Girona Is Growing While Catalonia Cools: The Costa Brava Market in October 2026
As of October 2026, fewer homes are being sold in Catalonia than a year ago, but more are being sold in the province of Girona. Home sales recorded by notaries in Catalonia fell 6.8% in the first half of 2026, while Girona had its best first half since 2007 and asking prices in the province reached a record high. If you are buying a villa on the Costa Brava, expect firm prices: arguing that the market is cooling won’t get you far.
Most headlines this autumn describe a cooling Catalan market, and for Catalonia as a whole, measured by number of sales, that’s fair. On the coast between Blanes and Portbou the picture is different. In September, 111 of the 203 enquiries we received came from France, and what these buyers watch is the coast, not the regional averages. Below are the latest figures, where each one comes from, and what they mean if you are planning to buy in 2026 or 2027.
Catalonia: fewer sales, prices still rising
2025 was a record year for home sales in Catalonia, up 13.9% according to INE, the Spanish statistics office. In 2026 sales have fallen. The Colegio Notarial de Cataluña counted 55,446 sales in the first half of 2026, against 59,474 a year earlier, a drop of 6.8% (notaries’ note of 1 September 2026).
Prices have not fallen with them. Depending on the source and the method, Catalan home prices are 7% to 12% higher than a year ago:
- Notaries: +7% in the first half of 2026, to 2,480 €/m² (prices actually paid).
- Registradors de Catalunya: +8.5% year on year in Q2 2026, to 2,995 €/m²; new builds averaged 3,241 €/m².
- INE house price index: +10.1% year on year in Q2 2026.
- idealista: +12.2% in asking prices, to 3,092 €/m² (September 2026).
The gap between these figures is normal. Notaries and land registrars record what buyers paid; idealista records what sellers ask. When you compare offers, keep the two apart.
Girona and the Costa Brava: more sales and higher prices
The province of Girona, which covers the whole Costa Brava, recorded 7,592 home sales in the first half of 2026, its best first half since 2007, according to INE data reported by Diari de Girona. In June alone there were 1,185 sales, 6.7% more than in June 2025.
Asking prices are at a record high. In September 2026 the average asking price in the province was 2,934 €/m², 9.9% higher than a year earlier and the highest figure in idealista’s series. Here is how some towns compare:
| Municipality | Asking price, September 2026 | Change in 12 months |
|---|---|---|
| Province of Girona | 2,934 €/m² | +9.9% |
| Begur | 4,239 €/m² | +7.0% |
| Tossa de Mar (whole municipality) | 3,554 €/m² | +11.1% |
| Palamós | 3,508 €/m² | +16.7% |
| Girona city | 2,851 €/m² | +9.6% |
Within Begur the spread is wide. Homes around the coves of Aiguafreda and Sa Tuna average 5,426 €/m² (+16.9%), while the area idealista calls Residencial Begur – Esclanyà is at 2,912 €/m². A town average tells you little about a specific street: within one municipality, homes by the coves cost almost twice as much per square metre as those further from the sea.
The top end: what buyers actually paid
General averages hide the luxury segment. Engel & Völkers puts the average asking price on the Costa Brava at 2,601 €/m² for houses (+3.5% in a year) and 2,973 €/m² for flats (+6.4%), as of October 2026. In the best locations, prices paid are much higher. According to the same agency, average prices in its completed sales in 2025 were:
- Cadaqués old town: 7,857 €/m²
- S’Agaró Vell and La Conca: 6,000 €/m², with some sales reaching 8,000 €/m²
- Cadaqués centre: 5,800 €/m²
- Begur: 4,518 €/m²
- Calella de Palafrugell, Llafranc and Tamariu: 4,199 €/m²
These figures come from a different source and sample, so they can’t be compared directly with idealista’s Begur figure. The agency adds that asking prices in these areas run about 10% above what is finally paid (Empordà, 20 July 2026). That gap is a realistic negotiating margin at the top end, not the deep discount some buyers expect after reading about a cooling market.
We look at the luxury segment in more detail, including what drives villa prices on this coast, in our August overview of the Costa Brava luxury property market.
Who is buying
Foreign buyers accounted for 25.0% of all purchases in the province of Girona in 2025 (27.1% in 2024) and 25.5% in Q2 2026, according to the Colegio de Registradores. According to Engel & Völkers, the largest groups of buyers on the Costa Brava come from France, Germany and the Benelux countries, with growing interest from the United States. Dils Lucas Fox says France accounts for more than a quarter of the value of its sales, followed by the Netherlands and Belgium.
