Mark StücklinA recent article in Sur in English raised the alarm, pointing to weak mortgage growth in June. But when you zoom out and look at the bigger picture, the story is far less worrying.
The Sur in English take
The paper reports that mortgage signings in Málaga province (home to the Costa del Sol) rose by just 1% year-on-year in June, well below the national average of 32%. That placed Málaga close to the bottom of the provincial league table, with only a handful of provinces performing worse.
High mortgage values were also highlighted as a headwind. The average home loan in Málaga in June was €204,000 – the third highest in Spain after the Balearics and Madrid – compared with a national average of €168,000.
On this reading, Málaga risks losing ground to rival provinces as affordability issues mount.
But context is everything
The trouble with this kind of alarmism is that it’s based on a single month of data. Anyone who’s watched the housing market long enough knows that monthly mortgage and sales figures are volatile and often misleading.
Step back and consider the first six months of the year, and a different story emerges. According to the INE, home sales in Málaga province actually increased by 12% year-on-year in H1 2025. That hardly looks like a market in crisis.
Yes, mortgage growth in Málaga has lagged the national average, and the high loan values do put buyers under pressure. But in terms of overall sales, Málaga remains one of Spain’s busiest markets, with foreign and domestic demand alike continuing to underpin activity.
The takeaway
One weak monthly data point does not make a trend. While affordability challenges are real, Málaga’s housing market is still expanding, not contracting. If anything, the latest half-year figures suggest demand remains robust – and that talk of a looming crisis may be premature.
