Buying Direct from the Developer vs Buying Through an Agent in Spain

You pay the same price either way. What changes is how much you get to see before you decide — and who is still standing next to you after you sign.

The Short Answer

Walking into a developer’s sales office instead of coming through us does not get you a better price. New-build prices in Spain come from one official price list, and our fee is paid by the developer out of that price. It is not added to yours.

So the real question is not what going direct saves you, because it saves you nothing. It is what going direct costs you: one product instead of the whole coast, no basis for comparison, and nobody on your side of the table once the reservation is signed.

How New-Build Prices Work in Spain

Every promoter publishes a single official price list for a development, unit by unit. That list is the same whether you walk into the sales office yourself, come through us, or come through any other agency. The cost of selling the development — show home, marketing, portals, commissions — is built into the price before the first home goes on sale.

Two things follow from that, and they are worth knowing before you spend a Saturday driving between sales offices.

• One official price list

  Unit by unit, set by the promoter. There is no separate version of it with our fee stripped out — that list does not exist.

• The developer pays our fee

  It comes out of the promoter’s own sales budget, on completion. Your figure is the same either way.

• Promotions apply either way

  A discount for a fast completion, a furniture pack, an extra parking space — if it is on offer, it is on offer through us, and we will ask for it on your behalf.

What a Developer’s Sales Office Can Show You

The sales teams at the better promoters are professional and know their own product in detail. But they have one product, and their job is to sell it.

A sales office will not tell you that the development two streets away delivers eight months earlier at a lower price per square metre. It will not mention that another promoter is asking 30% during construction where this one wants 50%. It will not point out that the block you are being shown faces the afternoon sun in a way you will notice every August. Not because anyone is hiding anything — simply because none of it is theirs to sell.

What We Do Before You Choose

We work with every major promoter on the Costa del Sol, which means we start from what you are looking for rather than from a single inventory. In practice that comes down to five things.

• A shortlist across developers

  Built from your budget, your timing and how you intend to use the home — not from whatever one promoter happens to have left.

• A like-for-like comparison

  Price per m², delivery date, payment schedule, community fees, orientation, and what the unit realistically lets for.

• Viewings in one or two days

  Several developments in a single trip, with transport, instead of one sales office at a time.

• Checks before you commit

  Building licence, the bank guarantee that protects your stage payments, and the promoter’s record of delivering on time.

• Negotiation on what is negotiable

  The price list rarely moves, but unit choice, extras, furniture packages and the payment schedule often do. We ask, on your behalf.

The People You’ll Need Around You

A purchase in Spain involves more than the promoter, and the quality of the people around you decides how the next two years feel. We have worked with the same professionals for years and introduce you to them as you need them.

• Independent lawyers

  They check the contract, the licence and the bank guarantee — and they answer to you, not to us.

• Architects and surveyors

  For the snagging inspection before you accept the keys, and for any change you want while the build is still open.

• Interior designers

  Layout changes during construction, kitchen and bathroom upgrades, and turnkey furniture packages.

• Mortgage brokers

  Non-resident financing arranged in parallel with the build, rather than in a rush at completion.

• Tax advisers

  Purchase structure, annual non-resident obligations, and what changes if you let the property.

• Letting and management

  Licence, keys, cleaning, bookings and maintenance once the home is yours.

We introduce; you choose. These people are independent of us and they are paid by you — which is exactly what makes them worth having.

Direct vs Through Us, Side by Side

Where Our Incentive Sits

It is a fair thing to ask. We are paid by the promoter when you complete, so we have an interest in you buying something. Hold us to that: ask uncomfortable questions, and have your own lawyer verify anything that matters rather than taking our word for it.

What keeps us straight is the rest of the business. Most of our clients arrive through someone we sold to before, and a good share come back for a second property. That only happens if the first one was the right one.