The Costa Del Sol stretches from Cabo De Gata to Tarifa, taking in hotspots like Puerto Banus and Marbella, along with cheaper places like Torremolinos and the East coast.

I was sent this question by email from a reader wondering how much to pay for a villa on the Costa del Sol. The problem with Spain’s opaque property market is that buyers and sellers don’t know that other properties sell for, so they don’t have a good anchor when it comes to market prices. Both sides are in the dark when it comes to house prices in Spain.

Also, it isn’t meaningful to talk about the ‘Costa Del Sol’ in this context – it all depends where on the coast.

Breaking it down into more meaningful areas, a guide to asking prices (Euros) based on portal research is as follows:

• Sotogrande area: 800.000-1.000.000
• Estepona: 500.000-600.000
• Marbella / Puerto Banus: 800.000-1.200.000
• Mijas area: 500.000-600.000
• East of Málaga: 400.000-500.000
• Inland: From 300,000

Bear in mind that asking prices are not sales prices. Vendors in Spain tend to inflate their asking prices in the expectation of giving ground in the negotiation process? How much? It all depends on the market segment and cycle, but 10% is quite common.