Rental yields on the Costa del Sol: town-by-town numbers (2026)
By David Los · October 2026 · Investment
Rental yield on the Costa del Sol in 2026 is not one number but a spread across towns: on long-term asking rents and our live resale asking prices, gross yields cluster between roughly 3.6% and 5.0% before purchase costs, void periods, community rules or Spanish tax. Estepona, Mijas and the western strip tend to score highest on price-versus-rent; Marbella and Fuengirola score lower because purchase prices have run ahead of residential rents. This guide publishes the town-by-town table, shows the calculation, and links to the ownership and strategy guides that turn gross into net.
Which Costa del Sol towns offer the best rental yield?
On October 2026 asking prices and the latest published long-term rent indices, Estepona, Mijas, Benalmádena and the Manilva coast sit at roughly 4.3% to 5.0% indicative gross yield, while Marbella and Fuengirola sit nearer 3.6% to 3.9% because buyers pay a larger ownership premium than tenants reimburse in monthly rent. Those figures are gross only: they ignore the 10 to 14% round-trip purchase cost, void weeks, community fees and the difference between 19% tax on net rent for EU landlords and 24% on gross rent for everyone else. For strategy, tax and exit maths, start with our property investment guide; this page is the data table.
How we calculate yield (and what we exclude)
Each row compares two published asking-price series, not completed sale prices or signed leases. Purchase side: median asking price and median asking price per built square metre from Hometailor's active Costa del Sol resale inventory on 5 October 2026, new developments excluded. Rent side: long-term residential asking rent per square metre from the Fotocasa Índice Inmobiliario, May 2026, for named municipalities. Gross yield is (rent €/m² per month × 12) ÷ (purchase €/m²), expressed as a percentage. It matches the price-per-metre logic investors use when comparing towns on portals, and it stays comparable even when median home sizes differ.
Málaga province's advertised long-term rent averaged €18.7/m² per month in August 2026, up 4.5% year on year, the highest provincial average in Andalucía after MadridSource: idealista rental price report · August 2026 · View market data →
Tourist letting can gross more per night but is a different product: it needs a VUT registration, professional management often worth 20 to 30% of revenue, and since 2024 many Andalucían communities can restrict new holiday lets. We do not mix tourist rates into this table. National context: Spain's advertised long-term rent reached a record €15.1/m² in August 2026, so the Costa del Sol's premium is structural, not accidental.
Town-by-town gross yields on October 2026 asking prices
| Town | Active resale listings | Median asking | Asking €/m² (buy) | Long-term rent €/m²/mo | Indicative gross yield |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marbella (town) | 439 | €875,000 | €5,967 | €19.35 | 3.9% |
| Estepona | 885 | €614,000 | €4,759 | €19.17 | 4.8% |
| Fuengirola | 445 | €550,000 | €5,453 | €16.39 | 3.6% |
| Benalmádena | 207 | €620,000 | €4,587 | €16.64 | 4.4% |
| Mijas (municipality) | 176 | €831,000 | €3,880 | €15.92 | 4.9% |
| Calahonda | 177 | €470,000 | €4,459 | €15.92* | 4.3% |
| La Duquesa / Manilva coast | 143 | €359,000 | €3,518 | €14.51 | 5.0% |
| Riviera del Sol | 142 | €399,000 | €3,993 | €15.92* | 4.8% |
Costa del Sol resale inventory: 7,846 active listings, coast median asking €659,975 at €4,743/m²; Estepona median €614,000 across 885 listings, Marbella town €875,000 across 439Source: Hometailor market data · October 2026 · View market data →
Long-term asking rents in May 2026: Marbella €19.35/m² per month, Estepona €19.17, Fuengirola €16.39, Benalmádena €16.64, Mijas €15.92, Manilva €14.51Source: Fotocasa Índice Inmobiliario · May 2026 · View market data →
Read the table as a ranking of price discipline, not lifestyle. Marbella's 3.9% gross yield is not a verdict against Marbella: it reflects buyers paying for brand, liquidity and luxury stock while long-term tenants still behave like residents, not trophy hunters. Estepona's 4.8% appears because advertised rents almost match Marbella's per square metre while asking purchase prices sit about 20% lower on a per-metre basis. Compare live medians for any town on our Marbella, Estepona and Fuengirola price pages before you underwrite a specific listing.
Worked example: a long-term let in Estepona
Take a 90 m² resale apartment in Estepona priced at the town's October 2026 median per square metre: 90 × €4,759 = €428,310 in asking price. Fotocasa's May 2026 index for Estepona implies €19.17/m² in rent, or about €1,725 per month on 90 m², roughly €20,700 per year before voids. Gross yield on the asking price is €20,700 ÷ €428,310 ≈ 4.8%, matching the table. Add purchase costs of roughly 10% (transfer tax, notary, registry and legal fees on a resale in Andalucía), and the capital base is closer to €471,000 before furniture or agency fees. An EU-resident landlord might then pay 19% Spanish tax on net rent after deductible costs; a British or other non-EU landlord pays 24% on gross rent with no deductions, which can erase more than a point of net yield on the same tenancy. The full ownership ledger is in our costs of owning property guide.
Apartments versus villas: where the yield fork is
Segment choice moves yield as much as town choice. Apartments carry the deepest tenant pool and the lowest entry ticket; villas trade yield for scarcity and owner use. On our October 2026 inventory the fork is visible in the medians:
| Segment | Active listings | Median asking | Median €/m² |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apartments | 3,581 | €489,000 | €4,865 |
| Townhouses | 844 | €585,000 | €3,646 |
| Penthouses | 1,054 | €695,000 | €5,495 |
| Villas | 2,116 | €1,600,000 | €4,919 |
Applying the provincial long-term rent benchmark of €18.7/m² (idealista, August 2026) to the apartment median purchase price per square metre gives a rough 4.6% gross yield on paper; villas rarely let on long-term terms at rates that justify €1.6M medians with 70% of stock above €1 million, which is why most yield-focused investors we see buy apartments or townhouses in working towns and treat villas as a hybrid of home and appreciation bet. Browse segment stock on our Costa del Sol listings.
Written and reviewed by
Founder & Head of Research, Hometailor · Last reviewed: October 2026
Born and raised in Sweden, David has spent over a decade analysing property markets on the Costa del Sol and has guided hundreds of international buyers through Spanish purchases in English, Swedish and Polish. He writes and reviews all research content at Hometailor, and triangulates everything before it publishes: independent lawyers, agents inside and outside Hometailor, and the live market data behind this site.
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