Poles are buying more and more in Spain — the Costa del Sol is becoming the second address of affluent Poland
Buying an apartment or a villa on the Spanish coast is no longer the extravagance of a select few in Poland. Over the past few years the Polish buyer has become a visible, growing part of one of Europe’s most international property markets — the Costa del Sol. It is a shift with concrete numbers and concrete consequences for both markets.
The scale of the phenomenon: foreigners drive the Spanish market
Spain has for years been the number-one destination for the European second-home buyer. According to figures cited from the Spanish register (Registradores), in 2024 foreigners bought close to 93,000 properties in Spain — around 14.6 percent of all transactions (the second-highest share in the register’s history, after 2023 with 14.98 percent), while the volume of foreign purchases alone was 6.4 percent higher than in the previous record year of 2022. On the coast itself the share is many times higher: on the Costa del Sol and in the province of Málaga, foreigners account for around a third of purchases (about 32 percent in 2024), and in the 2025 data the share rises to around 35 percent (Q1 2025 — 34.75 percent). This is a market that simply does not function without the foreign client.
Where Poles fit in
Poland is steadily climbing the ranking of nationalities buying in Spain. In the tables for 2024, Polish buyers came fifth among foreigners, with more than 4,200 transactions (on the order of 4–5 percent of purchases made by foreigners) — and, more importantly, with double-digit year-on-year growth. The direction is unambiguous: the number of Poles on the Spanish coast is rising, and the Costa del Sol is one of their main destinations.
Real factors lie behind this growth. The rising affluence and financial wealth of Polish households, the desire to diversify capital outside the country, the popularity of remote work that makes longer stays possible, and the maturity of a market that has accustomed Poles to buying property abroad. For some buyers it is a second home and a lifestyle; for others, a store of capital in an asset in limited supply in the best locations.
What they buy and what to watch for
The Costa del Sol is a premium market: from apartments in new off-plan developments, through penthouses, to frontline villas with sea views. The new-build segment plays an ever greater role — today it is Western European buyers who buy the most there, but the gap for the Polish buyer is only just closing. Entering this market, however, requires preparation — from tax and legal matters (the NIE number, property due diligence, transaction costs) to genuine vetting of the developer and the location. This is an area where the role of a professional, multilingual adviser cannot be overstated — because a mistake in a foreign purchase costs far more than one at home.
Why it matters for both sides
For the Polish investor, the growing availability of knowledge and service in Polish means that the Costa del Sol is ceasing to be a market “for the initiated”. For Spanish agencies and developers, the Polish buyer is a new, growing demand segment which — unlike the already mature British and Scandinavian markets — remains underserved. Whoever is first to build credible communication and reach to the Polish client will capture demand that is only now gathering pace. It is a classic situation in which a market trend runs ahead of supply — and a gap like that does not last long.
An editorial piece by Method Press based on public trade sources, market data and legislation. Current as at the time of publication — data, regulations and dates may change.