A verified market analysis based on official Notariado transaction data, buyer behaviour trends, institutional forecasts, and what the supply picture means for buyers making decisions now.
QUCK ANSWER : Are property prices rising in Torrevieja and Orihuela Costa in 2026?
Yes. Based on official completed-transaction data from the Portal Estadístico del Notariado, Torrevieja sits at approximately €2,088 per m² and Orihuela (including Orihuela Costa) at approximately €2,235 per m². Prices are rising at a steady 5%–9%, supported by international demand, a high proportion of cash buyers, and a structural shortage of available housing.
For anyone searching for property for sale in Torrevieja, homes in Orihuela Costa, or Costa Blanca South prices in 2026, the most important starting point is official transaction data, not asking prices, not portal estimates, but what buyers and sellers are actually completing at the point of purchase.
The Portal Estadístico del Notariado records every completed property transaction at the moment of signing. This is the most reliable measure of where the market genuinely sits. The latest figures for this area are clear:
Torrevieja €2,088 per m²
Orihuela Costa €2,235 per m²
These figures sit below asking prices on portals and agency listings, which typically range between €2,000 and €2,700 per m² depending on property type and precise location. That gap between listed and completed prices is not a sign of weakness, it is a sign of a structured, functioning market where negotiation takes place rather than panic buying or distressed selling.
At the wider coastal level, appraisal firm Tinsa confirmed that second homes and holiday properties on the Spanish coast rose by 12.1% in 2025, reaching a national coastal average of €2,970/m². Torrevieja and Orihuela Costa remain competitive on pricing relative to many comparable Mediterranean coastal markets.
The Southern Costa Blanca has already experienced its sharp growth window. Prices moved significantly between 2022 and 2024, continued upward through 2025, and are now increasing at a more measured, sustainable pace in 2026. This is not a reversal, it is maturation.
The national picture adds important context. Spain's official house price index showed values were 12.2% higher year-on-year in Q1 2025, based on INE data. Bankinter's analysis of Idealista figures recorded the average resale price across Spain reaching €2,555/m² in October 2025, a 15.7% annual increase. The city of Alicante, the provincial capital closest to Torrevieja and Orihuela Costa, reached €2,435/m² in June 2025, a 16.4% year-on-year increase according to Idealista data.
"Growth is now steady rather than rapid, which is the hallmark of a market that has earned long-term credibility."
Regional forecasts for Southern Costa Blanca in 2026 point to growth of approximately 5%-9%. Singular Bank projects a cumulative price increase of around 9% across 2025-2026. BBVA Research's Observatorio Inmobiliario report projects 7% growth in 2026. The respected REBS property indicator projects 5%–6% alongside rising transaction and mortgage volumes. Spanish costas consistently outperform the national average, and that pattern is not changing.
Torrevieja and Orihuela Costa are among the most internationally active property markets in Spain. Buyers from the UK, Scandinavia, Germany, and Belgium are the dominant groups, with over 120 nationalities represented locally. The majority of purchases are lifestyle-led, primary residences, long-stay second homes, or retirement relocations, rather than short-term speculative plays.
Across Spain in 2025, foreign buyers accounted for approximately 20.2% of all property transactions, according to analysis from The Property Finders drawing on official Spanish registry data. In coastal provinces, and Alicante province, which includes both Torrevieja and Orihuela Costa, consistently ranks among the top three provinces for foreign buyer volumes alongside Malaga and Barcelona, that share is considerably higher.
Property purchases in coastal provinces by foreign buyers grew 2.4% annually in 2024, with coastal provinces now accounting for 83% of all foreign property transactions across Spain, according to Tinsa's 2025 Vivienda en Costa report. This is not a market dependent on any single nationality or domestic economic cycle. It is broad, active, and structurally consistent.
This is the factor that most property market analyses overlook, and it is the most important one for understanding why Southern Costa Blanca holds its value when other markets soften.
Across Spain as a whole, mortgage usage sits at approximately 55%–59% of all transactions. In coastal markets like Torrevieja and Orihuela Costa, that proportion drops to around 45%–50%, meaning close to half of all completed purchases involve no mortgage financing at all.
