Marbella: A Hub for Tourist Apartments in Spain
A picture of the Old Town of Marbella reveals a proliferation of tourist apartments. Marbella has the highest rate of tourist homes in the urban center in all of Spain, and the second highest in the outskirts, only surpassed by Elche. These figures are from the annual report of the Bank of Spain on housing, which highlights the high concentration of holiday rentals in a municipality without specific regulation.
Urban Center of Marbella: A Hotspot for Tourist Apartments
The urban center of Marbella records the highest concentration of tourist apartments in Spain, far above other large municipalities in the country. On a national level, holiday rentals account for an average of 10% of the total residential market. In Marbella, this percentage rises to 64% when considering the urban center, where two out of every three apartments for rent are intended for tourists.
Comparison with Other Spanish Cities
Following Marbella is the capital city of Malaga, but far behind, with 22% in its most central area. Granada (13.5%) and Cordoba (13.0%) are next in line. Barcelona, for instance, has a 3.6% share of tourist apartments in relation to the total number of rentals in its urban area.
Tourist Homes in the Outskirts of Municipalities
Regarding this type of housing in the outskirts of municipalities, Marbella ranks second nationally with 55%, only surpassed by Elche (66%). The report prepared by the Bank of Spain indicates that 600,000 new homes are needed to adjust the demand to the supply across the country. It also notes that there are four million vacant homes in Spain, but most of them are located in areas where the demand is very small.
Tourist Homes in Marbella
According to the National Institute of Statistics (INE), Marbella has 6,540 tourist apartments. This is the latest available data, taken in August 2023. It represents 6.52% of the total number of homes in the municipality. Recently, the Andalusian Government left the regulation of tourist rentals, especially in terms of setting limitations, in the hands of the municipalities, but so far, nothing has been done in Marbella.
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