Between H2 2025 and the close of H1 2026, an estimated 165 to 250 apartments priced above €500,000 were sold in the El Higuerón corridor between Benalmádena and Fuengirola, generating roughly €195m in developer sales volume against active availability of just 215 to 230 units. That ratio, close to one year of trailing sales sitting on the shelf at current velocity, defines the market. El Higuerón has moved from a premium residential option on the Costa del Sol to one of the most supply-constrained luxury micro-markets in Southern Europe.
This report tracks price evolution, price per square meter and sales velocity across the sector to H1 2026, drawing on 20 developer price lists covering the major schemes: Valley, Carat, Waterfall, EVOQUE, Lomas del Higuerón, Aura, The KOS, 16+, Alba, Mane, Casatalaya and Horizonte Village.
Market Activity by Price Bracket (Properties Over €500k)
Cumulative position to H1 2026, covering H2 2025 and H1 2026. Mid-bracket pricing is used to estimate total sales volume.
| Price Bracket | Units Launched | Cumulative Sold | Sold (Last 12 Mo) | Sold (Last 2 Qtrs) | Est. Volume (12 Mo) | Active Availability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| €500k to €750k | c. 470 to 570 | c. 285 to 385 | c. 70 to 110 | c. 30 to 50 | c. €56m | c. 75 to 80 |
| €750k to €1.0m | c. 130 to 170 | c. 78 to 110 | c. 35 to 50 | c. 17 to 23 | c. €36m | c. 52 |
| €1.0m to €1.25m | c. 85 to 115 | c. 60 to 85 | c. 28 to 43 | c. 11 to 19 | c. €39m | c. 23 to 28 |
| €1.25m to €1.5m | c. 55 to 75 | c. 28 to 45 | c. 14 to 22 | c. 6 to 9 | c. €25m | c. 14 to 19 |
| €1.5m to €1.75m | c. 30 to 50 | c. 15 to 25 | c. 8 to 15 | c. 4 to 7 | c. €18m | c. 26 |
| €1.75m+ | c. 40 to 60 | c. 35 to 50 | c. 8 to 12 | c. 3 to 5 | c. €22m | c. 27+ |
| Total | c. 810 to 1,040 | c. 500 to 700 | c. 165 to 250 | c. 70 to 115 | c. €195m | c. 215 to 230 |
Two structural facts stand out. First, the €500k to €750k bracket still carries the volume, yet its active availability (75 to 80 units) represents under one year of trailing sales. Second, the €1.0m to €1.25m bracket is the tightest in the market: 28 to 43 units sold over twelve months against 23 to 28 available. Absorption in that band now outruns replacement supply.
Price per m² Evolution: 2018 to 2026
The clearest measure of the corridor's repricing is the movement in real, usable-area square meter rates between historical launch lists and the 2026 releases.
2018 to 2020: The Premium Baseline
Higuerón West, Phase 3 (2018). Standard 3-bedroom first-floor units of 132 m² interior were priced at €579,000, a rate of roughly €4,386/m². Penthouses of 153 m² with 134 m² of terrace topped the scheme at €1,100,000.
The One (2020). Brought to market by our sister company, The Domus Venari Group, at the height of the pandemic, the scheme mostly sold out over the phone, an early proof of the depth of remote international demand for this corridor. Middle 3-bedroom garden apartments of 112 m² usable interior launched at €520,000 (roughly €4,642/m²). Standard middle penthouses of 111 m² usable commanded €745,000 (roughly €6,711/m²), while premium corner penthouses topped out at €925,000 for 120 m² usable, or roughly €7,708/m².
2026: The Repricing
Lomas Unique (June 2026). Premium sky villas are priced at €1,100,000 for 98.65 m² of indoor area, a real rate of roughly €11,150/m². Typical 2-bedroom units of 94.10 m² indoor sit at €895,000, roughly €9,511/m².
The View Marbella, Phases 2 and 3 (July 2026). Technically in a neighbouring high-end municipal pocket, this development functions as the reference benchmark for buyers cross-shopping Higuerón. Standard 2-bedroom garden units of 128.89 m² indoor list at €1,249,000 (roughly €9,690/m²). Master 4-bedroom penthouses of 290.47 m² indoor command €3,399,000, or roughly €11,701/m².
The arithmetic is blunt: entry-level luxury rates have moved from the €4,400 to €4,650/m² band in 2018 to 2020 to €9,500 to €11,700/m² in mid-2026. Buyers are not paying for finishes alone. They are paying for high-performance real estate: A-rated energy certification built to the NZEB compliance standard now mandatory for new construction in Spain, resort-grade amenity infrastructure and plot scarcity in a corridor where developable land is close to exhausted.