Spain national avg · mortgage-funded 57% of all property transactions
Torrevieja & Orihuela Costa · cash buyers ~50% of completed purchases are cash
The explanation lies in the buyer profile. As confirmed by The Property Finders' 2026 Spanish market analysis and Survey Spain's January 2026 Spanish Costas Property Market Report, Spain's banking crisis post-2008 tightened lending criteria significantly for overseas purchasers, imposing stricter loan-to-value limits (typically 60%–70% for non-residents) and shorter loan terms (capped at 20–25 years). As a result, a large proportion of international buyers came to market with cash. They still do.
The practical consequence is direct: when the ECB adjusts rates, large portions of the buyer pool in Torrevieja and Orihuela Costa are simply unaffected. This is a structural feature of the market, not a coincidence.
National mortgage data adds further confidence. New home mortgage volumes in Spain rose strongly by 22.9% in the first eight months of 2025 compared to the same period the prior year, as lower ECB rates brought average borrowing costs down to approximately 2.66% by September 2025, from 3.26% a year earlier, according to ECB data. This trend is adding buyers at entry-level price points, not replacing existing cash-driven demand.
€120,000 – €250,000 - Strongest demand in Torrevieja proper. Predominantly apartment-led. Mortgage usage higher in this band. Entry-level international buyers and long-stay relocators are the primary groups.
€250,000 – €500,000 - Core market segment across Orihuela Costa, Villamartín, Playa Flamenca, La Zenia, Punta Prima. Balanced mix of cash and mortgage buyers. This is where the majority of current transactions are taking place.
€500,000+ Cash buyers dominate. Focus on larger villas and newer developments. Sensitivity to rate movement is low and price stability is high. Supply at this level is the binding constraint.
The most straightforward reason prices remain firm is that there are not enough homes available to buy.
Across Spain, more than 200,000 new households are created each year while fewer than 100,000 new homes are built, a structural gap that has no near-term resolution, as confirmed by multiple 2026 sources including BBVA Research and Esentya Estate. BBVA projects building permit increases of 16% and 13% in 2025 and 2026 respectively, yet explicitly states this remains insufficient to meet underlying demand.
In Southern Costa Blanca specifically, the constraints are sharper still. Prime coastal locations within walking distance of beaches, services, and transport links are largely built out. New-build delivery is limited by land availability, planning timescales, and labour shortages in Spain's construction sector. Strong rental demand continues to absorb a meaningful portion of available stock as it comes to market, reducing the pool of resale properties at any given time.
This is the structural floor under prices. Even when buyer activity eases temporarily, limited supply prevents meaningful corrections.
For buyers purchasing partly or wholly for income, the rental picture in Torrevieja and Orihuela Costa adds a further layer of support. Average gross rental yields in Torrevieja run at approximately 6.3%, with demand consistent across both long-term and seasonal rental markets.
Alicante province accounts for approximately 11% of all active holiday rental properties across Spain, one of the highest provincial concentrations nationally, according to Tinsa research. This dual-track rental market, combining short-stay visitor demand with long-term occupancy from the large established international resident community, provides a degree of income resilience not available in purely seasonal coastal locations.
Energy costs, inflation, and interest rate policy are affecting all European property markets. In Torrevieja and Orihuela Costa, the impact is measurable but contained. The high proportion of cash buyers reduces exposure to rate-sensitive demand fluctuations. International demand, which drives this market, is less tethered to Spanish domestic economic conditions and more connected to the buyer's home economy, which for UK, Scandinavian, German, and Belgian buyers has remained broadly stable.
Construction costs, which have risen materially across Spain's building sector, also provide a natural floor for new-build pricing that ripples across the resale market. The result, consistent with what multiple institutional forecasters are projecting, is a market that adjusts and absorbs rather than one that corrects.
The rapid growth phase, the 2022–2024 window of double-digit annual increases, has passed. What remains is steady, confirmed upward movement supported by structural supply constraints and persistent international demand. Singular Bank, Bankinter, BBVA, and REBS are all forecasting continued growth, not stabilisation or decline.
