Spain · Costa del Sol · Estepona and Casares
The western Costa del Sol runs from San Pedro de Alcántara, the western end of Marbella, to Sotogrande, and its three coastal municipalities are Estepona, Casares and Manilva. Estepona is where most new-build homes sell: 888 in 2025, almost twice Marbella's 450, at an average asking price of €5,021 a square metre in September 2026, while Casares and Manilva ask about €3,000–3,200. Málaga airport is roughly an hour away by road, and Gibraltar's is closer still.
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See what fits →Official sales counts show where new homes are being bought. In 2025 about one home sale in four in Estepona was a new-build, against one in six in Casares, one in twelve in Manilva and one in ten in Marbella, a much bigger town (second table below).
| Area | What it is | To Málaga airport | To Gibraltar airport | Average asking price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Estepona | Town of 79,593 with an old centre, marina and town beach | 84 km, about 1 hr | 45 km, about 40 min | €5,021/m²; €4,402/m² in the old-town district |
| Casares Costa | Coastal strip of Casares, between Estepona and Manilva | 91 km, about 1 hr 10 min | 35 km, about 40 min | €3,197/m² (whole municipality) |
| Manilva: Sabinillas and La Duquesa | Municipality of 18,044 with a seaside town and marina | 94–95 km, about 1 hr 10 min | 32 km, about 35 min | €3,043/m²; Sabinillas €3,056; Duquesa marina €3,543 |
| San Pedro de Alcántara | Marbella's western district | 64 km, about 50 min | 64 km, about 55 min | €4,649/m² (Marbella overall €5,967) |
| Benahavís | Hill municipality behind San Pedro | 73 km, about 1 hr | 66 km, about 1 hr | €5,602/m² |
| Sotogrande | Part of San Roque, in Cádiz province | 110 km, about 1 hr 25 min | 20 km, under 30 min | €4,082/m² |
Asking prices are sellers' advertised prices on one portal, averaged over new and resale homes of all sizes, so a given new-build can sit well above or below them; idealista revised its method in July 2026. At the average, €500,000 buys about 100 m² in Estepona and 155–165 m² in Casares or Manilva.
| 2025 | Estepona | Casares | Manilva | Marbella |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 79,593 | 8,984 | 18,044 | 160,478 |
| Population change, 2014–2024 | +17.8% | +47.7% | +25.2% | +14.7% |
| Foreign residents | 22,778 | 3,019 | 7,047 | 49,813 |
| Largest foreign group | British, 17.9% | British, 31.5% | British, 32.4% | Moroccan, 9.8% |
| New-build sales | 888 | 113 | 92 | 450 |
| Resales | 2,578 | 522 | 1,030 | 3,949 |
Estepona is a town people live in all year; more than a quarter of its residents are foreign nationals, the British the largest group. The town hall's 2026 visitor guide describes more than 23 km of low, sandy coast and 17 beaches (Spain's national tourism portal gives 21 km), and a promenade of almost three kilometres from Playa de la Rada, the town beach, to the fishing port.
The old centre markets itself as the Garden of the Costa del Sol, for the flowerpots hung along its white streets, and the town has filled its walls and squares with painted murals, poems and outdoor sculpture. Behind it rises Sierra Bermeja, a protected natural area whose highest point, Pico de los Reales, reaches 1,449 metres.
For healthcare, the town has two public health centres and a smaller surgery (consultorio). Its public Hospital de Alta Resolución opened outpatient clinics in April 2021 and an emergency department in July 2022, and began operating theatres in March 2026, according to the public agency that runs it. The same agency runs the Hospital Costa del Sol in Marbella, about 38 km from Estepona town hall by road.
Casares is one municipality with two very different halves. The village is a white hill town, the birthplace in 1885 of Blas Infante, whom the Andalusian Parliament recognised in 1983 as the father of the Andalusian homeland. From the village down to the coastal strip, Casares Costa, is 14 km by the MA-8300, about 25 minutes.
The coast is short and sits between Estepona and Manilva. The town hall lists four beaches with lifeguard and toilet services: Playa Ancha, about 1,300 metres long and 50 metres wide with access for people with reduced mobility; Piedra Paloma; Playa Chica, reached only on foot; and the small Playa de la Sal.
