New build or resale property on the Costa del Sol
The difference is not just whether the property is new. The tax, the payment schedule, the warranties, the waiting time and the room to negotiate all change. Neither is better; they suit different plans.
Three things, not two
People say "off-plan or resale property" as though there were two options. On the Costa del Sol there are three, and the middle one is the one most buyers have not considered.
- Off-planBought from the developer before the building is finished, sometimes before it is started. You pay in stages as construction progresses, and the wait is the price of the lower entry point and the choice of unit.
- New build, readyThe same project, bought near or after completion. The tax treatment is identical to off-plan, the waiting almost disappears, and the choice of unit is whatever is left. Often the sensible middle.
- Resale propertiesBought from an existing owner. A different tax, a much shorter road to the keys, no warranty, and the only route to the addresses that were built on decades ago.
The tax and the payment schedule follow the first two together: for tax purposes a new build is a new build whether you buy it from a hole in the ground or the week it completes.
The tax difference is smaller than it looks
This is the number most comparisons lead with, and it is the one most often misread. On a new build you pay 10 % IVA plus 1.2 % AJD, so 11.2 % in tax. On a resale property you pay a single transfer tax, ITP, at 7 %.A four-point gap in tax sounds decisive. It is not, because tax is not the whole cost of buying. Once the lawyer, the notary, the land registry and the smaller items are added, the all-in figure is around 13 % over the price on a new build and around 9 % on a resale property.
What people compareWhat actually decides it
- 11.2 % against 7 % in tax
- About 13 % against about 9 % all-in, and both are a percentage of a price that is itself different.
- The cheaper tax wins
- A resale property that needs a new kitchen, new bathrooms and new air conditioning can cost more in total than the new build you rejected on tax.
- Tax is the big variable
- Condition, location and what you have to spend after handover move the total far more than four points of tax.
So do not choose on tax. Work out the all-in cost of each specific property, including what it needs after you get the keys, and compare those two numbers.
How you pay, and when
The payment schedule is the practical difference most buyers feel first, because it decides how much cash you need and when.
| Stage | New build | Resale properties |
|---|---|---|
| Reservation | Usually 6.000 to 11.000 €, set by the project. | Usually 6.000 to 11.000 €, and on more expensive properties up to 1 % of the price. |
| On signing the contract | Normally 20 to 40 % of the price, plus IVA. | Normally taking the total to 10 to 20 % of the price. |
| While you wait | Further payments follow the project’s own schedule. Some projects stage them through construction; others take one more payment and the balance at completion. | Nothing. You wait for the completion date agreed at the notary. |
| At the notary | The balance, on completion and transfer of ownership. | The balance, on signing the deed. |
The consequence worth planning for: on a new build you may need a large part of your own money early, months or years before you have anything to use or let. On a resale property the money moves later but faster.
What is covered afterwards
This is the difference with the sharpest edge, and it is the one people notice only when something goes wrong.A new build carries statutory warranties: ten years on the structure, three years on the installations, one year on finishes. A resale property carries none. The seller is liable only for hidden defects they knew about and concealed, which is a much harder thing to prove than a warranty claim.
That does not make a resale property a worse buy. It makes the technical inspection non-optional on one and a convenience on the other. On an older property, an inspection by an architect or a surveyor is the only warranty you are going to get.
Space, and where the good addresses are
Two trade-offs run in opposite directions, and between them they decide more purchases than tax does.
- A resale property usually gives you more insideOlder apartments were built more generously. A new build puts a larger share of its area into terraces and into the shared facilities of the complex, so for the same money you often get fewer square metres indoors and more outdoors.
- A new build usually gives you lower running costsThe highest energy ratings, current insulation and current installations, which shows up in the bills and in what you do not have to replace for years.
- The best seafront addresses are resale propertyThe land closest to the water was built on decades ago. Most new projects are inland of the A7. Front-line new build exists, but there is very little of it and it is priced accordingly.
