House prices along the Andalucian coast are continuing to surge, a new study has found.

The latest Vivienda en Costa report from Tinsa by Accumin shows that holiday homes on the Costa del Sol now command as much as €5,000 per square metre.

But buyers searching for a more affordable slice of the Spanish coast still have options.

Huelva stands out as one of the region’s relative bargains, offering significantly lower prices alongside some of Andalucia’s most unspoilt beaches.

At the top end is Malaga province, where average holiday-home prices reach €5,000/m2 between Marbella and Manilva.

Meanwhile, parts of Cadiz have become so expensive that buying beside the sea can now cost more per square metre than living in the most expensive district of Sevilla city.

Costa del Sol reaches €5,000 per square metre

Unsurprisingly, Malaga remains Andalucia’s most expensive coastal market, the report found.

Holiday homes average around €5,000/m2 between Marbella and Manilva, €4,350/m2 between Torremolinos and Mijas and €4,300/m2 in La Axarquia.

For comparison, the average value of housing across Malaga’s coastal municipalities is €3,027/m2, while the provincial average is €2,600/m2.

International demand is playing a significant role in pushing the holiday-home market.

According to Tinsa, foreign buyers account for around 50% to 60% of holiday property transactions in Malaga’s coastal areas.

They include buyers from the UK, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Nordic countries, Poland and the Middle East, while the report also points to growing interest from Americans.

Sotogrande reaches €4,500/m2

Cadiz is not far behind at the luxury end of the market.

Holiday homes average around €4,500/m2 in Sotogrande, while prices reach approximately €4,000/m2 between Chiclana and Puerto Real.

Between Tarifa and Conil they stand at around €3,500/m2, with a similar figure recorded in El Puerto de Santa Maria.

Perhaps most strikingly, the wider residential market in Tarifa reached €3,655/m2 in the first quarter of the year.

That makes it more expensive than Sevilla’s Casco Antiguo – the priciest district of the Andalucian capital – where homes averaged €3,547/m2 over the same period.

Unlike the Costa del Sol, demand for holiday homes in Cadiz remains predominantly domestic, particularly from buyers in Sevilla, Cordoba, Madrid and the Basque Country.

Foreigners account for between 5% and 30% of purchases depending on the location, with buyers from the UK, Germany and Russia among those highlighted by Tinsa.

Want a bargain? Look towards Huelva

For buyers who want the Andalucian coast without Costa del Sol prices, Huelva offers some of the most attractive figures in the report.

The province’s coastline remains far less developed than many of the Mediterranean resorts, with long stretches of sandy beaches, pine forests and protected natural landscapes giving it a markedly different feel to the busier Costa del Sol.

Holiday homes average around €2,400/m2 between Mazagon and Islantilla and €2,450/m2 around Isla Cristina and Ayamonte.

That means a hypothetical 100m2 holiday property would work out at around €240,000 to €245,000 at those average square-metre values, compared with approximately €500,000 between Marbella and Manilva.

Huelva’s overall coastal housing market is cheaper still, averaging €1,801/m2, while the provincial average stands at just €1,429/m2.

Demand is predominantly Spanish, particularly from nearby provinces and Madrid.

Foreign buyers represent around 10% to 20% of holiday-home transactions, with British buyers among the most prominent international purchasers.

Granada and Almeria also cheaper

There are more affordable options on Andalucia’s Mediterranean coast too.

In Granada, holiday properties average around €2,750/m2, compared with €1,829/m2 across its coastal municipalities generally.

Almeria is also significantly cheaper than the Costa del Sol, although Tinsa describes its current upward trend in prices, sales and new-build permits as ‘very intense’.

Holiday homes average around €2,100/m2 between Pulpi and Carboneras, €2,000/m2 between Vera Playa and Carboneras and €1,900/m2 between Roquetas de Mar and Adra.

The more expensive stretch between Nijar and Aguadulce reaches around €2,750/m2.

International buyers account for between 10% and 35% of demand depending on the area, particularly those from Germany, the UK and Eastern Europe.

As prices continue to climb across southern Spain, those less-developed stretches of coastline could increasingly attract buyers priced out of the region’s traditional property hotspots.

Read more Andalucia news at the Spanish Eye.