That has a name: decoupling. And in the Costa del Sol’s luxury segment, this decoupling is already visible.
The high-net-worth international buyer has not disappeared. However, their attitude has shifted. They view more properties before deciding. They take longer to make an offer. And when they do, they negotiate.
Eighteen months ago, a well-located villa priced between €1.5m and €3m would receive serious viewings within weeks. Today, it can spend months on the market without a genuine offer.
Why?
Because the asking price is no longer the market price. It is the price the seller believes they deserve, based on what their neighbour sold for two years ago—in a cycle that has since shifted.
National data confirms this: in January 2026, sales dropped by 11.4% year-on-year, and granted mortgages fell by 6.8%. And this reflects the broader market. In the premium segment, where there is no financial urgency, the buyer can afford to wait indefinitely.
What lies ahead:
More reductions on the listing price. Not because owners wish to lower them—but because time on the market dictates it. Six months without an offer is the clearest possible sign: the price is wrong.
More visible inventory. Properties that previously sold before even being listed now linger on portals for weeks, then months. In the first quarter alone, 14% of homes for sale in Spain had to reduce their asking price. In the luxury sector, this percentage will only increase.
Fewer completed transactions—not due to a lack of interest, but owing to a lack of agreement on price.
We are experiencing a market shift.
From a seller’s to a buyer’s market. Today’s buyer has more options, more time, and greater leverage in negotiations—regarding both price and terms. With each passing month, this position strengthens.
This is not the first time this has occurred. Between 2012 and 2014, at the end of the post-crisis cycle, there were owners who still expected to sell at 2007 prices. Many were burdened with crippling mortgages. Even so, they stood still, failed to adjust, and ended up—in far too many cases—losing their property.
The current situation is different. The vast majority of sellers today are not at risk of losing their property. Yet there is something that is lost, and which is rarely articulated clearly: time. And with time, the true objective of the sale.
Every week, we meet with owners who wish to relocate closer to their children or grandchildren. Who want to return to their home country. Who are looking to leave behind a house with stairs and live on a single level. Who have a life plan waiting for them on the other side of the settlement at the notary.
And yet, when the time comes to face the realities of the current market figures, that plan is relegated to the background. The price becomes the objective, and the true goal—the underlying reason for the sale—disappears from the equation.
It is a paradox. Nothing is more valuable than time. Yet when money is involved, priorities become skewed.
The takeaway for the seller:
If your property has been on the market for over 90 days without a serious offer, the problem is not the property. It is the price.
The market is not broken. It is recalibrating.
The sellers who understand this sooner will close the deal. Those who wait for the market to prove them right will wait a long time. And they will sell for even less money.
Every month without a genuine offer is not a neutral month. It is eroded capital and lost time. If you wish to know exactly how much this wait is costing you, call me on +34 692 62 19 19.
Hernán Bustos
Director
