure, two incomparable properties.
- A €300,000 budget is not a €300,000 property. Once purchase taxes and fees are counted, if your real ceiling is €300,000 you can only bid on a home of about €265,000.
- In seven of the twelve municipalities analysed, €300,000 is above the average apartment. You buy better than the local average, not worse.
- In Marbella and Nueva Andalucía, €300,000 leaves you outside the average apartment, which sits around €496,000 and €616,000 respectively. There, that budget buys small square metres or a second-line location.
- Torremolinos, Fuengirola and Benalmádena are the sweet spot for this budget: 83 to 85 m² and above the local average apartment, with the beach and the commuter train within reach.
- Two-bedroom flats are what actually moves in this bracket. They are the dominant type in ten of twelve zones and the easiest to resell and to let.
- A cheap flat with an approved special levy is not a cheap flat. Before comparing prices you have to read the community minutes, and those appear on no portal.
How many square metres €300,000 buys in each municipality
The table below divides €300,000 by the estimated average price per square metre in each area. It is a division, not a promise: within a single municipality there are enormous differences between beachfront and third line, between a new build and a 1975 block. It is there to order the map in your head before you start looking at listings.
| Municipality | Est. €/m² | m² for €300,000 | Average apartment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manilva | €3,000 | 100 m² | €254,000 |
| Mijas (inland) | €3,190 | 94 m² | €286,000 |
| Mijas Costa | €3,370 | 89 m² | €331,000 |
| Rincón de la Victoria | €3,455 | 87 m² | €320,000 |
| Estepona | €3,510 | 85 m² | €352,000 |
| Benalmádena | €3,535 | 85 m² | €294,000 |
| Fuengirola | €3,565 | 84 m² | €286,000 |
| Torremolinos | €3,620 | 83 m² | €284,000 |
| Málaga city | €3,790 | 79 m² | €336,000 |
| Nerja | €3,915 | 77 m² | €345,000 |
| Marbella | €5,720 | 52 m² | €496,000 |
| Nueva Andalucía | €6,160 | 49 m² | €616,000 |
Estimates from the SolProp Costa del Sol Price Index (Q3 2026, data to June 2026). It is an in-house model, not registry transactions: the methodology is set out at the end and on the price map.
What jumps out is the spread: from Manilva to Nueva Andalucía there are 51 square metres of difference for the same money. That is a double bedroom, a study and a terrace. And they are not different cities: they are a little over half an hour apart by car.
Where €300,000 buys above the local average
The fourth column changes the reading. Comparing your budget with the average apartment in the area tells you whether you will buy something better or worse than what your future neighbour bought:
- Above average: Manilva, inland Mijas, Benalmádena, Fuengirola and Torremolinos. With €300,000 you enter the upper end of the local market.
- Roughly at the average: Rincón de la Victoria, Mijas Costa and Málaga city. You buy what most people buy.
- Below: Estepona and Nerja by a little; Marbella and Nueva Andalucía by a lot. There, €300,000 is an entry budget, not a typical home.
This matters more than it seems when it comes to reselling. A flat in the upper end of its area competes with few; one at the bottom of an expensive area competes with everyone who wants into that area and cannot quite reach it. It is the same logic set out in the guide on how a property’s value is actually calculated.
A €300,000 budget is not a €300,000 property
This is the mistake we see most often, and it is not only foreign buyers who make it: you search at the top of your budget, you find the house, and then the numbers throw up €35,000 nobody had counted.
Buying in Andalusia costs, on top of the price, between 12% and 14% in taxes and fees. The summary:
| Item | Resale | New build |
|---|---|---|
| Main tax | Transfer tax (ITP) 7% | VAT 10% + stamp duty 1.2% |
| Notary, Land Registry, admin | approx. 1.5%–2% | approx. 1.5%–2% |
| Independent lawyer | approx. 1%–1.5% | approx. 1%–1.5% |
| Total on the price | 9%–11% | 13%–15% |
Translated to your case: if your absolute ceiling is €300,000 all in, the maximum property price you can search for is around €265,000 on resale. For a new build, it drops to about €260,000.
| If your total budget is… | You can buy at… | Approx. costs |
|---|---|---|
| €250,000 | ≈ €222,000 | ≈ €28,000 |
| €300,000 | ≈ €265,000 | ≈ €35,000 |
| €330,000 | ≈ €292,000 | ≈ €38,000 |
| €350,000 | ≈ €310,000 | ≈ €40,000 |
And if you are borrowing, the bank does not cover those costs: the deposit and the fees come out of savings. With standard 80% financing you need the 20% deposit plus that 10%–12%, explained in detail in the guide on getting the right mortgage. If you are not resident in Spain it tightens further, because typical financing drops to 60%–70%: we cover that in the guide to buying property in Spain as a foreigner.
