Buying property in Murcia and the Mar Menor with a Spanish mortgage

The short answer

The coast south of Alicante runs from Torrevieja, Orihuela Costa and Pilar de la Horadada into San Pedro del Pinatar, the Mar Menor, La Manga and Cartagena without any visible break. Administratively there is one. The first three are in the Valencian Community; the rest are in the Region of Murcia. The two regions tax a purchase differently, so the same budget works out slightly differently a few kilometres apart.

On a resale home, the general transfer tax is 7.75% in the Region of Murcia and 9% on the Valencian side. For a non-resident, lenders typically finance 60–70% of the lower of price and valuation, so the deposit still weighs more than the tax.

Where does the Valencian side end and Murcia begin?

Pilar de la Horadada is the southernmost municipality of the Valencian Community. Next door, San Pedro del Pinatar is already in Murcia, as are San Javier, Los Alcázares, Cartagena and the La Manga strip. Transfer tax goes to the region where the property sits, not where you live or where the agent has its office, so confirm the municipality in the land registry extract before you budget.

What are the purchase taxes on each side?

The Region of Murcia cut its general transfer tax from 8% to 7.75% on 25 July 2025, through its 2025 budget law, and lowered stamp duty on new-build deeds from 2% to 1.5%. The Valencian rates below apply to purchases since 1 June 2026:

Murcia has no price threshold. A €1,100,000 resale villa pays 7.75%, or €85,250. On the Valencian side the same price crosses €1,000,000 and pays 11% on the whole value: €121,000.

Murcia also has reduced rates, such as 3% for buyers aged 40 or under, large families and people with a disability of at least 65%. They apply only to a main residence and below income limits, so a holiday home bought from abroad does not normally qualify.

Murcia vs the Valencian side: the tax on a €250,000 home

On a resale home, the Murcian side saves €3,125. On a new build it costs €250 more, because Murcian stamp duty is a tenth of a point higher. Neither difference should decide where you buy, but both belong in the budget. Our purchase costs calculator covers both sides: choose the Valencian Community or the Region of Murcia.

Worked example: €250,000 resale near the Mar Menor

A non-resident buys a €250,000 resale apartment in the Region of Murcia as a holiday home:

Plan the 60% column until a lender has assessed your file. The percentage applies to the lower of price and valuation: if the valuation comes in at €235,000, 70% gives €164,500, and you fund €85,500 of the price instead of €75,000.

Test the monthly payment with our Spanish mortgage calculator. As a working reference, all your debt payments, including this one, should stay within 30–35% of net income.

What do homes value at along this coast?

The Ministry of Housing publishes the average appraised value of homes in municipalities with more than 25,000 inhabitants. A valuation is the figure a lender relies on, so it is a better guide to borrowing than an asking price. For the second quarter of 2026:

Each figure covers a whole municipality, so a frontline apartment can sit well above it and an inland home below. Smaller municipalities, such as Pilar de la Horadada, San Pedro del Pinatar and Los Alcázares, are not broken out. Our areas guide compares prices and taxes along the rest of the coast.

International demand is strong on both sides of the border. The Land Registrars’ 2025 statistics put foreign buyers at 43.29% of home purchases in the province of Alicante, the highest share in Spain, and at 21.42% in the Region of Murcia, against 13.82% nationally. In Murcia, foreigners took out only 10.06% of home mortgages, which suggests that many international buyers there pay without one.

What do lenders look at on this coast?

The file matters more than the postcode, but three features of this market come up in almost every valuation and underwriting decision:

• Urbanisations. Much of the housing sits on large estates of similar homes. That gives the valuer plenty of comparables, but the valuation rests on what is legally recorded: a closed-in terrace, an extra room or a pool missing from the land registry or cadastre may not count. Ask your lawyer to compare the title description with what you are buying.
• New builds. The lender values the finished home close to handover. Staged payments usually come from your own funds, and the offer can only be final once that valuation exists. Our guide to buying off-plan in Spain covers the timing.
• Second homes. Lenders finance a holiday home more conservatively than a main residence. Expected rental income rarely counts in full, and the term depends on your age at the end of the loan.

What should you know about the Mar Menor?

The Mar Menor is a saltwater lagoon separated from the Mediterranean by La Manga, and it has its own legal framework. A regional law, Law 3/2020, regulates planning, farming, navigation and tourism in the surrounding municipalities, including San Pedro del Pinatar, San Javier, Los Alcázares and Cartagena. In 2022, national Law 19/2022 gave the lagoon and its catchment legal personality; its preamble refers to a serious socio-environmental and ecological crisis. The Constitutional Court upheld the law in November 2024.

For a buyer, the practical points are modest. Planning rules can limit what you build or extend, so ask your lawyer to confirm the planning status of the specific property before you sign. The valuer prices the home on comparable local sales, so the market around the lagoon is already reflected in the figure the lender uses.

Can you let the property to holidaymakers?

Each region regulates holiday lets, so the two sides of the border follow different procedures.

In the Region of Murcia, Decree 256/2019 requires a responsible declaration to the regional tourism authority, with civil liability insurance, before you start letting. On the Valencian side, Decree-law 9/2024 requires entry in the Valencian tourism register with a favourable municipal report confirming that tourist use fits local planning. If you buy a home that is already registered there, the Valencian Government’s guidance says the new owner must file a change-of-owner declaration with a favourable report: the registration does not simply pass to you.

In both regions, if the home is part of a community of owners, the Horizontal Property Act has required the community’s express approval, by three-fifths of owners and shares, since 3 April 2025. Read the community’s minutes and rules before you reserve, and do not rely on rental income to make the mortgage work.

Can you do it all from abroad?

Almost all of it. The valuer visits the property, not you; documents travel by email and courier; and the NIE and Spanish account can be arranged from abroad or through a representative. The deeds are signed at a notary’s office in Spain, by you in person or by a representative under a power of attorney, which our guide to buying with a power of attorney explains. Once the file is complete, allow six to ten weeks to reach the notary.

RCG Finance is a real-estate credit intermediary registered with the Bank of Spain under number E760. We are based in Salou and have no office in Murcia or Alicante: we work with buyers on this coast remotely, prepare the mortgage file once and take it to the lenders that finance non-residents. We only charge if we get your mortgage.

If you earn in pounds, our guide for UK buyers after Brexit explains how lenders read that income. If the seller is not resident in Spain, our Alicante and Costa Blanca guide covers the plusvalía and the 3% withholding, which work the same way in Murcia.

Checklist before you reserve

• I have confirmed whether the property is in Murcia (7.75%) or on the Valencian side (9%).
• I have modelled 60–70% financing on the lower of price and valuation, not 80%.
• I have counted transfer tax, or VAT and stamp duty, separately from the deposit.
• My lawyer will compare the land registry description with the property, including extensions and pools.
• For a new build, I know which payments come from my own funds before handover.
• If I plan holiday lets, I have checked the regional registration and the community’s approval.
• I am not relying on rental income to afford the payment.
• My lawyer will review any financing condition in the deposit contract before I sign.