Which municipalities have the oldest buildings in Malaga?

There are just over 1.5 million properties in Malaga province according to a study carried out by the IECA Andalusian statistics institute using data from 31 December 2025.

Of those, more than 417,000 (around 27%) were built before 1980, dating back more than 45 years. This proportion is not too dissimilar from that of Andalucía as a whole: of the nearly seven million properties, more than 2.1 million (around 30%), were built before 1980.

In comparison with other provinces, Almeria is the Andalusian province with the least oldest building stock with 21%, while Jaén has 36% - this makes it the province with the oldest housing stock.

Within the Malaga province there is a clear split between several municipalities. While properties in smaller, inland areas are on avearge over 50% older (pre-1980), coastal or densely populated areas have more modern housing, with only 20% in the older bracket.

Within Malaga province there is a clear split between several municipalities. While properties in smaller, inland areas are on average over 50% older (pre-1980), coastal or densely populated areas have more modern housing, with only 20% in the older bracket.

In Salares village in the Axarquía, for example, 240 of its 280 buildings are more than 45 years old. Similar figures can be seen in Benarrabá, Parauta and Benalauría, villages in the Serranía de Ronda.

Other places with over 60 percent of buildings over 45 years old include Árchez, Faraján, Benadalid, Igualeja, Sedella, Algatocín and Alpandeire. Notably, all are located inland and do not have large populations.

At the same time, these are municipalities where almost no construction has taken place in the last 15 years. In Benadalid the proportion is around 10%, whereas in Sedella, Parauta or Benalauría it is much lower as only 1% of the properties have been built in these last three decades.

Other municipalities in which hardly a brick has been laid in the last 15 years are Jimera de Líbar, Carratraca and Cuevas de San Marcos, where these more recent properties do not even represent 1% of the total property stock.

In the province as a whole, these more recent constructions account for 7.5% of the 1.53 million properties. Of them fewer than 115,000 have been built since 2010.

In Andalucía as a whole, they account for 462,000 (6.6%) of the almost seven million properties. But in the province of Malaga there are municipalities in which the proportion of buildings erected in the last 15 years is double these figures. For example, in Estepona, Casares and Ojén the building stock has increased by more than 15% in the last three decades.

At the same time, these localities are among those with the lowest proportion of homes over 45 years. Compared to figures over 60% or 70% in inland Malaga province, in Benahavís, buildings built before 1980 account for barely 1.5%.

Meanwhile, in Ojén they account for 6.9% and in Manilva and Alhaurín de la Torre they are less than 8%. In Mijas and Casares they are around 10%.

Of those locations, Mijas municipality, covering also Mijas Costa is the largest, with around 95,000 properties, of which just 8,700 are over 45 years old, a figure that practically equals the number that have been built since 2010.

Other areas with fewer older properties are Cártama, Estepona and Rincón de la Victoria (less than 15%).

Once again, the largest of these municipalities, Estepona, stands out: of its 88,629 properties, just 11,706 are over 45 years old, compared to the 14,836 built less than three decades ago.

In Torrox, Benalmádena, Marbella and Fuente de Piedra fewer than 20% of the property stock is more than 45 years old.

In Torrox, Benalmádena, Marbella and Fuente de Piedra fewer than 20% of the property stock is more than 45 years old.