Living in Estepona is a dream for many people. Few places in the world offer the quality of life that the Costa del Sol Garden guarantees. If you are thinking of moving to the Costa del Sol, Estepona has to be on your list of priorities. In this article we are going to tell you everything you need to know before taking the big step of buying a home in this beautiful corner of the world. Will you join us?
Where is Estepona?
Let’s start with the obvious. What makes Estepona such a special place? One of the decisive factors is undoubtedly its location. Estepona is a Spanish town located in the southwest of the province of Malaga. Very close to the Strait of Gibraltar and well connected by road with the surrounding towns and the capital.
Its municipal area is 137.5 km2 and (here comes another very relevant fact) it has 23 kilometers of coastline. The beach is the most obvious attraction, but behind it, Estepona also has another great treasure: Sierra Bermeja. This mountainous area reaches 1,449 meters above sea level at its highest point, the peak of Los Reales. In addition to being a unique space in terms of flora, with its prized Spanish firs, the mountain serves as Estepona’s shelter, creating a unique microclimate that softens the lowest temperatures in winter and keeps the thermometers at bay in summer. If we add to this almost 300 days of sunshine a year, there is little more to add.
For all these reasons, Estepona has become a first class national and international tourist destination. The hotel offer is very wide and in the last few years it is increasing its infrastructures notably, with a very well cared for pedestrianized historic center and facilities dedicated to leisure (the Felipe VI Theater, for example) and sports (with all that the renovation of the fairgrounds entails). The last jewels in the crown are its new Paseo Marítimo and the so-called Senda Litoral, a route along the coast that practically covers the entire municipal area.
How to get to Estepona?
If you are coming from somewhere in Spain, you will probably arrive at the train station of María Zambrano, a place where people from Estepona spend a lot of dead time, or at the Malaga Airport. The most usual in both cases is that from there you travel by rental car to Estepona, but you also have the option of going from Malaga to Estepona by bus.
If you are coming from abroad, there is also the option to land at Gibraltar Airport and travel to Estepona. Or if you like to drive, you can arrive by crossing the French border and follow the AP-7 all the way to your destination.
What is near Estepona?
Less than an hour’s drive away you will find really beautiful villages, those that appear in the tourist guides as places not to be missed. In addition to these beautiful destinations, to give you an idea of the distances, we propose a simple table with some reference places.
| Destino | Distancia (Km) | Tiempo (h/min) |
|---|---|---|
| Aeropuerto de Málaga | 81 | 57 |
| María Zambrano (Málaga) | 86 | 64 |
| Aeropuerto de Gibraltar | 45.5 | 48 |
| Marbella | 32.9 | 25 |
| Algeciras | 50.4 | 41 |
| Madrid | 613 | 5:57 |
| Sevilla | 227 | 2:29 |
| Granada | 209 | 02:14 |
| Barcelona | 1059 | 10:10 |
| Almería | 291 | 2:56 |
| Córdoba | 245 | 2:32 |
If you are looking for activities and excursions that you can do from Estepona or in the same town, here are our 10 favorites.
What is the best area to live in Estepona?
Obviously, it all depends on the consumer’s taste. If you are looking for a life away from the city, the most viable option is to opt for one of the many urbanizations located on the outskirts of Estepona. If, on the other hand, what you like is to live in the garden of the Costa del Sol, the best alternative in our opinion is to look for a house in the old town or perhaps on the seafront.
Best urbanizations to live in Estepona:
Whenever we propose a selection there will always be someone who disagrees. For tastes, colors. But this is, in our opinion, the top 3 of urbanizations in Estepona, from the most affordable to practically prohibitive.
Selwo Aventura Zone
For those looking for something more affordable than the city, the Selwo Aventura area has a large number of often second-hand properties built in the early 2000s. This area is not particularly well equipped in terms of services, hence its prices are more competitive, but it is not a bad option to move to Estepona. Of course, the car is essential for almost everything.
Roman Valley
West of Estepona, no more than 5 minutes drive from the center of town, Valle Romano is one of the areas that has grown the most in recent times. If you like golf, you have 18 holes at your disposal and if you prefer the beach, you are next to one of the best beaches in Estepona to go with children: the beach of Cristo.
New Golden Mile:
Located in a stretch of about seven kilometers from Estepona to Puerto Banus in Marbella, the new Golden Mile is where the largest number of luxury homes are being concentrated. In just a couple of years, prices per square meter in this area have skyrocketed to reach 10,000€/m
2
for newly built homes. Here, villas easily exceed one million euros. If you are looking for the most exclusive place and you have more money than you can spend, take note of this option.
Best neighborhoods to live in Estepona:
For those who prefer to live in the comfort of the city center, Estepona has many good options. Of all of them, we have two that, in our opinion, give you a plus.
Old town
If you’ve ever entertained the idea of living in a matte house, you’re in the right place. There are some detached and semi-detached houses in the historic center of Estepona but most are detached houses of no more than three floors that you will often have to reform. You can even look for a plot of land and build your own custom house. To take into account: parking spaces in the center are a very valuable asset since many streets can only be accessed by residents and many others have been completely pedestrianized.
First line of the sea
Here the offer is a mix of new and second-hand. Obviously, the apartments with the best views are the most expensive and it’s all about finding one that suits you.
Price per m2 of homes in Estepona
The price per square meter in Estepona in October-November 2022 is between 2.887 €/m2
(data from Idealista) and the 3,064 €/m2
(Fotocasa data). This represents about an 18% increase over the price for the same period in 2021. This does not include the New Golden Mile which, as mentioned above, has prices of around €10,000 per square meter.
If we look at the price of m2 per number of rooms it ranges from 2.580€ for a studio or a 1-bedroom apartment to 3.177€ per square meter for homes with more than 3 rooms.
The price of m2 is also increased by the particularities of the property in question. Having a terrace or elevator increases the price per sqm.2
above €3,100. And the fact that it has a parking space brings it up to 3.455€/m2.
Most common characteristics of the average house in Estepona.
Although there is a bit of everything, according to Fotocasa, the most common property in Estepona is an apartment of around 100m².
2
It has 3 bedrooms and is located in a 3-storey building.
How much does a house in Estepona cost?
Fotocasa tells us that the average price for homes of less than 100m
2
is 232.764€, while those that exceed 100m
2
go to 467,909€ on average. If what you are looking for is a villa, you will find them for over one million euros and can easily be around 3 or 4 million depending on the location and its characteristics.
Price variation in Estepona according to location:
| Localización | Precio €/m2 | Variación anual % |
|---|---|---|
| Estepona | 2887 | 18,3 |
| Altos de Estepona | 3698 | 19,3 |
| Benamara-Atalaya | 3079 | 15,9 |
| Costa Natura | 3038 | 34,4 |
| Estepona Pueblo | 2655 | 18,4 |
| Playa Bahía Dorada | 2536 | 24,0 |
| Punta Plata | 3787 | 9,3 |
| Seghers | 3616 | 20,4 |
| Selwo | 2748 | 13,2 |
Idealista data: October 2022
As you can see, the process of buying a house in Estepona is different for each buyer. Everyone has their own preferences and if there is one thing Estepona offers, there are alternatives for everyone. If you are one of those who want to know everything wrong before making a decision, here are some reasons why moving to Estepona may not be such a good idea. If you allow us to give you some advice, before making a final decision, it may help to spend some time in the area that you think is the most suitable for you, looking for a rental property. So, when you sign for your new property, you will already know what to expect from your new life in Estepona.