Catalonia leads Spain in purchases by foreign residents: 8,516 sales in the first half of 2026, or 21.6% of all purchases by resident foreigners in Spain (notaries’ statistics). Since the Golden Visa ended in April 2025, buying a home no longer gets you residency on its own; residency is a separate application.
Rental rules changed in October 2026
If you plan to let the property, check the new rules before you work out a yield. Royal Decree-Law 29/2026 has applied since 8 October 2026, but parliament still has to validate it; if it does not, the decree lapses. Three changes matter for buyers:
- A temporary let needs a real, provable reason for the tenant to live away from their main home, must last more than 31 days and, as a rule, no longer than 12 months.
- From 1 December 2026, furnished lets of up to 30 nights will carry VAT at 10%.
- Town councils in areas declared as stressed housing markets may raise IBI property tax on homes used for tourist lets by up to 50%, by up to 100% for owners of two or more such homes, and by up to 150% for four or more. Barcelona’s finance committee backed this on 9 October 2026; the final vote is expected at the December plenary, and the surcharge would first apply on 31 December 2027.
In Catalonia, Decree-law 3/2023 already requires a five-year planning licence for tourist lets in the 262 municipalities on its 2023 list, with a cap of 10 tourist homes per 100 inhabitants. We explain what this means for owners in our article on Spain’s 2026 housing decree. Check the current rules with your lawyer in Spain.
What this means if you are buying in 2026
Don’t count on the Catalan slowdown to bring coastal prices down. Sales in Girona are rising, and the supply of villas with a sea view is limited by the coastline itself. At the top end, plan for the gap of about 10% between asking and sale prices that Engel & Völkers reports.
Buy to live in the house, not for holiday-let income. With licences capped and new taxes on short lets, a villa that pays for itself through holiday rentals is harder to count on than it was two years ago. A home you will live in, or let for longer periods, is a safer plan.
Compare like with like. A town average mixes flats in the centre with villas above the coves. Ask for the prices paid for similar homes in the same part of town, and keep asking prices and sale prices apart. If you are still deciding where to live year-round, our guide to which Costa Brava towns stay alive all year may help.
Questions buyers ask about the market now
Are property prices on the Costa Brava still rising in 2026?
Yes. In September 2026 the average asking price in the province of Girona was 2,934 €/m², 9.9% more than a year earlier and the highest in idealista’s series. Prices in Palamós (+16.7%) and in the municipality of Tossa de Mar (+11.1%) rose faster than the average.
Is the Catalan property market cooling?
By number of sales, yes: home sales recorded by notaries in Catalonia fell 6.8% in the first half of 2026. The province of Girona went the other way, with 7,592 sales, its best first half since 2007. Prices are rising in both.
How much does property cost per square metre in the best Costa Brava locations?
It depends heavily on the location. Average prices in Engel & Völkers’ completed sales in 2025 were 4,199 €/m² in Calella de Palafrugell, Llafranc and Tamariu, 4,518 €/m² in Begur and 6,000 €/m² in S’Agaró Vell and La Conca, where some sales reached 8,000 €/m².
Can I still rent out a holiday home on the Costa Brava?
Only with a tourist licence, and only where licences are still granted. Catalonia limits them in the 262 municipalities on its 2023 list, and under Royal Decree-Law 29/2026, if parliament validates it, furnished lets of up to 30 nights will carry 10% VAT from 1 December 2026. Check the licence of the specific property before you buy.
What share of buyers in Girona are foreigners?
About a quarter: 25.0% in 2025 and 25.5% in Q2 2026, according to the land registrars. According to agencies working on the Costa Brava, the largest group of foreign buyers comes from France.
Looking at villas on the coast?
If you’d like to see what these figures mean for a specific home, look at our villas above the cove in Tamariu and Villa Rosamar in Cala Canyet.
Write to VivendaNova with the area and budget you have in mind.
Sources: idealista, price report for Catalonia (September 2026); Colegio Notarial de Cataluña (1 September 2026); INE, house price index Q2 2026 and home sales 2025; Registradors de Catalunya, Q2 2026; Colegio de Registradores, Estadística Registral Inmobiliaria 2025 and Q2 2026; Consejo General del Notariado, foreign buyers H1 2026 (15 October 2026); Engel & Völkers, Costa Brava property prices (12 October 2026); Empordà (20 July 2026), quoting Engel & Völkers and Dils Lucas Fox; Diari de Girona (14 August 2026); BOE, Real Decreto-ley 29/2026; DOGC, Decret llei 3/2023; Ajuntament de Barcelona (9 October 2026); VivendaNova enquiries, September 2026. Data as of October 2026.