Aguadulce
160.000 - 380.000 €Indicative guide pricesIt is priced above the municipal asking figure, and it is rising more slowly than the municipality over the year.
Coastal
111.240
Population
30.6%
Foreign residents
€1,775
Avg €/m²
Updated 19 Sept 2026How we source our data →
Living in Roquetas de Mar
Roquetas de Mar is a working town on the Poniente coast west of Almería city, and the most important thing about it is the land it sits in. The plastic greenhouse belt of Almería province covered close to thirty three thousand hectares in the Junta's 2021 cartography. Roquetas holds nearly two thousand of those hectares itself, and El Ejido next door holds over thirteen thousand. That industry shapes the landscape inland, the light, the water politics and the labour market, and a buyer should see it before signing anything.
The population was 111,240 at 1 January 2025 on the INE padron, up by close to a fifth between 2014 and 2024. Foreign nationals numbered 33,653 on the same date, about three in ten residents. The largest group is Romanian, roughly a quarter of the foreign population. Only the first-ranked nationality is published, so we cannot say where British or German residents rank. The average age is thirty nine.
The asking price for July 2026 was up by about a fifth on the year, a faster rise than Almería city, Mojácar or Almuñécar recorded in the same month, from a level marginally below the capital's. All three listed districts carry a price. Two things need care. There is no railway station. And the reference hospital is in El Ejido, with a local hospital under construction for years and no confirmed opening.
The verdict
Honestly considered, both sides.
The upside is real. So is the downside. Both matter more than any brochure will admit.
The case for
Cheaper per square metre than Mojácar or Almuñécar
Idealista's July 2026 municipal asking price is about two thirds of Mojácar's, a little over half of Almuñécar's and slightly below Almería city's. For a coastal town of this size, that is a low entry point.
A complete district price table on Idealista
Idealista lists three districts for Roquetas de Mar, Aguadulce, El Parador and Roquetas, and all three carry a price and a year-on-year figure. Mojácar and Almería city both have unpriced rows in their tables; Roquetas has none.
Almería airport lists UK and Madrid routes
Aena's business data records twenty six routes and about eight hundred thousand passengers in 2025. Its undated destinations list includes Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds Bradford, Liverpool, London Gatwick, Luton, Stansted, Southend and Manchester, plus Madrid and Barcelona.
A young, growing town with year-round services
The average age is thirty nine and the population grew by close to a fifth between 2014 and 2024. The Junta's profile counts five health centres, three consultorios, fifty five infant schools, twenty four primaries and seventeen secondaries.
Untolled motorway and a Junta-managed port
The A-7 runs past the town and appears nowhere on the Ministry of Transport's list of tolled state motorways. The Puerto de Roquetas de Mar is run by the Andalusian public ports agency, which publishes no berth count or traffic figures for it.
The case against
The hospital question is not settled
The reference hospital is the Hospital de Poniente in El Ejido, another municipality. A fifty three bed hospital for Roquetas was in its final stretch, the Junta said in July 2025, still not handed over in February 2026, and nothing confirms it has opened.
No railway station in the municipality
Roquetas has no station. The only passenger line in Almería province runs inland to the capital, and since 5 March 2024 those trains have terminated at Huércal-Viator, with the last section into Almería operated by road. Rail is not part of daily life here.
The town sits inside the plastic greenhouse belt
Junta cartography for 2021 maps 1,976 hectares of greenhouse in Roquetas and 13,112 in El Ejido next door. It shapes the views inland, the light, the water politics and the labour market. The Junta publishes land use and provincial employment, not who works where.
No climate normals for the municipality
AEMET publishes thirty-year normals only for its principal stations, and the only one in Almería province is Almería airport. It is in a different municipality and we do not transfer its figures, so this guide prints no climate table for Roquetas.
A fast-rising price in a high-turnover town
Asking prices rose by about a fifth in the year to July 2026, and El Parador by more than a third. In 2024 to 2025 about 8,700 people moved in and 7,500 left. Registered unemployment runs at roughly one in eight.
