The Costa Blanca, the coast of the province of Alicante, is one of the places northern Europeans know best in Spain. Ayamonte is at the other end of Spain’s southern coastline, on the Atlantic and on the border with Portugal. The two are in different regions, which means different purchase taxes, and they differ less on price than most people expect.
The price difference depends on where you look
| Area | Asking price per m² | Change over 12 months |
|---|---|---|
| Ayamonte Pueblo | €1,627 | +7.1% |
| Ayamonte, municipality | €2,065 | +6.1% |
| Torrevieja | €2,553 | +9.9% |
| Guardamar del Segura | €2,649 | +12.4% |
| Alicante, city | €2,721 | +6.8% |
| Santa Pola | €2,739 | +13.7% |
| Alicante, province | €2,759 | +7.1% |
| Isla Canela | €2,806 | +7.3% |
| Orihuela, municipality | €2,911 | +8.6% |
| Punta del Moral | €3,308 | +5.2% |
| Dénia | €3,348 | +8.8% |
| Calpe | €3,470 | +2.4% |
| Altea | €3,486 | +2.5% |
| Benidorm | €3,807 | +12.6% |
| Jávea / Xàbia | €4,183 | +5.8% |
| Moraira | €4,509 | +6.1% |
On average, the province of Alicante asks about a third more per square metre than the municipality of Ayamonte. That average hides two very different coasts.
The southern Costa Blanca, from Santa Pola to Torrevieja, asks roughly the same as Ayamonte’s own beach areas. At August 2026 average asking prices, Torrevieja was in fact about 9% below Isla Canela per square metre.
The northern Costa Blanca, from Benidorm to Altea, Calpe, Jávea and Moraira, is a different market: Jávea asks about twice as much as the municipality of Ayamonte, and Moraira more than twice.
If price is your main reason to look beyond the Costa Blanca, Ayamonte makes the most sense as an alternative to the north of it, not the south.
What €300,000 buys
At August 2026 average asking prices, before costs and taxes:
| Area | Approximate size for €300,000 |
|---|---|
| Ayamonte Pueblo | ~184 m² |
| Ayamonte, municipality | ~145 m² |
| Torrevieja | ~118 m² |
| Alicante, city | ~110 m² |
| Isla Canela | ~107 m² |
| Benidorm | ~79 m² |
| Jávea / Xàbia | ~72 m² |
| Moraira | ~67 m² |
The purchase taxes are different
Unlike the Costa del Sol, the Costa Blanca is in another region, the Comunitat Valenciana, and each Spanish region sets its own transfer tax.
| Tax | Andalucía (Ayamonte) | Comunitat Valenciana (Costa Blanca) |
|---|---|---|
| Transfer tax (ITP) on a resale home | 7% | 9% |
| Stamp duty (AJD) on a new build, on top of 10% VAT | 1.2% | 1.4% |
Assuming the purchase price is the taxable base and no reduced rate applies, on a €300,000 resale home the transfer tax is €21,000 in Ayamonte and €27,000 on the Costa Blanca: €6,000 more for the same price. On a new build the difference is small, about €600 on €300,000.
Combine price and tax and the gap grows. On a 90 m² resale home at August 2026 average asking prices, the transfer tax would be about €13,000 in Ayamonte, €20,700 in Torrevieja and €33,900 in Jávea, assuming the purchase price is the taxable base and no reduced rate applies. This is an illustrative comparison based on average asking prices, not a tax quote for a specific property.
The annual non-resident income tax (Modelo 210) follows the same national rules in both regions. Municipal taxes such as IBI vary from town to town.
General information, not advice. Confirm your position with a Spanish lawyer or tax adviser before you commit.
What Ayamonte offers
A lower transfer tax on resale homes. Prices well below the northern Costa Blanca, and similar to the south at the beach. A year-round Spanish border town on the Atlantic rather than the Mediterranean, with a second country just across the Guadiana and Faro airport about 55 minutes by road.
What the Costa Blanca offers
Flights. Alicante-Elche is Spain’s fifth-busiest airport, with 19.95 million passengers in 2025 (Aena (opens in a new tab)), about twice Faro’s 10.4 million (INE Portugal, preliminary 2025 data). Aena lists direct routes from Alicante to Oslo, Stockholm, Copenhagen and Helsinki, and to Riga, where airBaltic announced its direct service in February 2024 (Riga Airport (opens in a new tab)). Tallinn Airport does not list a direct Alicante route. Check flight days and seasonal availability for your dates.
Nordic schools and communities. The Costa Blanca has some of the oldest Scandinavian communities in Spain. Norwegian schools operate in Alfaz del Pi, Albir and Rojales (Embassy of Norway in Spain (opens in a new tab)), and Skandinaviska Skolan Costa Blanca, a Swedish-curriculum school, lists facilities in the Orihuela area, including a preschool in Playa Flamenca. The Norwegian Seamen’s Church, which has a church in Torrevieja, estimates that 12,000 to 15,000 Norwegians live in the area for all or part of the year (Sjømannskirken (opens in a new tab)). Ayamonte has no Nordic or international school; the nearest international school, in Tavira, lists a taxi arrangement to Ayamonte.
A very international population. In Torrevieja, more than half of the 110,500 residents registered at the start of 2026 were foreign nationals (Torrevieja town hall (opens in a new tab)). Decades of international buyers mean services, clubs and professionals used to working in English and Scandinavian languages.
Private healthcare. Private hospitals with 24-hour emergency departments include Quirónsalud Torrevieja and Vithas in Alicante. Around Ayamonte, private hospital care means Huelva.
Drier winters. AEMET’s normals for Alicante-Elche Airport give 3.6 days of rain (1 mm or more) in January, against 7.1 at Huelva, the nearest comparable station to Ayamonte with published normals; average January temperatures are similar, 11.6°C and 11.0°C. These are station measurements, not from Ayamonte itself, over 1981–2010 and 1984–2010.
If you want an established Scandinavian community, a Nordic school for your children, drier winters or the widest choice of flights, the Costa Blanca makes that easier.
If you plan to let the property
Holiday lets are regulated more tightly on the Costa Blanca than a few years ago. Under the Valencian decree-law on tourist housing of 2024, tourist-rental registrations are normally valid for five years and municipalities can set reasoned limits. Alicante city’s suspension of new tourist-accommodation permits applies across the municipality and is scheduled to last no longer than January 2027, subject to the progress of its planning rules (El Español (opens in a new tab)). Wherever you buy, check the municipal rules and the community statutes before counting on rental income.
Who each place suits
The Costa Blanca suits buyers who want an established Nordic or British community, Scandinavian schools, many flights and drier winters.
Ayamonte suits buyers who want Spanish daily life on the Atlantic coast, a lower transfer tax and more space for the money than in the northern Costa Blanca.
Figures as of August 2026 unless stated otherwise. Prices and rates change; confirm current figures before deciding.