What kind of property fits in each municipality
Square metres do not tell the whole story. The same floor area buys very different things depending on the area, because what was built there — and who it was built for — changes.
Torremolinos, Fuengirola and Benalmádena: the sweet spot
Between 83 and 85 m², and above the local average apartment. That budget gets you a two- or three-bedroom flat in an established area, often with a communal pool and within walking distance of the beach and the commuter train.
It is the bracket with the most supply and the most turnover on the whole coast, which means two things: more to choose from, and on the day you sell, your buyer also exists.
Mijas and Manilva: more space, fewer services
Here €300,000 buys 89 to 100 m², often with a large terrace or a small garden. The trade-off is car dependency: inland Mijas and much of Manilva have no commuter rail, and day-to-day services are far. It is a change of lifestyle, not just of postcode.
Manilva is also the end of the coast with the most price headroom left: we analyse it in the article on emerging areas that still have reasonable prices. In Mijas it pays to distinguish clearly between Mijas Pueblo, Mijas Costa and Las Lagunas: three markets with different prices under one name.
Málaga city: fewer metres, more city
Around 79 m², below the city’s average apartment. In exchange you buy something the coast does not have: urban life all year round, a hospital, a university, the airport fifteen minutes away and a rental market that does not depend on the season. It is the purchase that makes most sense if the property will be occupied twelve months a year.
Marbella and Nueva Andalucía: the entry door
With 49 to 52 m² you buy a studio or a small one- or two-bedroom flat, almost always second or third line and in older buildings. It is not a bad deal — the Marbella name holds the price up — but you should go in knowing you are buying the most expensive land on the coast in its smallest format.
Estepona and Rincón de la Victoria: the two rising fastest
Estepona (+11.6% estimated over the last year) and Rincón de la Victoria (+10.8%) lead price growth on the coast according to our index. €300,000 buys 85 and 87 m² respectively, slightly below the average apartment in Estepona’s case. Why they are rising is covered in it’s not Marbella: the area where property rose most.
The full case, euro by euro
A constructed example using prices consistent with the Fuengirola market in 2026. A buyer with €300,000 in total savings and no mortgage, looking for a two-bedroom flat near the beach.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Property price (78 m², 2 bedrooms) | €265,000 |
| Transfer tax 7% (resale) | €18,550 |
| Notary | €900 |
| Land Registry | €600 |
| Administrative agent | €450 |
| Independent lawyer | €2,900 |
| Valuation (if mortgaged) | €0 (cash purchase) |
| Total paid out | €288,400 |
| Budget left over | €11,600 |
That €11,600 margin is not profit: it is the cushion for what turns up afterwards. Rewiring a flat from the eighties, adding air conditioning, furnishing it or facing a pending special levy eats that figure easily. A light refurbishment runs at €250–450/m², so on 78 m² that is between €19,500 and €35,100.
Put another way: a €265,000 flat ready to move into and a €240,000 one that needs work are not €25,000 apart. They usually cost the same.
What if you are buying to let?
The criteria change completely. If the property is going to generate income, square metres matter less than the relationship between what you pay and what you take in — and there the expensive areas perform worse.
With €300,000 and a long-term let, the product that works best on this coast is a two-bedroom flat in an established area with year-round demand — Torremolinos, Fuengirola, Benalmádena and Málaga city — not a studio in a premium zone. What changes in the contract, the deposit and the tax treatment is in the guide to long-term rentals on the Costa del Sol.
If holiday letting is what tempts you, there are two checks before buying that allow no shortcut: that the town hall permits it at that specific address, and that the community of owners has not banned it. The 2026 rules are in the guide to the tourist licence on the Costa del Sol, and the real yield comparison between the two models is in holiday lets versus long-term rentals. The uncomfortable conclusion up front: gross, holiday letting wins clearly; net, the difference all but disappears.
What if I stretch the budget by another €50,000?
