Casares and the New Golden Mile

Casares and the New Golden Mile sit at the quieter, western end of the Costa del Sol, where the coastline between Estepona and Marbella opens into a run of golf resorts, beachfront developments and Andalusian countryside. For a foreign buyer weighing a new-build home, Casares offers something the busier core of the New Golden Mile often cannot: three distinct settings inside one municipality, a slower pace, and prices that still trail Marbella while sharing the same climate and connections. This guide sets out the lifestyle, the purchase costs and the tax and residency rules a foreign buyer needs before committing.

Where Casares sits on the New Golden Mile

The New Golden Mile is the coastal stretch running roughly from Estepona towards San Pedro de Alcantara and Marbella, and Casares anchors its western flank. The municipality borders Estepona, Manilva and Gaucin and covers about 160 square kilometres, with a resident population of around 9,000 as of January 2025.¹ What makes Casares unusual is that it wears three faces at once.

The three faces of Casares

• Casares pueblo, the classic whitewashed village stacked beneath a 12th-century Moorish castle and known as the birthplace of Blas Infante, the writer regarded as the father of Andalusian identity.¹
• Casares Costa, the flatter coastal belt with beachfront and near-beach new-build apartment schemes, promenades and direct access to the sea.
• The golf and resort zone inland from the coast, home to championship courses and gated resort communities that draw international buyers.

This spread lets a buyer choose between village character, a beach base or a resort lifestyle without leaving the same town hall, tax municipality and school catchment.

Lifestyle, climate and connections

The western Costa del Sol enjoys a mild Mediterranean micro-climate; neighbouring Estepona reports over 325 days of sunshine a year, and Casares shares the same coastal exposure.² Golf is central to the area’s appeal, with Finca Cortesin and other courses within easy reach, alongside beaches, marinas and the promenades of Estepona a short drive east.

Connections are a practical strength. Malaga-Costa del Sol Airport, the region’s main international gateway, is roughly 80 kilometres from Estepona and Casares along the A-7 and AP-7, while Gibraltar Airport lies about 45 kilometres to the west, giving buyers two airports within an hour or so.²³ For day-to-day needs, buyers rely on the Andalusian public health network (Servicio Andaluz de Salud) alongside private clinics along the coast, and on the cluster of international schools around Estepona, Sotogrande and Marbella that teach British, and other foreign, curricula. Verify current school places and specific clinic services directly, as provision changes.

Buying a new-build: taxes and purchase costs

The headline distinction for a foreign buyer is new-build versus resale. A brand-new home bought from the developer is subject to VAT, not transfer tax. In Spain the reduced VAT rate (IVA) on new residential property is 10%.⁴ On top of IVA, a new-build purchase in Andalusia attracts stamp duty (Actos Juridicos Documentados, or AJD), which in Andalusia is generally around 1.2% of the deed value.⁵ Resale homes work differently: instead of IVA and AJD they carry transfer tax (Impuesto sobre Transmisiones Patrimoniales, or ITP), which in Andalusia is a flat rate in the 6% to 8% band applied by the autonomous community, generally cited at 7%.⁴⁵

Beyond the tax, budget for notary fees, Land Registry (Registro de la Propiedad) fees and legal representation. A rough working total for acquisition costs on a new-build is set out below.

As an indicative rule of thumb, foreign buyers should allow around 12% to 14% on top of a new-build price for taxes and fees combined. Confirm the exact AJD and ITP percentages against the Agencia Tributaria de Andalucia before you sign, as the regional rates are set by the Junta de Andalucia and can be revised.⁵

Off-plan protections and paperwork

Many Casares Costa and resort homes sell off-plan. Spanish law requires developers to guarantee buyer deposits paid before completion; the framework historically known as Ley 57/1968, now carried into the building legislation, obliges the developer to secure staged payments through a bank guarantee or insurance so your money is protected if the project fails. Before any purchase you will need a NIE (Numero de Identidad de Extranjero), a Spanish bank account for payments, and ideally an independent lawyer who is not connected to the developer or agent.

Ongoing taxes for foreign owners

Once you own, two recurring obligations apply regardless of nationality. The first is IBI (Impuesto sobre Bienes Inmuebles), the annual local property tax charged by Casares town hall, calculated on the cadastral value and typically falling between roughly 0.5% and 1.1% of that value depending on the municipal rate.⁶ The second is the annual non-resident return.

Non-resident owners file the Impuesto sobre la Renta de no Residentes (IRNR) using Modelo 210. If you do not rent the property out, Spain taxes a notional (imputed) income based on the cadastral value, and if you do rent it, the rental income is taxed. The IRNR rate is 19% for residents of the EU, Norway and Iceland, and 24% for residents of other countries.⁴⁷ EU/EEA landlords may deduct allowable expenses against rental income; non-EU landlords generally cannot, so the 24% typically applies to gross rent. Actual net returns therefore differ sharply by buyer nationality, which is worth modelling before you buy. The imputed-income base is commonly stated as 1.1% or 2% of the cadastral value; confirm which applies to your property with a tax adviser.

Selling later: retention and plusvalia

When a non-resident sells a Spanish property, the buyer must withhold 3% of the sale price and pay it to the tax authority on the seller’s account, with the seller then settling any capital gains via Modelo 210 and reclaiming any excess.⁷ Separately, the seller usually pays plusvalia municipal (the tax on the increase in urban land value), collected by Casares town hall. Both should be factored into any resale sum, and the timing of the 3% retention in particular tends to surprise foreign sellers.

Financing, visas and residency

Spanish banks lend to non-residents, though loan-to-value is typically more conservative than for residents; buyers should plan around a lower maximum borrowing percentage and provide full proof of income. Confirm the current limit with your lender, as criteria vary by bank and profile.

On residency, the picture changed in 2025. Spain’s golden visa, the residence-by-investment route that accepted a 500,000 euro property purchase, closed to new applications on 3 April 2025.⁸ Buying a home in Casares no longer confers residency by itself. Foreign buyers who want to live in Spain now typically use the non-lucrative visa (for those with sufficient passive income) or the digital nomad visa (for remote workers meeting a monthly income threshold), while EU citizens retain free movement.⁸ A property purchase still supports these applications by evidencing a place to live, but the visa is a separate process.

Related guides worth reading

Because this is a lifestyle overview, pair it with the more technical guides in this series: Modelo 210 and non-resident tax explained, buying off-plan on the Costa del Sol, the NIE and opening a Spanish bank account, mortgages for foreign buyers in Spain, and the New Golden Mile versus Marbella comparison. For neighbouring options, the Estepona and Manilva area guides cover the same stretch of coast with different price points.

Is Casares right for you?

Casares suits a foreign buyer who wants the Costa del Sol climate and connections without Marbella pricing, and who values having a village, a beach and a golf resort inside one municipality. The lifestyle case is strong; the financial case rests on getting the tax detail right, from the 10% IVA and Andalusian AJD at purchase to the IRNR you will file every year and the 3% retention when you eventually sell. Take independent legal and tax advice, verify every rate against the Agencia Tributaria de Andalucia and the Agencia Tributaria (AEAT) at the time you transact, and Casares can be one of the better-value entries onto the New Golden Mile.