The Real Cost of Buying Property in Andalucía

Two numbers, not one

Buying in Spain requires two separate piles of cash. The first is the deposit, which is whatever the bank will not lend: as a non-resident with straightforward employed income, plan on 30–40% of the purchase price, because Spanish lenders typically advance 60–70% of their valuation. The second is the purchase costs, which are tax and professional fees, and which cannot be added to the mortgage.

That second pile is where budgets break. It is roughly 9–11% of the price on a resale property in Andalucía, and 12–14% on a new build. Nobody lends it to you.

The line items

Transfer tax or VAT

This is the large one. On a resale property in Andalucía you pay transfer tax — Impuesto sobre Transmisiones Patrimoniales, ITP — at 7% of the price. Andalucía's rate is lower than several other Spanish regions, which is worth knowing if you have been reading generic national guidance.

On a new build bought from a developer you pay VAT (IVA) at 10% instead, plus stamp duty (Actos Jurídicos Documentados, AJD) at 1.2%. So new build carries a heavier tax load than resale — 11.2% against 7%.

Notary

The deed is signed before a notary, whose fees are regulated and scale with the price and the complexity of the deed. Budget 0.1–0.5%.

Land registry

Registering the property in your name. Also regulated, also price-dependent: 0.1–0.25%.

Legal fees

Around 1% plus VAT is the common range for a lawyer handling the conveyancing, the searches and the completion. This is not a cost to economise on. A Spanish lawyer acting for you — not for the agent, not for the developer — is the person who establishes that the property is legally what it appears to be.

Mortgage valuation

Typically €300–600, paid by you, instructed by the lender.

What the lender pays

Since the 2019 mortgage law, the lender covers the stamp duty on the mortgage deed itself, along with most of the notary and registry costs relating to the mortgage. That is a real improvement on the position before 2019, and it means the costs listed above are the costs of the purchase, not of the borrowing.

A worked example

A resale apartment in Málaga province at €300,000, bought by a non-resident with employed income, with the bank lending 70% and the valuation matching the price.

So a €300,000 purchase needs a little under €117,000 in cash. The deposit is €90,000 of that and the costs are €26,580 — which is to say the costs alone are nearly 30% again on top of the deposit. That is the part people underestimate.

The same property as a new build at the same price would carry €30,000 in IVA and €3,600 in AJD instead of €21,000 in ITP, taking the total to roughly €128,000.

What comes after completion

Ongoing costs are not part of the purchase but lenders count them in affordability, so they affect how much you can borrow.

• IBI — the annual municipal property tax, which varies considerably by town.
• Community fees, if the property is part of a development. On resorts with pools, gardens and security these are substantial, and lenders treat them as a committed outgoing.
• Non-resident income tax. Spain taxes non-resident owners on an imputed income from a property held for personal use, and on actual rent if you let it. A matter for a Spanish tax adviser, not for us, but it belongs in the annual budget.
• Buildings insurance, which your lender will require.

Figures here are the standard Andalucían rates and typical professional fee ranges at the time of writing. Your lawyer will give you exact numbers for your purchase, and rates can change — confirm before you commit.