News
What moved the market, with the source for each item.
Short, dated entries on the decisions and data releases that change prices, financing or rules on the bay. Each one says why it matters to a buyer or an owner and links to the primary source where one is public.
This week in numbers
- Rates
Banks lift fixed mortgage rates as the Euribor tops 3.3%
HelpMyCash's 30 September comparison shows the best fixed offers at 2.10% TIN (2.35% TAE) through brokers, with Banca March at 2.65%, Ibercaja 2.55% and Sabadell 2.75% TIN; mixed products start at 1.40% for five years then Euribor + 0.40, and the best variable is Euribor + 0.30. Several banks have raised fixed rates in the last fortnight, citing the rise in market rates since the Iran crisis.
Why it matters: Fixed rates below 2.5% are now a closing window; a buyer with a signed arras should lock the offer before the 29 October ECB meeting.
Source: HelpMyCash
- Rates
12-month Euribor averages 3.243% in September, +1.07 points in a year
The monthly average rose from 2.954% in August to 3.243% in September 2026 and the daily fixing closed the month at 3.362%. A year earlier the average was 2.172%. On a 300,000 € variable mortgage over 25 years at Euribor + 0.30 the annual reset adds about 167 € a month.
Why it matters: Variable-rate borrowers from 2024–25 face their first materially higher reset; the mixed-rate offers now on the market are the usual exit.
- Rates
Spanish inflation jumps to 4.9% in September, highest since February 2023
The INE flash estimate put annual CPI at 4.9% (4.3% in August), core at 3.1% and the harmonised index at 5.0%, driven by motor fuels and package holidays. The final figure is due in mid-October.
Why it matters: A 4.9% print makes a third ECB rise in October more likely and keeps the Euribor elevated into 2027.
Source: INE
- Demand
Home mortgages fall 3.5% in July nationally; Catalonia +4.9%
The INE counted 43,372 home mortgages in July 2026, −3.5% year on year and −5.5% on the month, with a record average loan of 180,785 € (+10.9%). The average initial rate was 3.01%; the fixed-rate average rose to 3.03% from 2.89% in June, and the fixed share fell to 62.3%. Catalonia signed 4.9% more home mortgages than in July 2025.
Why it matters: Loan sizes are rising faster than prices: buyers are stretching. Catalonia's outperformance fits the strong Girona-province demand in the registry data.
Source: INE
- Demand
Foreign buyers take 25.5% of Girona-province purchases in Q2 2026
The Colegio de Registradores' Q2 statistics show 167,934 home sales in Spain (−2.3% year on year), with foreign buyers at 15.98% nationally, 17.63% in Catalonia and 25.48% in Girona province. British (6.99%), Dutch (6.94%), German (6.11%), Moroccan (6.09%) and Romanian (5.70%) buyers led; 57.4% of foreign buyers were EU nationals. New-home sales fell 11.5% on the quarter.
Why it matters: Girona keeps the highest foreign share in Catalonia; the bay's buyer pool is European and largely unaffected by the stalled non-EU tax.
Source: Colegio de Registradores
- Developments
Platja d'Aro council gives provisional approval to the Mas Maig special plan
The plenary of Castell-Platja d'Aro approved provisionally the Pla Especial 'Mas Maig' on 21 September 2026. Final approval rests with the Generalitat's territorial planning commission. The uses and parameters will be analysed here once the approved text is published.
Why it matters: Special plans are how new residential and equipment land reaches the market in a municipality with little vacant land; watch the public-exposure period.
- Rates
ECB rise takes the deposit rate to 2.50%, second increase of 2026
The decision of 10 September raised the deposit facility to 2.50%, the main refinancing rate to 2.65% and the marginal lending rate to 2.90%, effective 16 September. Euro-area inflation was 3.3% in August and oil near 100 dollars a barrel. Next meetings: 29 October and 17 December.
Why it matters: The 2024–25 easing cycle is being unwound; mortgage pricing on the bay now assumes further rises.
Source: Banco de España / ECB
- Prices
INE house prices +12.2% in Q2 2026; Catalonia +10.1%; growth slows for the first time since 2023
The registry-based house price index rose 12.2% year on year (12.9% in Q1): second-hand +12.9%, new +7.4%; on the quarter +3.4%. Catalonia's annual rate was 10.1%. It was the 45th consecutive quarterly increase.
