Buying in Málaga: prices, neighbourhoods and the tourist licence

Málaga is no longer the city you pass through on the way to the Costa del Sol: it has become the city where people settle. In three years the price per square metre has risen without a break, the old town has changed, and the city council has closed the door to new holiday rentals. Buying here in 2026 therefore means understanding two things before anything else: what each neighbourhood really costs and what you will be allowed to do with the property once you own it.

This page brings together the latest public figures, the rule that currently blocks holiday rentals across the whole municipality, and what it changes in practice for a buyer from the UK, Ireland, Scandinavia, the Netherlands or elsewhere. Everything is dated and sourced at the bottom of the page. If it cannot be checked, you will not find it here.

The point that changes everything: the tourist licence is frozen

This is the first question to ask, before you even look at listings. Since 23 August 2025, Málaga city council has suspended the registration of any new vivienda de uso turístico (VUT, the Andalusian holiday rental licence) across the whole municipality. The measure is based on article 6 of Andalusian Decree-Law 1/2025 and was published in the provincial Official Gazette (BOP) on 22 August 2025.

Even before this general freeze, 43 neighbourhoods were already closed to new licences: those where holiday rentals exceed 8% of the housing stock. They include the Centro Histórico, Ensanche Centro, La Victoria, La Malagueta and El Palo, which are precisely the areas most investors look for.

This approach was written into the town plan itself on 25 July 2026, together with a second measure on converting commercial premises into homes. We explain it in our analysis of the Málaga PGOU amendment.

What this means for you, both ways

If you want to start a holiday rental in Málaga city: this is not the time, and it is not the right city. We would rather tell you straight away than let you buy and then hit the wall. The neighbouring towns, Torremolinos, Benalmádena, Fuengirola, Mijas , each have their own rules, and not all of them are closed. It is a conversation to have town by town.

If a property is already registered as a VUT, it becomes a rare asset. Existing licences keep working as long as the property stays compliant (habitability, safety, tax obligations). In a city that no longer issues them, a licensed flat is worth more, and this already shows in sale prices. If you view one, have the registration code checked before making any offer: much of the value lies there.

One last technical point that is often forgotten: even before the freeze, licences were no longer granted to homes without independent access from the street and without their own services. This requirement will remain the basis of any future application.

Málaga’s neighbourhoods and what they cost

Málaga is not a single market. From one district to another, prices can double. These are the asking prices by district, recorded in August 2026.

At neighbourhood level the gaps are wider still. Figures from April 2026: Malagueta – Monte Sancha at €7,129/m² and Paseo Marítimo Oeste – Pacífico at €7,103/m² are the top of the market; Centro Histórico at €5,961 and Ensanche Centro – Soho at €5,508 follow; Pedregalejo – Morlaco at €5,084 (+25.9% in one year) is the fastest-rising neighbourhood. At the other end, Ciudad Jardín (€2,518), Churriana (€2,564) and Cortijo de Maza (€2,624) remain the most affordable areas of the city.

The key fact of 2026: Málaga no longer has a truly cheap neighbourhood close to the centre. Huelin, Pedregalejo and La Trinidad, long seen as the bargains, have all passed €4,000/m².

How we read these neighbourhoods

• Centro Histórico and Soho : the best resale, the strongest rental demand, and the tightest licence restrictions. You buy here for the value of the property, not for yield.
• Este (El Limonar, Pedregalejo, El Palo) : the most pleasant place to live, popular with families and year-round residents. High prices, but a market that does not fall back.
• Carretera de Cádiz (Huelin, La Princesa) : the beach without city-centre prices, real neighbourhood life and +7.9% in a year. Our favourite area for a first long-term buy-to-let.
• Teatinos : recent buildings, lifts, garages, the university next door. Steady rental demand all year from students and hospital staff. The best balance between easy management and yield.
• Churriana, Puerto de la Torre, Ciudad Jardín : the entry tickets. Best for buyers who know the city: the exact location matters a great deal.

We currently have one property in Málaga itself: a renovated, furnished 3-bedroom apartment at Sky Garden, Teatinos.

What buying really costs

The asking price is never the price you pay. In Andalusia, allow about 9 to 10% in extra costs on a resale property (7% ITP transfer tax, notary, land registry, lawyer) and about 13% on a new build (10% VAT + 1.2% AJD stamp duty). On a €300,000 flat, that is between €27,000 and €39,000 on top of the price.

The line-by-line breakdown, with both resale and new-build tables, is in our guide to property investment in Spain.

The seven steps of a purchase, in order

Buying in Spain when you live elsewhere is not complicated, but the order matters. This is the real sequence our clients follow.

1. The NIE : the foreigner identification number. Without it there is no signing at the notary, no bank account and no tax payment. You apply at the Spanish consulate in your country or in Spain by appointment. Start this first, because it takes the longest.
2. A Spanish bank account : essential to pay for the property, community fees, water, electricity and local taxes. It is opened with your NIE and proof of income.
3. The offer and the arras contract : once the offer is accepted, you sign a contrato de arras with a deposit, usually 10% of the price. Be careful: depending on the type, the buyer loses the deposit if they withdraw, and the seller must repay it twice over if they pull out. Add a conditional clause if your purchase depends on a mortgage.
4. The checks : the step you never skip: a recent nota simple from the land registry (actual owner, mortgages, charges), community debts, IBI property tax paid up, cadastral compliance of any works and, if you plan to rent, the exact status of the tourist licence.
5. Signing the escritura : the public deed before a notary. You can sign remotely by power of attorney, as most of our non-resident clients do.
6. Registration and taxes : registration at the land registry and payment of ITP (or VAT and AJD on a new build) within the legal deadlines.
7. Getting set up : transfer of water and electricity contracts, rubbish tax, insurance and joining the owners’ community. Then, every year, the non-resident tax return (modelo 210).

