Foreign home buyers account for more than half of the demand in at least three Malaga towns, it has emerged.

The latest analysis from Idealista places Competa, Frigiliana and Nerja among the Spanish municipalities attracting the greatest proportion of prospective buyers from abroad.

Across Malaga province as a whole, foreigners account for 27.1% of demand to buy property, with Britons, Dutch and Swedish buyers leading the international search for homes.

The news has attracted a number of headlines in the Spanish press, with El Español’s headline branding it an ‘invasion’.

In Competa, in the Axarquia, foreign buyers represent a staggering 61.3% of demand, according to the report.

That makes the whitewashed mountain town the fourth municipality in the whole of Spain with the highest proportion of international demand, beaten only by three municipalities in Mallorca.

Britons are among those showing the greatest interest in buying there, alongside Dutch and German house hunters.

Frigiliana and Nerja also pass 50%

Nearby Frigiliana, regularly ranked among Spain’s most picturesque villages, is another magnet for overseas property hunters.

Foreigners account for 57.1% of demand for homes in the municipality, led by British, Dutch and Swedish buyers.

And the trend continues just down the road in Nerja, where international buyers represent 56.1% of property demand.

There, Swedish buyers take the top spot, followed by Britons and the Dutch.

The three Malaga municipalities all feature among the 20 Spanish towns with the highest proportion of foreign demand, according to the figures.

The data relates to the origin of people searching for properties rather than the nationality breakdown of completed transactions or the towns’ populations.

Malaga among Spain’s foreign property hotspots

At provincial level, Alicante, the Balearic Islands and Malaga have the highest levels of foreign demand in the new analysis.

International buyers completed 3,474 purchases in Malaga province during the second quarter of 2026, an increase of 20.8% compared with the same period last year.

Foreign purchasers accounted for 37.01% of completed transactions in the province during the quarter – the second-highest proportion in Spain behind Alicante.

Foreigners also flocking to Malaga city

Foreign buyers also account for 14.8% of property demand in Malaga city, making it the third provincial capital in Spain with the greatest foreign interest after Alicante and Palma de Mallorca, according to the Idealista analysis.

Americans lead international interest in the city, followed by Britons and Dutch buyers.

Read more Andalucia news at the Spanish Eye.