Waiting for a price correction that the underlying data does not support carries a specific, quantifiable risk: reduced availability. As supply continues to tighten and gradual price growth continues, the practical effect of waiting is not a lower purchase price, it is a smaller choice of properties at a higher price point.
"For buyers focused on Southern Costa Blanca, the relevant question is no longer whether the market is moving. It is whether the property you want will still be available when you decide to act."
Prices are rising, not falling. Torrevieja sits at approximately €2,088/m² and Orihuela Costa at approximately €2,235/m² on a completed-transaction basis, with growth of 5%–9% projected across 2026, corroborated by Singular Bank, BBVA, Bankinter, and REBS.
The market is resilient because of its buyer profile. With up to half of all purchases completed without a mortgage, interest rate sensitivity is structurally lower here than in most Spanish markets. This is a confirmed, documented feature of coastal international property markets, not an assumption.
Supply is the limiting factor. Demand remains broad and international. New housing delivery is insufficient to keep pace. Available stock continues to reduce. The result is a market where price stability is structurally supported from below.
Sources: All price per m² data from the Portal Estadístico del Notariado (penotariado.com), housing price finder, latest available transaction data. Forecast data: Singular Bank via Idealista; BBVA Research Observatorio Inmobiliario (Oct 2025); Bankinter Real Estate Analysis; Tinsa Vivienda en Costa 2025; INE official price index. Mortgage and cash buyer analysis: The Property Finders Spanish Property Market 2026 report; Survey Spain Spanish Costas Property Market Report, January 2026; ECB mortgage rate data September 2025. Rental yield data: Investropa Costa Blanca analysis 2026.
Key Market Figures
Torrevieja avg/m²€2,088
Orihuela Costa avg/m²€2,235
2026 growth forecast 5 to 9%
Cash buyer share (local) 50%
Rental yield - Torrevieja 6.3%
Foreign buyer share (Spain) 20.2%
Avg Spanish mortgage rate 2.66%
2026 Price Forecasts
Singular Bank+9% cumulative
Obs. Inmobiliario+7%
REBS Indicator+5–6%
BankinterContinued rise
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Frequently Asked Questions
Are property prices rising in Torrevieja and Orihuela Costa in 2026?
Yes. Based on official Notariado transaction data, Torrevieja sits at approximately €2,088/m² and Orihuela Costa at approximately €2,235/m². Prices are rising at approximately 5%–9%, supported by international demand, limited supply, and a high proportion of cash buyers.
What percentage of buyers in Torrevieja and Orihuela Costa pay cash?
In these coastal markets, approximately 45%–50% of all purchases are completed without a mortgage, significantly higher than the Spanish national average of 55%–59% mortgage usage. This reflects the dominance of international buyers who have historically accessed the market with cash, particularly at mid and upper price levels. Sources: The Property Finders 2026; Survey Spain January 2026.
What is the average property price per m² in Torrevieja in 2026?
According to the Portal Estadístico del Notariado, Spain's official notarial transaction database, the average completed-transaction price in Torrevieja is approximately €2,088 per m². Orihuela, which includes Orihuela Costa, sits at approximately €2,235 per m². These are verified transaction prices, not asking prices.
Will property prices fall in Costa Blanca South in 2026?
No institutional forecast currently projects a price fall in Southern Costa Blanca. Singular Bank, BBVA Research, Bankinter, and REBS all project continued price growth of 5%–9% through 2026. Structural supply shortages, with Spain building fewer than half the homes needed to meet new household formation, provide a firm floor under pricing even if demand were to ease temporarily.
Is now a good time to buy property in Orihuela Costa?
Based on current data, prices are rising and available stock is contracting. The window of rapid double-digit growth has passed, which means the market is now more structured and negotiable, but prices are not falling and availability is not improving. For buyers with a clear property requirement, the practical risk of waiting is a higher price point and fewer options, not a lower entry price.
For buyers searching for the best property for sale in Spain 2026, Cool Casas and Kate Kearney guide clients through the buying process while advising on residency, logistics, and local lifestyle.
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Kate Kearney – Cool Casas
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© 2026 Cool Casas . All rights reserved.Data sources: Notariado · INE · Tinsa · BBVA · Bankinter · Singular Bank