Editor's note
Where you might be better off elsewhere
Roquetas de Mar suits a buyer who wants a large, young, year-round town at a low price per square metre and does not mind that the economy behind it is industrial agriculture. It is not the town for a buyer who wants a British-majority foreign community, a railway, a settled hospital picture or a climate table they can check. If any of those matter, look elsewhere.
For a British-led community, Mojácar is the sourced example on this coast: about half its residents are foreign nationals and British nationals are the largest group, at just over half of them, though asking prices are far higher. Almuñécar, on the Granada coast, has a school authorised to teach the British curriculum and far higher asking prices than Roquetas, but no railway of any kind. Almería city has two hospitals inside the municipality, the province's only AEMET normals station, and rail, with the caveat that its trains have terminated at Huércal-Viator since March 2024. For a working train, Cartagena, in Murcia, has Larga Distancia, Media Distancia and Proximidad trains to Murcia. Adra, further west along the same coast, is cheaper still but its asking prices are falling.
Roquetas de Mar on the map
Lifestyle data
Property market
€1,775
/m²
+21.4% year on year
Updated 31 Aug 2026
Access
ALMERÍA AIRPORT
Almería · LEI
0+ direct routes
Top direct
BarcelonaBirminghamBratislavaBristolBrnoBrussels
Community
30.6%
Foreign residents
INE Annual Population Census, nationality basis, 1 January 2025
Leading nationality among foreign residents: Romania, 24.2%
IECA/SIMA municipal register, nationality basis, 1 January 2025
Amenities
0
Int. schools
Roquetas de Mar neighborhoods
Where to live and what to expect at each price point.
El Parador
120.000 - 290.000 €Indicative guide pricesIt is rising faster than the municipality over the year. It sits close to the Roquetas district on price and well below Aguadulce.
Inland
Roquetas
120.000 - 280.000 €Indicative guide pricesIt is priced below the municipal asking figure. All three districts listed for this municipality carry a price, which is true of no other town here.
Urban core
Roquetas de Mar FAQ
Honest answers to the questions buyers actually ask.
Who lives in Roquetas de Mar, and is there a British community?+
The municipal register counted 111,240 residents at 1 January 2025, and the Junta's SIMA profile counted 33,653 foreign nationals on the same date, about three in ten. The largest group is Romanian, roughly a quarter of all foreign residents. SIMA publishes only the first-ranked nationality, so we do not know how many British, German or Moroccan residents there are. If you want a town where British nationals are the largest foreign group, Mojácar is the sourced example on this coast, at about half of its foreign population.
Is there a hospital in Roquetas de Mar?+
We cannot tell you either way. The reference hospital assigned by the Andalusian health service is the Hospital de Poniente in El Ejido. A fifty three bed hospital for Roquetas, Vicar, La Mojonera, Enix and Felix has been under construction for years and has slipped repeatedly. In July 2025 the Junta called it in its final stretch. Equipment was being tendered in January 2026, the works were still not handed over in February 2026, and in March 2026 a union notice spoke of a gradual opening from May. We found no official confirmation that it has opened.
Is there a train station in Roquetas de Mar?+
No. Roquetas de Mar has no railway station, and nor do Adra, Mojácar or Almuñécar. The only passenger line in Almería province runs inland from the capital towards Granada and Madrid, and since 5 March 2024 its trains have terminated at Huércal-Viator, with the final section into Almería city operated by road. From 6 September 2026 the Intercity to Madrid stops running and the Almería to Linares Baeza leg becomes two road services a day. No operator publishes bus frequencies or journey times for Roquetas, so we do not print any.
Which area of Roquetas de Mar should I look at: Aguadulce, El Parador or Roquetas?+
Idealista lists exactly three districts and prices all of them. Aguadulce is the dearest, roughly a third above the Roquetas district per square metre, and rose by about an eighth in the year to July 2026. El Parador and Roquetas sit close together on price, but El Parador rose by more than a third over the year and Roquetas by about a quarter. The prices themselves are in the tables on this page, updated separately from this text. A buyer chasing momentum will look at El Parador; the district table tells you the rest.