Casares has grown fastest of the three, by 47.7% in the ten years to 2024, and nearly a third of its foreign residents are British. Services have not kept pace: the Junta lists one consultorio and no full health centre in the municipality, so shops, clinics and the Estepona hospital, about 5 km from Casares Costa, are a short drive east.
Manilva covers 35.3 km² and has three centres: the old village of Manilva, on higher ground; Sabinillas, the seaside town; and El Castillo, around the Castillo de la Duquesa, beside the remains of a Roman villa, baths and a fish-salting works. It depended on Casares until it became a separate town in 1796, and its town hall credits vineyards with driving the local economy for centuries. Most homes sold here are resales.
To the east, San Pedro de Alcántara (€4,649/m²) and the hill municipality of Benahavís (€5,602/m²) are nearer Málaga airport: 64 km from San Pedro and 73 km from Benahavís village. To the west, across the provincial border, Sotogrande is part of San Roque in Cádiz, 20 km from Gibraltar's airport.
One legal difference matters at that border. UK citizens count as non-EU buyers, and in Spain's restricted defence zones a non-EU buyer needs a Ministry of Defence permit. Under the 1978 regulation, the Strait of Gibraltar zone ends at the river Guadiaro and its mouth, at Sotogrande; Estepona, Casares and Manilva are not in any zone the regulation lists, but have your lawyer confirm it for the specific property. Anyone buying in Sotogrande should ask their lawyer whether a permit or an exemption applies. The rest of the process is in our guide to buying property in Spain.
Málaga airport handled 26.76 million passengers in 2025, and the UK was its biggest foreign market with 6.15 million. Winter traffic holds up: 328,014 passengers flew between Málaga and the UK in December 2025 alone, according to Aena.
Gibraltar's airport is closer to all three municipalities. In summer 2026 it had direct flights to Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester, Bristol and Birmingham; check the winter timetable. Since 15 July 2026 the UK–EU agreement on Gibraltar has applied provisionally: passengers clear Gibraltar checks and Spanish-run Schengen checks at the airport, then cross into Spain freely, and the Foreign Office says days in Gibraltar now count towards the Schengen limit.
There is no railway on this stretch. Málaga's suburban line C1 runs from the city through the airport to Fuengirola and stops there. West of Fuengirola everything goes by road: the AP-7 toll motorway, with higher summer rates from June to September, or the free A-7 that runs alongside it.
A home bought new from the developer pays no transfer tax. Instead it carries IVA at 10% and, in Andalucía, stamp duty (AJD) of 1.2% on the deed. The figures below use a round illustrative price; full detail, and the yearly bills that follow, are on our Spanish property taxes and costs page.
| Item | On a €500,000 new-build | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| IVA at 10% | €50,000 | Off-plan, it falls due with each stage payment |
| AJD at 1.2% | €6,000 | Andalucía's general rate, paid at the deed |
| Notary | About €480 on the national scale; €600–1,200 typical | Page charges and 21% IVA come on top of the scale |
| Land Registry | About €250 on the scale; €400–700 typical | Registration is paid by the buyer |
| Your own lawyer | €6,050–12,100 | 1–2% plus IVA; fees are freely agreed, so ask for a written quote |
| All-in | About €563,000–570,000 | 12.6–14% on top, before any mortgage or currency costs |
Scale figures: the notary tariff (Real Decreto 1426/1989) and Land Registry tariff (Real Decreto 1427/1989) applied to €500,000, less the 5% reductions the rules require. Working backwards, an all-in budget of €600,000 leaves roughly €525,000–535,000 for the price.
