Sales of pre-owned homes slow in Malaga and along Costa del Sol while those of new builds continue to soar
Real estate transactions grew by 11% between January and July in the province: a notable increase, but lower than the national and regional averages
The second-hand property market has lost the momentum it had been showing in Malaga, which explains why the province no longer leads the ranking for home sales growth, either nationally or in Andalucía. Between January and July this year, some 15,070 second-hand properties were sold in Malaga, just 4.3% more than those that changed hands during the same period in 2024. In contrast, the sale of new-builds continues to soar: in the aforementioned seven-month period, some 7,219 transactions of this type of property were recorded in the province, representing a year-on-year increase of 30.1%.
The sustained increase in the supply of new housing in recent years has led to this type of housing reaching a proportion of total housing sales that it did not have a decade ago. New-builds now account for almost a third of all housing sales in the province. Back in 2016, for example, they barely accounted for 18%.
However, the majority (67%) of all real estate transactions signed in Malaga are still for previously-owned homes. This is why the slowdown in the growth of this type of transaction is impacting overall market performance. Between January and July this year, total home sales in the province increased by 11.4% year-on-year, reaching 22,289 transactions. This is not a small growth rate, but it is below the regional and national averages, which were 18.8% and 20.1% respectively. All Andalusian provinces experienced increases at a higher rate than Malaga and, in the national ranking, Malaga ranks ninth from bottom.
Regarding subsidised (social) housing, the data shows that this type of housing is still not getting off the ground. Between January and July, only 662 transactions were for these VPOs, that's 3% of the total. Moreover, this figure is 16.6% lower than for the same period last year.
20% more mortgages
Mortgage statistics for Spain were also released this Thursday, revealing a nearly 20% increase on last year in deals signed between January and July across Malaga province. An average of just over 1,800 mortgages are signed each month. However, Malaga is also below the average for this indicator, which was almost 25% at national level.
The ratio of total homes sold to those taking on a mortgage shows that 57% of homes purchased involved needing a mortgage to complete the purchase. This is a slightly higher proportion than a year ago, but the number of homes purchased outright (cash buyers) in Malaga province is still very high.
As for the average mortgage amount signed in Malaga so far this year, it stands at 209,785 euros. The year-on-year increase is 15,435 euros and the province remains the third highest mortgage rate in Spain, behind Madrid and the Balearic Islands.