It is the question that always comes up after the first viewings: is it worth squeezing up to €350,000, or better to drop to €250,000 and sleep easy? The table shows what you gain and lose in square metres at each level.
| Municipality | €250,000 | €300,000 | €350,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manilva | 83 m² | 100 m² | 117 m² |
| Mijas (inland) | 78 m² | 94 m² | 110 m² |
| Benalmádena | 71 m² | 85 m² | 99 m² |
| Fuengirola | 70 m² | 84 m² | 98 m² |
| Torremolinos | 69 m² | 83 m² | 97 m² |
| Málaga city | 66 m² | 79 m² | 92 m² |
| Marbella | 44 m² | 52 m² | 61 m² |
| Nueva Andalucía | 41 m² | 49 m² | 57 m² |
What is interesting is not the numbers but where the product jumps fall:
- From €250,000 to €300,000 the jump is one of category on the central coast. You go from about 70 m² — a tight two-bedroom — to about 84, which allows two generous bedrooms or three cramped ones, and usually opens the door to a parking space included.
- From €300,000 to €350,000 the jump is one of comfort, not category: fourteen more metres, better orientation, a higher floor or a bigger terrace. You buy better, but you buy the same thing.
- In Marbella and Nueva Andalucía no bracket changes the picture. €350,000 reaches 57–61 m². To get into the average apartment in those areas you are talking about €500,000 or more.
The practical conclusion, and it is not always welcome: if your budget is €250,000, stretching to €300,000 changes what you buy. If you are already at €300,000, stretching to €350,000 almost never justifies itself unless that money comes from savings and not from adding ten years to the mortgage.
How much you need saved if you are borrowing
Almost nobody buys cash in this bracket, so it is worth translating the budget into required savings. Spanish banks typically lend up to 80% of the valuation to residents, and around 60%–70% to non-residents. Taxes and fees never go into the mortgage.
| €265,000 property | Resident (80%) | Non-resident (70%) |
|---|---|---|
| Mortgage | €212,000 | €185,500 |
| Deposit | €53,000 | €79,500 |
| Taxes and fees (≈10%) | €26,500 | €26,500 |
| Savings needed | ≈ €79,500 | ≈ €106,000 |
In other words: the same property demands about €26,500 more up front from a non-resident buyer. It is not an extra tax or a penalty; the bank simply takes on less risk with someone whose financial life is not in Spain.
It is also worth checking the monthly payment before falling for anything: the benchmark lenders use is that it should not exceed 30%–35% of the household’s net monthly income.
Six mistakes that repeat in this price bracket
- Searching at the top of your budget. If you have €300,000 and you look at €300,000 houses, you cannot buy any of them. Your search price is the budget minus the costs.
- Comparing €/m² between municipalities without checking what is included. Eighty metres with a parking space and storage room is not eighty metres flat, and the difference is €20,000 or €30,000.
- Not asking for the community minutes. An approved €15,000 levy for the façade turns the bargain into the most expensive flat you have seen. You ask before signing the deposit contract, not after.
- Ignoring the cadastral reference value. If it is higher than the price you pay, the tax is calculated on it and not on what you paid. It can be several thousand euros of difference.
- Choosing the area by price and not by use. Gaining 15 m² in exchange for depending on the car every day is a bad deal if you are going to live there all year, and an excellent one if you go for three weeks in summer.
- Forgetting the running costs. Community fees, council tax, refuse and insurance do not appear in the listing, but they are paid every year. In a development with a pool and gardens the community fee alone can exceed €1,500 a year. The breakdown is in the guide to the cost of living on the Costa del Sol.
Step by step with €300,000
- Set your total budget and subtract 10%–14%: that is your real search figure.
- Decide the use first — living there all year, second home or letting — because it changes the area before it changes the price.
- Pick two or three municipalities using the table above and rule out the rest. Searching the whole coast at once is the fastest way to buy nothing.
- If you are borrowing, get pre-approval before viewing. It changes your negotiating position completely.
- At every viewing, ask for the community minutes, the latest council tax bill and the monthly fee. Three documents, and they head off most of the nasty surprises.
- Check the cadastral reference value of that property before signing the deposit contract.
- Set aside a refurbishment cushion even if the flat is «ready to move into»: paint, appliances and some surprise always turn up.
- Hire a lawyer independent of the seller and the agency. In this price bracket, the cost is a fraction of what it prevents.
Frequently asked questions about buying with €300,000 on the Costa del Sol
How many square metres does €300,000 buy on the Costa del Sol?
Between 49 and 100 m² depending on the municipality. In Manilva it is around 100 m²; in Mijas, 94; in Fuengirola, Benalmádena and Torremolinos, between 83 and 85; in Málaga city, 79; and in Marbella or Nueva Andalucía, between 49 and 52. The same figure buys twice the home at one end of the coast than at the other.
How much should I add for taxes and fees?