What is the greenhouse belt and does it affect Roquetas?+
It is the belt of plastic greenhouses that runs along the Almería coast, and Roquetas sits in it. The Junta's 2021 cartography records about thirty three thousand hectares in Almería province, close to nine tenths of the eastern Andalusian total, with 1,976 hectares in Roquetas and 13,112 in El Ejido. On employment, the Andalusian employment service reports that roughly one in six registered jobs in the province in 2023 was in the agricultural special regime, and around seven in ten of those workers were foreign nationals. No municipal labour breakdown is published, so we do not know Roquetas's own share.
What is the climate like in Roquetas de Mar?+
Nobody publishes climate normals for Roquetas de Mar. AEMET calculates thirty-year normals only for its principal stations, and the only one in Almería province is at Almería airport, in the municipality of Almería. We do not borrow a neighbouring station's figures, so this guide carries no temperature or rainfall table for Roquetas. The nearest published normals are the airport's, for 1981 to 2010, and they describe that station rather than this town.
Are there international or British schools in Roquetas de Mar?+
We found none. A search of the Junta's official gazette for orders authorising foreign private schools teaching the British system returned nothing for Roquetas de Mar or anywhere else in Almería province; the only Andalusian results were in Almuñécar and Marbella. That is an absence in a keyword search, not proof that no such school exists, and the Consejeria's full centre directory has not yet been checked. For the state system, SIMA counts fifty five infant, twenty four primary, seventeen secondary and eleven bachillerato centres in the municipality for 2023 to 2024.
How fast are house prices rising in Roquetas de Mar?+
Fast. Idealista's municipal asking price for July 2026 was up by about a fifth on July 2025, with a small monthly rise on top. That outpaces Almería city, Mojácar and Almuñécar in the same month, and it comes from a level that is slightly below the capital's and well below the other two. All three districts rose over the year, from about an eighth in Aguadulce to more than a third in El Parador. Whether that momentum holds is not something any source can tell you.
What are the costs of buying property in Roquetas de Mar?+
When buying property in Roquetas de Mar, budget for property transfer tax (ITP) of 7%, plus roughly 3-4% in notary, land registry and legal fees. Agency commission is usually paid by the seller. On the mainland and the Balearics, new builds pay VAT (IVA) of 10% plus AJD stamp duty instead of ITP. Transfer tax is set by Andalucía rather than nationally, and reduced rates can apply for main homes and younger buyers.
What are the ongoing costs of owning property in Roquetas de Mar?+
Annual property ownership costs in Roquetas de Mar include IBI (property tax) of 0.4-1.1% of cadastral value, community fees (for apartments), rubbish collection tax (basura), utility bills, and property insurance. Budget approximately 2-4% of property value per year for all running costs. IBI is set by the town hall of Roquetas de Mar within a national band, so it is municipal rather than regional.
What taxes do I pay when selling property in Roquetas de Mar?+
When selling property in Roquetas de Mar, you pay capital gains tax (plusvalía) on the profit at rates of 19-26% depending on the gain amount. Non-residents have 3% of the sale price withheld at completion. You may also pay municipal capital gains tax. Main residence exemptions may apply for residents over 65. Capital gains tax is national, so it is the same in Andalucía as anywhere in Spain. Plusvalia municipal is set by the town hall of Roquetas de Mar and has had two calculation methods since the 2021 reform, so ask your lawyer which one is cheaper for you.
Can I still get a Golden Visa by buying property in Spain?+
No. Spain withdrew the Golden Visa property investment route in April 2025, so buying in Roquetas de Mar no longer leads to residency. Non-EU buyers who want to live in Spain apply for a separate permit instead, most often the non-lucrative visa (proof of income and private health insurance) or the digital nomad visa (remote work for non-Spanish clients). Ask an immigration lawyer which route fits your situation before you buy.
Transfer tax rates as of August 2026. Rates are set per autonomous community and do change. Confirm the current figures with a Spanish lawyer or tax adviser before you budget.
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