Project-by-Project Pricing and Availability (2026)
| Project | Total Units | Sold / Reserved | Available | Available Stock Pricing | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valley | 225 | 183 | 39 | €590k to €1.69m (most on application) | Completed |
| Carat (3 phases) | 118 | 87 | 31 | €822k to €2.87m | Completed / Final Phase |
| Waterfall | 71 (listed) | 39 | 30 | €720k to €1.83m | Under Construction (del. Q1 2027) |
| EVOQUE | 70 (current) | 14 | 56 | €449k to €825k (excl. VAT) | Under Construction |
| Lomas del Higuerón 2 | 160 | 133 | 27 | €275k to €1.79m | Completed (Mar 2024 list) |
| Lomas del Higuerón 5 | 214 | 172 | 42 | €499k to €1.19m | Selling |
| Lomas Unique (P1 to 6) | 87 | 60 | 27 | €499k to €1.10m | Selling |
| Aura | 33 | 25 | 8 | €669k to €1.26m (excl. VAT) | Completed Q1 2026 |
| The KOS | 36 | 22 | 14 | €1.12m to €1.79m | Completed / Delivering |
| 16+ | 19 | 12+ | 3 | €1.19m to €1.53m | Completed |
| Alba | 48 | 47 | 1 | €598k | Completing 2026 |
| Mane | 51 | 51 | 0 | Sold Out | Completed Q4 2025 |
| Horizonte Village | 54 | 23 | 31 | €590k to €2.35m | Off-plan (del. end 2027) |
| South Residences* | 164 | c. 150 | c. 14 | €1.19m to €2.2m | Delivered 2025 |
| North Residences* | c. 32 | c. 29 | c. 3 | €2.53m to €2.97m | Completed |
| Casatalaya | 28 | 18 | 10 | €750k to €1.35m | Construction from Q2 2026 |
*Estimated from live agency and portal availability.
What the Inventory Table Says
The price ceiling has reset. North Residences asks up to €2.97m per apartment, a level that would have been villa territory in this corridor five years ago. It establishes the new top of the sector and gives every project below it pricing headroom.
Pre-construction remains the appreciation trade. Horizonte Village (delivery end 2027) opens from €590k. On the pattern of every completed scheme in the table, staged price rises through the construction cycle are the base case, not the upside case. The same logic applies to Casatalaya and Waterfall.
Completed stock is thin at the top. Across The KOS, 16+, South Residences and North Residences combined, roughly 34 key-ready units above €1.1m remain. For buyers who will not take construction risk, that is the entire market.
Official Statistics vs. Real-Time Pricing
Registered transaction data from the Ministerio de Vivienda confirms solid new-build volume across the three local municipalities.
| Municipality | Q1 2025 | Q2 2025 | Q3 2025 | Q4 2025 | 2025 Total | Q1 2026 (Prov.) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fuengirola | 145 | 176 | 134 | 166 | 621 | 127 |
| Mijas | 86 | 90 | 42 | 119 | 337 | 151 |
| Benalmádena | 64 | 25 | 43 | 56 | 188 | 37 |
| Total | 295 | 291 | 219 | 341 | 1,146 | 315 |
The Statistical Lag
Registered deeds (escrituras) lag active contracts by several months to over two years. This matters for underwriting. Over the rolling twelve months to spring 2026, notary deeds showed an average new-build transaction price in Fuengirola of €518,000 across 638 deeds. Those figures reflect contracts signed at 2023 and 2024 price levels. Live developer pricing in H1 2026 has already left that benchmark behind: very few premium units in the tracked schemes remain below the €600,000 line.
The spread between deed-registered averages and current launch lists is the cleanest available measure of Costa del Sol capital appreciation in this corridor, and it is the mechanism through which early-stage off-plan buyers capture value before it ever appears in official statistics.
Positioning for Domus Invest Spain Clients
Sub-€750k inventory is contracting. This remains the highest-volume segment, with c. 70 to 110 units sold over the last twelve months, but active availability is shrinking as launch prices climb. Buyers targeting this band are competing for a diminishing pool.
The €1m+ segment is the new standard. The KOS, 16+, South Residences and Carat have normalised €1m to €2.5m+ apartment pricing within Higuerón. The buyer profile has shifted accordingly, toward capital that prioritises controlled-access security, resort-grade amenity infrastructure and protected Mediterranean sightlines, and that underwrites against Malaga real estate yield 2026 assumptions rather than holiday use.
While the market data supports the investment, the acquisition of these specific assets is managed exclusively by our brokerage partner, Domus Venari, including private, off-market developer pricing within the projects tracked in this report. Complementary villa inventory is concentrated in the Domus Venari EcoVillas portfolio along the Marbella to Estepona corridor.