Each of these taxes is filed under your NIE, the foreigner's identification number (how to get one). Once you own the home, non-residents also file a yearly tax form on it, explained on our Modelo 210 page.
| Off-plan | Finished (key-ready) | |
|---|---|---|
| When you pay | In stages while it is built, then the balance at the deed | Deposit, then the balance at the deed |
| What you can inspect | Plans, specifications and the plot | The home itself: light, views, noise |
| Cover for money paid early | Insurance or a bank surety for each buyer, from the building licence | The off-plan rule does not apply; your deposit terms are in the contract |
| Waiting | Until construction and the occupation licence are done | No building wait; completion at the deed |
| Liability for defects | 1 year for finishes, 3 for habitability, 10 for structure, counted from the official acceptance of the works | The same periods, but part of each may already have run |
The off-plan protection is set out in the building law, Ley 38/1999, additional provision one. Any developer that collects stage payments has to secure, from the day the building licence is granted, the repayment of every sum you hand over, taxes included, with legal interest on top. It does so through an insurance policy issued for you alone or a bank's joint surety (aval solidario), and your money has to pass through a special bank account ring-fenced from the developer's other funds.
The contract must state the refund promise, name the insurer or bank and give the account, and the developer must hand you your individual cover document when you sign. If works never start or the home is not delivered on time, you may choose a refund with interest or agree a written extension.
These are protections in law, not promises about any developer: have your own independent lawyer (abogado) check the policy or surety, the building licence and the occupation paperwork before you pay anything.
| Month | Average high | Average low | Days with 1 mm+ of rain | Hours of sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| November | 20.1°C | 11.3°C | 5.6 | 172 |
| December | 17.5°C | 8.9°C | 6.6 | 160 |
| January | 16.8°C | 7.4°C | 5.8 | 180 |
| February | 17.7°C | 8.2°C | 4.8 | 180 |
| March | 19.6°C | 9.8°C | 4.0 | 222 |
A full winter from 1 November to 31 March is 151 days, well over the 90 days in any 180 that a British passport allows; owning a home here does not change that. You can split the season into shorter stays, which our 90-day counter helps plan, or apply for residence through the non-lucrative visa.
As a visitor, a UK GHIC covers medically necessary state treatment; once resident, UK State Pension holders register through the S1 form. The steps are on our healthcare page for UK pensioners.
This page explains the area and the rules; it is not advice on any purchase. Other Spanish regions are compared on our Spain property hub.
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Talk to us about Spain →Casares Costa is the coastal part of Casares municipality, between Estepona and Manilva. The town hall lists four beaches there with lifeguard and toilet services, the longest being Playa Ancha at about 1,300 metres. Distance to the sand varies from home to home, so check it for any you view. Casares village itself is about 14 km inland by road.
About 84 km by road from Estepona town hall, roughly an hour without traffic, based on OpenStreetMap route calculations. There is no train: Málaga's suburban line C1 stops at the airport but ends at Fuengirola. Gibraltar's airport is closer, about 45 km, and since July 2026 arriving passengers clear Schengen checks at the airport before crossing into Spain.
On official counts, Estepona recorded 888 new-build sales in 2025 against Marbella's 450, although Marbella has twice the population. Average asking prices in September 2026 were €5,021/m² in Estepona and €5,967/m² in Marbella, according to idealista. Marbella's old town is closer to Málaga airport, about 54 km by road against 84 km, and the public Hospital Costa del Sol is in Marbella.
Yes. A UK citizen can buy a home in Estepona and register it in their own name, resident or not, once they have an NIE tax number. UK buyers count as non-EU, and some parts of Spain require them to get a defence-zone permit; Estepona, Casares and Manilva are not in any zone listed in the 1978 regulation, which your lawyer can confirm for a specific property. Owning a home gives no right to stay beyond 90 days in any 180.
On average asking prices, yes. idealista put Manilva at €3,043/m² in September 2026 and Casares at €3,197/m² in August, against €5,021/m² in Estepona. Averages mix new and resale homes of every size and position, so compare like with like. The trade-off is distance: the Casares and Manilva coast is 7–11 km further from Málaga airport by road.
Mild and fairly sunny. AEMET's published normals for Málaga airport, 70–90 km to the east, give January an average high of 16.8°C, a low of 7.4°C, about six days with rain and 180 hours of sun. November and December are the wettest months, with around 100 mm of rain each.
Last checked 2026-10-14. Rules and rates change; this is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Confirm your own position with an independent Spanish lawyer or tax adviser before you act.