The average property in Marbella changed hands at €3.641 per square metre in the first quarter of 2026 — 20.5 per cent above the same quarter a year earlier. In the luxury segment, prices across the province run from €15.000 to €35.000 per square metre depending on position and specification.
Those are the numbers everyone quotes. The number almost nobody quotes alongside them is this: Marbella's total transactions fell 7.1 per cent against 2024.
What the two together actually mean
Prices rising while volumes fall is a market finding its ceiling, not a market running away. The buyers who remain are less price-sensitive and more selective. The stock that moves is the stock that is correctly positioned; the rest sits.
Forecasts for the year sit around 7 to 8 per cent growth — a normal figure, not a boom one. This is a market that has moved out of its impulsive phase and into a more rational one, and that is healthier for everybody in it.
What it changes if you are buying
Being early matters less than being right. In a 20 per cent year, hesitation is expensive; in a 7 per cent year with falling volumes, the cost of buying the wrong thing is far higher than the cost of taking another month to find the right one.
It also means the negotiating position has quietly shifted on anything that has been listed for a while. Ask us how long something has been on the market before you make an offer. We will tell you, and it is often the single most useful fact in the room.
What it changes if you are selling
It is still a strong moment to sell. It is not a moment to test the market with an ambitious number. Even in high demand, an overpriced listing stagnates — and a property that has visibly sat becomes harder to sell at any price.
Who is buying
The luxury segment here draws heavily on the UK, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium, with a growing share from the United States and the Gulf. That breadth is why the Costa del Sol has held up through cycles that hit single-market resorts hard: when one currency or economy turns, another does not.
Figures cited are for Q1 2026 and are drawn from published market reporting. Ask us for the current position on a specific street or urbanisation — the averages hide enormous variation.