State of the Real Estate Market in South Costa Blanca: September 2026, What's Happening With Prices?
Last week a client called us worried. He'd spent months "waiting for prices to drop" in Torrevieja so he could buy an apartment near the Paseo Marítimo. We had to break the bad news: the apartment he was looking at in January is now worth 15% more. And no, this isn't an isolated case.
If you've also been mulling over buying here, in Torrevieja, Orihuela Costa, Guardamar, Pilar de la Horadada or one of the area's golf resorts, let's bring you up to speed with real data, no fluff. And if after reading this you feel like taking the leap, at Investforhome Costa Blanca we're here for exactly that.
The context: all of Spain is rising, not just the coast
Before we get into local figures, a point we sometimes forget: this isn't a Costa Blanca bubble. Spain's National Statistics Institute (INE) confirmed that housing prices rose 12.9% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2026 across the whole country, with new-build up 9.1% and resale up 13.5%. And the banks, who don't usually get this wrong since they're the ones putting up the money, aren't seeing a slowdown either: Bankinter forecasts +7% for the year, CaixaBank +5.7%, BBVA +5.3%.
Why am I telling you this? Because a lot of people think prices in Torrevieja or Guardamar are rising "because so many foreigners are buying." And yes, that plays a part, but the root of the problem is national: not enough supply, too much demand, and interest rates aren't holding things back the way they did in 2023-2024.
Torrevieja: the neighbourhood matters more than you'd think
This is where talking about a "Torrevieja average price" gets a bit misleading. As of September 2026 the average price sits around €2,190/m², but depending on the area you're looking at anywhere from €1,980/m² in areas like La Siesta or Los Balcones to €2,560/m² in areas closer to the centre and the sea, like Acequión or Playa del Cura.
What really stands out to us is the pace: apartments are up 16.6% over the past year and houses 14.7%. And looking back five years, the price per square metre for apartments has climbed nearly 94%. Almost double in five years, yes, you read that right. Whoever bought in 2021 now holds a very different asset than they thought they were buying.
Orihuela Costa: the weight of the golf resorts
Orihuela as a whole, which includes Orihuela Costa, with Campoamor, Villamartín, Las Colinas, La Finca and the rest, sits around €2,477/m², with houses up 15.1% and apartments up 13.3% over the past year.
Here's a nuance we take for granted but that surprises buyers coming from abroad: buying near a prestige golf resort, like Las Colinas or La Finca, with a very international mix and larger villas, is not the same as buying a standard apartment a couple of kilometres from the beach. The former pulls the average price up, and by a lot. And if your goal is rental yield, here's the real gem: these golf resorts run almost year-round, not just in summer, because they draw European golfers who travel specifically in the off-season to escape the cold. It's one of the areas we most like hunting for opportunities for our investor clients.
Guardamar del Segura: the one nobody talks about and the one rising fastest
Of the four areas, Guardamar is climbing the fastest in relative terms: +18.6% for houses and +17.5% for apartments over the past year, with an average price of €2,302/m². And that's while it's still, in absolute euros, somewhat more affordable than Pilar de la Horadada.
Our read: Guardamar is becoming trendy because it combines beach (dunes, pine groves, a more natural setting than Torrevieja) with prices that haven't yet made their definitive jump. If I had to bet on where there's more room to run over the next two years, I'd put my money here.
Pilar de la Horadada: the priciest of the four, and not by chance
Pilar de la Horadada tops the list at an average of €2,689/m², with houses around €2,749/m² and annual increases of 16.2%. Some specific areas, like around Avenida Río Segura, already top €2,900/m².
It makes sense: Pilar sits right by Torre de la Horadada and the border with the Región de Murcia, with a microclimate many consider the mildest in all of South Costa Blanca, and relatively new developments that attract foreign buyers with mid-to-high budgets. It's not the cheapest area to get into, but it wasn't a year ago either, and it's still selling.
So, what should I do if I'm thinking about buying?
Okay, here's my opinion, not just the cold data. We've spent months watching the same pattern: whoever waits "for prices to drop" loses money, because it isn't dropping in any scenario the banks or the INE itself are working with. That doesn't mean you should buy just anything tomorrow without looking. It means "wait and see" has a real cost, it isn't free.
What does make sense is being picky about what you buy and where, because within each municipality there are differences of thousands of euros per square metre depending on the street or the development. That's where really knowing the ground, literally, makes the difference between overpaying for something mediocre or finding something with real upside.
If you're weighing up Torrevieja, Orihuela Costa, Guardamar or Pilar de la Horadada (or torn between the four, which is the most common thing), at Investforhome Costa Blanca we keep our finger on the pulse of these areas street by street, not just town by town. Get in touch and we'll tell you, no obligation, what's happening right now in the specific area you're interested in.
