Buying an Investment Property on the Costa Blanca: Rental Yield Guide 2026
Buying an Investment Property on the Costa Blanca: Rental Yield Guide 2026
Last updated: 17 August 2026.
Costa Blanca is one of the few Mediterranean markets where a foreign buyer can still find gross rental yields above 6% on a €150,000–€250,000 apartment. But almost every guide you'll read online skips the actual numbers — town by town, with net returns after Spain's 2026 taxes and running costs. This guide fills that gap.
Short answer: the strongest gross yields on the southern Costa Blanca in 2026 sit between 6.2% and 6.4% in Torrevieja (Punta Prima leading) and Alicante city, with net yields landing roughly 3.5%–4.8% after IRNR tax, IBI, community fees, insurance and management, depending on your tax residency and whether the property is on a tourist license.
Costa Blanca yields by town — the 2026 numbers
Gross yield below is calculated as annual rent divided by purchase price, using current asking prices from Idealista and pisos.com, and yield estimates from the Investropa Costa Blanca yield analysis (Q1 2026), which uses Idealista neighborhood data cross-checked against Colegio Notarial de Valencia transaction volumes.
| Area | Avg. price/m² | Gross yield | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Punta Prima (Torrevieja) | ~€2,900 | 6.4% | Short-term holiday lets, beachfront |
| Torrevieja (overall) | €2,560 | 6.2% | Long-term expat tenants, mid-budget entry |
| Alicante city | €2,595 (province avg) | 6.2% | Year-round student/professional demand |
| Cabo de las Huertas (Alicante) | ~€3,000 | 5.3% | Coastal appeal, cheaper than Playa San Juan |
| Orihuela Costa (La Zenia, Playa Flamenca) | ~€2,400 | 5.5–6.0% | Golf + beach holiday lets |
| Guardamar del Segura | ~€2,300 | 4.8–5.5% | Longer-stay, family-quality guests |
| Villajoyosa | ~€2,700 | 4.5–5.5% | Character town, mixed long/short-term |
| Jávea / Calpe / Denia (northern Costa Blanca) | €3,200–€3,960 | 3.5–4.5% | Premium capital growth, lower yield |
The pattern is consistent: the further south along the Costa Blanca you go, the higher the yield and the lower the price of entry. According to pisos.com data reported by Euro Weekly News (July 2026), Torrevieja prices rose 4.56% in the first half of 2026 alone, while the northern premium towns like Jávea (€3,958/m²) delivered capital growth but yields under 4.5%.
From gross to net: what Spain's 2026 taxes really cost
Gross yield is a headline number. Net yield is what you actually take home. The single biggest variable in 2026 is whether you're tax-resident in the EU/EEA or outside it — post-Brexit British buyers now sit in the non-EU category.
Under Article 25 of Spain's IRNR Law (per the Ábaco Advisers 2026 IRNR guide and confirmed by the IR Global 2026 IRNR overview):
- EU/EEA residents (e.g. Polish, German, Dutch buyers): 19% on net rental income — you can deduct IBI, community fees, insurance, mortgage interest, repairs, depreciation and management fees, pro-rated by rented days.
- Non-EU residents (UK, US, Swiss, Norwegian buyers): 24% on gross rental income with no deductions permitted. A July 2025 court ruling has begun to challenge this, but the default rule still applies for 2026 filings.
Rental income is now filed annually, not quarterly, using Modelo 210. Income earned in 2026 must be declared between 1 and 20 January 2027 (Agencia Tributaria filing calendar).
Worked example: €200,000 apartment in Torrevieja
Take a 65 m² two-bedroom in Torrevieja at €200,000, let long-term at €900/month (€10,800/year) — realistic based on current Idealista rental listings for the area.
| Line item | EU buyer (Polish) | Non-EU buyer (British) |
|---|---|---|
| Gross annual rent | €10,800 | €10,800 |
| IBI (property tax) | –€350 | –€350 |
| Community fees | –€900 | –€900 |
| Insurance + maintenance | –€600 | –€600 |
| Management (long-term) | –€900 | –€900 |
| Taxable base | €8,050 (net) | €10,800 (gross) |
| IRNR tax | –€1,530 (19%) | –€2,592 (24%) |
| Net income | €6,520 | €5,458 |
| Net yield | 3.26% | 2.73% |
A Polish buyer nets around €1,060 more per year than a British buyer on identical rental income — purely because of post-Brexit tax status. Over ten years that's more than €10,600 in additional tax paid by the UK owner.
Short-term (holiday) vs long-term letting in 2026
Short-term lets can produce headline gross yields up to 8% in prime southern Costa Blanca locations, according to the Naranja Spain 2026 holiday-let analysis, but the regulatory picture has hardened sharply.
To let short-term legally on the Costa Blanca in 2026 you need both:
- A regional VUT / ETV licence from the Generalitat Valenciana under Decree 10/2021 and its 2024–2026 amendments, valid for 5 years and renewable (per the CostaLuz Lawyers ETV 2026 guide).
- A number from Spain's single national rental registry, which Airbnb, Booking.com and other platforms are now legally required to verify (Mediter 2026 VUT/VFT guide).
Since 3 April 2025, tourist rental in an apartment building also requires a 3/5 majority vote of the community of owners, documented in official minutes — and existing communities can vote to ban tourist lets entirely, a decision that binds all future owners once registered. Room-by-room rentals are prohibited: you can only rent the whole property.
Practical takeaway: if you're buying to let short-term, verify the community's tourist-rental status before you sign. Buying a property that already holds a valid VUT commands a market premium in 2026, and it's worth paying it.
Long-term or mid-term rentals (11 days or longer) are exempt from tourist licence rules and community-vote restrictions, and are the safest, simplest route for most first-time foreign investors.
FAQ
What's the highest-yielding town on the Costa Blanca in 2026?
Punta Prima in Torrevieja currently leads at around 6.4% gross, followed by Torrevieja overall and Alicante city at approximately 6.2%, per Q1 2026 Idealista data. Net yields sit roughly 2.5 percentage points lower after tax and running costs.
How much tax do I pay on rental income as a foreign owner?
EU/EEA residents pay 19% on net rental income (after deducting expenses). Non-EU residents — including UK owners post-Brexit — pay 24% on gross rental income with no deductions. You file Modelo 210 annually with the Agencia Tributaria between 1 and 20 January of the following year.
Do I need a tourist licence to rent out my Costa Blanca property?
Only for stays of 10 nights or fewer. You need a Valencian VUT/ETV licence, a national registration number, and — for apartments — a 3/5 community-of-owners approval. Rentals of 11 nights or longer are exempt from these rules.
Is it better to buy for short-term or long-term rental?
Short-term produces higher gross yields (up to ~8% in prime locations) but comes with tighter regulation, higher management costs and occupancy risk. Long-term produces lower gross yields (typically 5–6.5%) but is legally simpler, exempt from tourist rules, and easier to manage from abroad.
What's a realistic net yield on a €200,000 Costa Blanca apartment?
Roughly 3.3% for an EU-resident owner and 2.7% for a UK owner, based on a long-term let at €900/month after IBI, community fees, insurance, management and IRNR tax. Short-term lets with a valid VUT can push net yields to 4.5–5.5% in the strongest locations.
Where DirecSpain fits in
DirecSpain lists Costa Blanca and Costa Cálida investment properties direct from partner agencies without buyer commission — meaning the yield numbers above aren't eroded by a 3–5% buyer's fee that most portals bake in. Browse current listings in Torrevieja, Orihuela Costa, and Villajoyosa, or contact us for a shortlist filtered by target yield.