Why it matters: The headline is still double-digit but the second derivative has turned; local asking prices have been flat since June.
Source: INE
- Prices
idealista: Girona-province asking prices at 2,913 €/m² in August, five euros below the 2007 peak
Girona province rose 10.1% in a year to 2,913 €/m². Castell-Platja d'Aro stood at 4,076 €/m² (−0.3% on the month, −0.5% on the quarter, +7.1% on the year) and Sant Feliu de Guíxols at 3,307 €/m² (−1.0%, −0.8%, +7.1%). Palamós led the coast with +16.4%; Begur (4,151 €/m²) rose 3.3%.
Why it matters: Our two municipalities have stopped rising month on month; the summer did not add to prices on the bay.
Source: idealista price reports
- Regulation
Platja d'Aro: 3,000 tourist licences, 1,400 flats in use, 370 empty; council will 'act like an estate agency'
Mayor Maurici Jiménez set out the municipality's housing plan: no cuts to tourist licences, but IBI exemptions and subsidies for owners who bring empty flats to the long-term market, conversion of closed commercial premises, and 40 new council flats within two years, none eligible for tourist use.
Why it matters: The licence stock is safe until the 2028 Catalan deadline; the plan targets empty flats, not licensed ones.
Source: Ràdio Capital
- Deals
Blackstone prepares the sale of Hotel Investment Partners (HIP), Spain's largest resort-hotel owner
Reports in August said Blackstone is preparing to sell HIP, the platform that owns dozens of resort hotels on the Spanish coasts and islands. A sale would be one of the largest hotel transactions in Europe this year.
Why it matters: Institutional capital is rotating in Spanish coastal hospitality at peak occupancy; Costa Brava assets are in the mix.
Source: Press reports, August 2026
- Tourism
Summer 2026: Girona hotels at 75.8% in June–July, prices +10.65 € a night; August boosted by the solar eclipse
Catalonia's hotels ran at about 85% occupancy in high season; Girona province recorded 75.8% in June–July (+2.15 points) at an average price of 129 € (+10.65 €). The 12 August total solar eclipse filled the coast, and the 11 September bridge reached about 80%.
Why it matters: Tourist-flat yields on the bay held up in 2026 despite the licence debate; that supports asking prices for licensed flats.
Source: ViaEmpresa; Gremi d'Hotelers
- Deals
Hotel Bakour Costa Brava (Roses, 110 rooms, 4*) sold to a local investor; Checkin Hotel Group to operate
Colliers advised on the sale of the four-star, 110-room hotel in Roses to a local investor, with Checkin Hotel Group taking over the operation.
Why it matters: Local family capital is still buying Costa Brava hospitality; the comparable matters for mixed-use assets on the bay.
Source: Colliers; trade press, May 2026
- Regulation
100% tax on non-EU non-resident buyers stalls in Congress after Junts withdraws support
The Government's proposal to tax home purchases by non-resident non-EU buyers at 100% lost its parliamentary majority when Junts withdrew its support. Foreign buyers accounted for about 20% of 2025 transactions nationally. The next general election is due by August 2027.
Why it matters: British, Swiss, Ukrainian and American buyers can proceed under existing rules; the political risk remains until the legislature ends.
Source: MarketScreener / agencies, 27 March 2026
- Regulation
Catalonia's new ITP scale: 10% to 13% on second-hand homes
Since June 2025 the transfer tax on second-hand homes in Catalonia is progressive: 10% up to 600,000 €, 11% to 900,000 €, 12% to 1.5 M€ and 13% above, with reductions for young buyers and primary residences under certain thresholds.
Why it matters: On a 1.2 M€ villa the marginal rate is 12%; budget it before the offer.
Source: Agència Tributària de Catalunya
This material is general market information prepared by Emerald Properties S.L. from the public sources listed. It is not investment, legal or tax advice and not a valuation of any specific property. Figures are those published by the sources on the dates stated and may be revised; portal snapshots count asking prices, not closed sales.
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