We support you through all seven steps and put you in touch with an independent lawyer: the legal sign-off is theirs, not ours.

The mistakes we see most

These are not rare cases. They come back year after year with serious, well-meaning buyers.

Renting out in Málaga: what it really brings in

Here is the figure few agencies show: the gross yield on a long-term buy-to-let in Málaga city was 5.2% in the second quarter of 2026. It is falling year after year (5.9% in 2023, 5.8% in 2024, 5.4% in 2025) and is now below the Spanish average of 6.5%.

The reason is simple and worth accepting: purchase prices are rising faster than rents. +5.1% for purchases over one year, only +2.8% for rents. Buying in Málaga today means buying a solid asset in a city that attracts people; it no longer means buying a high yield.

A concrete example: a 70 m² flat in Teatinos bought at around €3,966/m², so €277,600, rents for around €14.7/m²/month, so €1,029 a month, or €12,348 a year: about 4.4% gross before community fees, IBI, insurance and empty periods. “Gross” means before all of that.

On our holiday rentals on the Costa del Sol, we see gross yields of around 6 to 10%, against 4 to 7% for long-term lets. These are figures from our own portfolio, not a promise: seasonality, exact location and quality of management make all the difference. In Málaga city, the licence freeze now closes that door to any unlicensed property.

Tax in two lines

If you are tax resident in the European Union, your Spanish rental income is taxed at 19% on net income, with expenses deductible. Outside the EU (United Kingdom, Switzerland, Norway, United States) it is 24% on gross income, with no deductions at all. The difference is significant and must go into the calculation before you buy, not after.

On top of this come the deemed income on a property you do not rent out, the annual modelo 210 return and the 3% withholding on resale. The details, with deadlines and forms, are on our property investment page. We are neither lawyers nor tax advisers: we point you in the right direction and put you in touch with the right people.

How we work in Málaga

VivaStay is an estate agency based in Málaga (registered estate agent API 525). Most of the owners and buyers we work with do not live in Spain; that is exactly our job.

• Search and viewings : we view properties for you, on video, and we also tell you what is wrong.
• Checks before an offer : tourist licence status, community fees, cadastral situation and any debts.
• Administrative support : NIE, bank account, notary, introductions to a lawyer and a gestor.
• Full rental management : after the purchase we look after the property, the guests or tenants, the cleaning and anything unexpected. This is our concierge service.
• Works and home staging : we oversee renovation works and prepare the property before it goes on the rental market.

Our properties in Málaga

I am marketing properties in the municipality of Málaga, in Puerto de la Torre, Los Guindos and Teatinos, for sale and for long-term rent.

• Detached villa in Puerto de la Torre : €1,200,000, for sale.
• Detached house in Puerto Sol, Puerto de la Torre : €990,000, for sale.
• Apartment in Los Guindos : €450,000, for sale.
• Renovated, furnished apartment at Sky Garden, Teatinos : 3 bedrooms, 127 m², €1,850 a month on a long-term let.

Let’s talk about your project in Málaga

Tell us your country of tax residence and what you are looking for. We will reply personally, in English, French or Spanish, with an honest answer, including when the answer is “not in Málaga, try next door”.

Frequently asked questions

Beyond Málaga, there are differences between Spanish law and the law of your home country that cost dearly when found out too late. We have gathered them here: the mistakes to avoid when buying in Spain.

Talk to someone on the ground about your project

This page gives you the figures. It will not tell you whether your project works in Málaga: that depends on your budget, your tax situation and what you want to do with the property. That is what a first call is for. VivaStay is an estate agency on the Costa del Sol : I sell properties and manage rentals, which lets me tell you what a flat really earns.

Sources and dates

1. Idealista, sale price report, Málaga city, August 2026 : €3,938/m², +5.1% over one year, and table by district.
2. Idealista, rental price report, Málaga city, August 2026 : €16.5/m²/month, +2.8% over one year, and table by district.
3. Idealista, gross rental yield, Málaga city, Q2 2026 : 5.2%; history 5.9% (2023), 5.8% (2024), 5.4% (2025); national average 6.5%.
4. Neighbourhood figures recorded in April 2026 (Idealista data, reported by the local press).
5. Ayuntamiento de Málaga, planning department statement: suspension of new viviendas de uso turístico across the whole municipality, Junta de Gobierno Local agreement published in the BOP of 22 August 2025, in force from 23 August 2025, for a maximum of three years or until the PGOU amendment is approved.
6. Andalusian Decree-Law 1/2025 of 24 February 2025, article 6: the legal basis for the municipal suspension.
7. Málaga PGOU amendment, initial approval published in the BOP of 24 July 2026, in force from 25 July 2026.
8. The 43 saturated neighbourhoods: new licences already blocked where holiday rentals exceed 8% of the housing stock.
9. Non-resident tax: IRNR 19% (EU/EEA residents, on net income) and 24% (outside the EU, on gross income); Andalusian ITP 7% ; new builds: VAT 10% + AJD 1.2%.

Page updated on 9 September 2026. Market figures change and holiday rental rules move fast: we check them regularly, but always verify the exact situation of a property before committing. This information is for guidance only and is not personalised legal or tax advice.