- A new build lets you chooseWhile a project is under construction you usually pick materials, surfaces and colours, and some developers will move a partition wall. A resale property is bought as it stands; changing it means a refurbishment.
How long until you have the keys
On a resale property the road from reservation to keys is usually one to three months. On a new build it depends entirely on the stage of the project: buying near completion can be almost as quick, while buying from the ground can mean two to three years.The wait is not dead time on a new build, but it is time in which you own a contract rather than a property. If you need somewhere to use next summer, that decides the question on its own.
Where there is room to negotiate
New buildResale properties
- A discount on the price is the exception.
- Price is usually negotiable, though not always.
- What moves instead: the payment schedule, better fittings, some additional services.
- What moves: the price, the completion date, the fittings, and the other terms of the deal.
- Best case is normally the last units in a finished project the developer wants to clear.
- What decides it is how motivated the seller is, which is exactly the thing a buyer cannot see alone.
After the strong growth of recent years the market is slowing, so some developers are more open to discussing price than they were. That is a reason to ask, not a reason to count on a discount.
Which one suits you
Not a scoring system. These are the conditions under which each one is the straightforward answer.
A new build is the simpler answer ifA resale property is the simpler answer if
- You want a modern standard with nothing to redo, and warranties behind it.
- You want the keys in months rather than years.
- You want low running costs and the best energy rating.
- You want to be as close to the beach as the coast allows.
- You want the pool, gym, spa or coworking to be part of the complex.
- You want more square metres indoors for the same money.
- You do not mind waiting, and you would like to choose the layout and the finishes.
- You would rather refurbish to your own taste than accept someone else’s choices.
- You want several years with no significant spending on repairs.
- You want a settled neighbourhood with mature planting and neighbours who actually live there.
What to check, on each
The two have different failure modes, so the due diligence is not the same on both.
| On a new build | On a resale property | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| The developer, the land, the licences and the contract documentation. | Ownership, charges, enforcement orders and debts to the owners’ community. | A debt attached to the property can follow it to you; an unlicensed project can stall. |
| The bank guarantee, issued in your name and for your specific payments. | The legality of any building work, and any unregistered extension. | These are the two places money is actually lost, and both are checkable in advance. |
| The completion date, and what the contract says if it slips. | The community statutes, particularly if you intend to rent out the property. | A slipped completion costs time; a renting restriction can remove the reason you bought. |
The comparison people want is the wrong one
Almost every version of this question online is answered with a tax table, because tax is the one number that is the same for everybody. It is also the number that matters least.The purchases that go wrong do not go wrong because someone paid 11.2 % instead of 7 %. They go wrong because a resale property needed forty thousand euros of work nobody priced, or because an off-plan unit was bought from a visual and turned out to face north into a hillside, or because a property was bought to let and the community had already voted renting down.So we do not answer this question in the abstract. We compare two specific properties, all-in, including what each one needs after handover, and we say which one we would buy.
Common questions
- Is off-plan cheaper than a finished new build in the same project?
- Usually, yes, and the discount is what you are paid for waiting and for taking construction risk. As a project sells through and completes, the remaining units are normally priced higher than the first ones were.
- Can I get a mortgage on an off-plan purchase?
- Yes, but not yet. A bank approves the loan roughly two months before completion, so applying earlier achieves nothing. That is also why the deposit stages on a new build have to come from your own funds.
- Do I pay tax twice on a new build, IVA and ITP?
- No. A property is either a first transfer, which is IVA plus AJD, or a subsequent one, which is ITP. Never both.
- What happens if the developer does not finish?
- Every payment you made before completion has to be covered by a bank guarantee in your name, which returns the money with statutory interest. Your lawyer checks the exact wording of that guarantee before any payment leaves.
- Is a resale property always cheaper per square metre?
- No. Close to the sea it is frequently the more expensive of the two, because the land there was built on long ago and a resale property is the only way to buy it.