Between 9% and 11% of the price on resale, and between 13% and 15% on a new build. It covers the main tax (7% transfer tax in Andalusia, or 10% VAT plus 1.2% stamp duty), notary, Land Registry, administrative agent and lawyer. On a €265,000 resale property that is around €23,000.
If I have €300,000 in total, what price should I search at?
Around €265,000 if you buy resale and around €260,000 for a new build. The difference is the taxes and fees, which are not covered by the mortgage and come entirely out of savings. Searching for €300,000 properties on a €300,000 total budget is the most common way to waste time on viewings.
Where is this budget best spent?
It depends on the use. For living all year or letting long term, Torremolinos, Fuengirola, Benalmádena and Málaga city offer the best combination of space, services and steady demand. To maximise square metres, Manilva and inland Mijas. For recent growth, Estepona and Rincón de la Victoria lead the coast.
Can you buy in Marbella with €300,000?
Yes, but at around 52 m²: a studio or a one-bedroom apartment, usually second or third line and in older buildings. Marbella’s average apartment is around €496,000, so €300,000 puts you at the bottom of that market. Not a bad purchase if you are after the location, but you should know what you are buying.
What property type sells and lets best in this bracket?
The two-bedroom apartment. It is the dominant type in ten of the twelve zones analysed and has the largest pool of buyers, which means less time on the market the day you want out. It also works best for long-term letting, because it suits couples, small families and remote workers alike.
Is it better to buy more space further out or less space closer in?
It depends how many days a year you will be there. For year-round use, proximity to services, transport and a hospital weighs more than fifteen extra metres; for holiday use, the space and the terrace pay off more. What does not change is resale: a well-connected property always has more potential buyers than an isolated one.
How much does it cost to run a property at this price each year?
Between community fees, council tax, refuse and insurance, the usual range is €1,500 to €3,000 a year for an 80 m² apartment, and it rises in developments with a pool, gardens and security. If you are not tax resident in Spain, add the annual imputed income return (form 210).
Is it worth buying to renovate on this budget?
Only if the discount covers the work with room to spare. A full refurbishment to a mid-range standard costs between €700 and €1,200/m², so on 80 m² that is €56,000 to €96,000. A flat €30,000 cheaper that needs a full refurbishment is not cheaper: it is more expensive and it also takes months. It pays off when the discount clearly exceeds the works budget, or when the work is the kind that adds value — above all kitchen and bathrooms.
What if the cadastral reference value is higher than the price I pay?
Then transfer tax is calculated on the reference value, not on what you paid. If you buy at €240,000 and the reference value is €280,000, you are taxed on €280,000: around €2,800 more tax than you expected. It can be checked free of charge at the Cadastre’s electronic office using the cadastral reference, and it is worth doing before signing the deposit contract.
Looking in this price bracket?
Tell us your total budget, what you want it for and how many days a year you will be there, and we will tell you which municipalities make sense to search in and which do not. The first consultation is free and without obligation, and we reply within 24 working hours.
Keep reading
- The complete guide to buying property on the Costa del Sol: the whole process, step by step.
- Buying off-plan: payment schedule and why VAT falls due at each instalment.
- Buying property in Spain as a foreigner: NIE, financing and what changes for non-residents.
- Emerging areas with reasonable prices: where the headroom still is.
- Price map by area: the current €/m² for every municipality on the coast.
- The real cost of living on the Costa del Sol: the running costs nobody puts in the listing.
Sources and method
Prices per square metre, average prices by property type and year-on-year variations come from the SolProp Costa del Sol Price Index, Q3 2026 edition, with data to June 2026 and coverage from June 2025 to June 2026.
That index is an in-house estimation model, not a record of transactions. It is built from public and market data signals — asking prices on portals, the evolution of our own portfolio and observed closing ranges — and calibrated by area. It is not data from the Land Registrars’ Association or the Cadastre, and should not be cited as such. It is useful for comparing areas with each other and framing a decision, not for valuing a specific property.
The square metres in the main table are the result of dividing €300,000 by the estimated average price per m² in each area, rounded to the nearest whole number. It is arithmetic applied to an estimate: within a single municipality, the difference between beachfront and third line can exceed 30%, so no specific property need match that average.
The percentages for purchase taxes and fees, and the refurbishment costs, come from our own published guides, cited throughout the text. The euro-by-euro case is a constructed example, not a real client transaction, and its figures are rounded.
This article is general information and does not replace advice from a lawyer or tax adviser for your specific case. Tax rates and regional rules change. Last updated: August 2026.
