Property for Sale in Andalucia

You’ll have a wide choice of property for sale in Andalusia, as the region stretches for 600 kilometres east to west and roughly 250 kilometres from its northern border to the coast. It’s a little larger than Scotland, with a 1,000km coastline and several mountain ranges. That includes the Sierra Nevada, reaching to nearly 3,500 metres and offering skiing just an hour’s drive from the Costa del Sol.

It is the coasts that have attracted most international property buyers in Andalusia over the past 60 or so years. First to property on the Costa del Sol, set around Malaga, Marbella and resorts like Fuengirola. This is bucket and spade holiday land, but it’s busy in winter too, as ‘snowbirds’ head down from northern Europe to enjoy a warm winter among other expats.

The Costa del Sol enjoys 3,000 hours of sunshine – twice that of most of the UK – without the extremes of dark in winter. The average daily maximum in summer is the low 30°s, and in winter the 17°C or 18°C, with frost almost unheard of at sea level. It rains a lot in December and January, but you can pack your brolly away in summer. 

That aridity reaches an extreme on the eastern side of Andalusia, in the province of Almería, with the Tabernas Desert. No wonder that property for sale in Andalusia here includes cave homes. Dug out of the rock for coolness in summer and warmth in winter, cave home owners include The Times writer and BBC broadcaster Matthew Parris.

Over on the western side of Andalusia, around the ancient city of Cadiz, the Costa de la Luz is increasingly popular. Here on the Atlantic coast it’s cooler and breezier and popular with surfers and windsurfers. Inland from here it’s very much horse country. While Andalusia used to be known as the home of bullfighting, northern Europeans come here now for the horses, around towns like Vejer de la Frontera and up to cities like Seville.

Still a classic part of Andalusia is flamenco, tapas and sherry. But these days a day out is more likely to involve a golf course or spa, or visit to a vineyard. You can live easily on the coastal stretch without speaking Spanish, although you don’t need to travel far inland to feel very, very Spanish. Even so, go into any dusty Andalusian bar and you’re likely to find a fellow expat to pass the time of day with.

Properties for sale in Andalusia cover every price point imaginable. It’s hardly worth turning up in much of the Costa del Sol with a budget under €150,000, and a villa with sea view can easily be 10 times that. However, there are also country properties for sale in Andalusia in the campo (countryside) for barely into the tens of thousands.

At the lower end of the budget range (€20,000 to €50,000) are apartments in less salubrious parts of cities, to park homes, cave homes and small fincas needing renovation. From there up to €100,000 you’ll be looking at a studio or one-bedroom apartment in a less-well-known resort, such as over in Almería, or a country home far from the coast. Apartments in more popular resorts start at €100,000 and for a villa you’ll need from €300,000 or so on the Costa del Sol.