Furnished vs Unfurnished Property in Spain

The Spanish Market Norm

If you are buying property in northern Europe, you almost certainly expect to receive an empty shell and furnish it yourself. In Spain, particularly on the Costa Blanca and Costa del Sol, the market works differently. The majority of resale properties are sold fully furnished, including sofas, beds, wardrobes, dining tables, kitchen equipment, curtains, lamps and sometimes even towels and bedding. This is especially true for apartments and bungalows in residential urbanisations, which are often used as holiday homes.

This convention exists because a large proportion of sellers are non-resident owners who purchased the property as a holiday home. When they sell, they have no practical way to ship furniture back to their home country, so it is included in the sale. For buyers, this is generally an advantage: you get a move-in-ready property without the expense and hassle of furnishing from scratch in a foreign country.

However, “furnished” does not always mean “well-furnished”. The quality of furniture varies enormously. Some properties come with tasteful, modern furnishings worth €10,000+. Others come with tired, 20-year-old furniture that you will want to replace immediately. This is why viewing the property carefully and agreeing on the inventory before signing the contract is essential.

Which Half of the Market You Are Actually Shopping In

Before comparing furnished with unfurnished, it is worth knowing how much of the market each one represents. Our own book is a reasonable proxy. Across both costas we hold roughly 2,100 live listings. Of those, about 1,900 are new build and only about 208 are resale. New builds are delivered unfurnished. So for around nine listings in ten, the furnished-or-not question does not arise at all: you are furnishing it.

That reframes the decision. It is not usually “shall I buy the furnished one or the unfurnished one”. It is “do I want a resale, which will probably come furnished, or a new build, which will not”.

It also tells you where to look if a ready-to-use property is the priority. The resale stock is heavily concentrated: 125 listings in Torrevieja, 29 in Orihuela Costa, 10 in Ciudad Quesada and 9 in Rojales. Between them those four towns hold most of the furnished resale market on our books. If you want to walk in, put the kettle on and stay, start with Torrevieja and Orihuela Costa. In much of the Costa Blanca North and on most of the Costa del Sol, our books hold no resale at all, which means no furnished option either.

What Unfurnished Actually Includes on a New Build

Unfurnished does not mean empty. It means no movable furniture. Fixed elements are usually part of the delivery, and across our book the numbers show what has become standard: built-in wardrobes are listed on 1,237 properties and air conditioning on 1,537. Those are book-wide figures spanning both costas, but the direction is clear enough: fitted storage and climate control are expected, not extras.

One distinction on that second figure matters more than any other line in the specification. A further 128 listings are described as having air-conditioning pre-installation. That is not air conditioning. It means the ducting, the drainage and the cabling are in place and the units are not. If you buy one of those and do nothing, the property has no cooling in August. Read the memoria de calidades, the written specification schedule, and check which of the two you are getting.

The same care applies right down the schedule. Kitchens are normally delivered fitted, with units and worktops, but white goods vary from development to development: some include a hob, oven and extractor and nothing else. Terraces are sometimes handed over without flooring, shade or an outdoor tap. Parking spaces and store rooms are frequently priced separately from the apartment rather than included. And the show unit is not the standard delivery: it is furnished, styled and often upgraded to demonstrate what the developer can sell you. Walk it with the specification schedule in your hand and ask which items in the room are not in the price.

Cost Comparison: Furnished vs Unfurnished

Furnished properties are typically priced 5–10% higher than equivalent unfurnished properties in the same area. For a €150,000 apartment, that is an effective furniture premium of €7,500–€15,000. Is it worth it?

Furnishing a 2-bedroom apartment from scratch in Spain costs approximately:

So the furnished premium of €7,500–€15,000 is roughly equivalent to buying mid-range furniture yourself. The key advantage of buying furnished is time and convenience: the property is ready to use (or rent) immediately, and you avoid the logistics of sourcing, delivering and assembling everything in a foreign country. Popular furniture stores on the Costa Blanca include IKEA (Murcia, 40 minutes from Torrevieja), Leroy Merlin, and local retailers like Muebles Boom and Amuebla.

The Inventory: What Should Be Included

The most important step when buying a furnished property is agreeing on a detailed inventory (inventario) that is annexed to the purchase contract. This document should list every item included in the sale, and ideally be accompanied by photographs taken during the viewing. Without a formal inventory, disputes about what was “supposed to be included” are common.

A good inventory should specify: all furniture (with description, not just “2x chairs” but “2x white wooden dining chairs”), white goods (fridge, washing machine, dishwasher, oven), air conditioning units, curtains and blinds, light fixtures, and any outdoor furniture or barbecue. It should also note items that are excluded from the sale: personal items, artwork, specific electronics, etc.

Under Spanish law, fixtures that are “attached” to the property (built-in wardrobes, fitted kitchen, bathroom fittings, air conditioning units, blinds) are considered part of the immovable property and should always be included unless explicitly excluded. Movable items (sofas, beds, lamps) are only included if stated in the contract or inventory.

Work through the property room by room and write down, at minimum: every item of furniture with a description specific enough to identify it; every white good, with make and model where the plate is visible; air-conditioning units, counting them and noting which rooms they serve; curtains, blinds and their fittings; light fittings, which sellers do sometimes take; safes, alarms and their codes; terrace and garden furniture, parasols and the barbecue; pool equipment and cleaning kit; and anything in the store room or garage that is staying. Then write a second, shorter list of what is expressly not included, so there is no argument later about the painting over the fireplace.

Photograph every room on the day you agree the inventory and date the photographs. Attach the list to the arras contract, not to an email.

The Handover Check, and When to Do It

An inventory signed at the arras stage protects nothing on its own. What protects you is checking it again immediately before you sign at the notary, while you still have room to negotiate. Once the deed is signed and the money has moved, a missing washing machine is a civil claim, not a negotiation.

Arrange a final walk-through on the morning of completion, or the day before at the latest, and use it to do six things. Walk the inventory line by line and tick items off. Test every appliance, tap, shower, socket and air-conditioning unit rather than assuming. Read the electricity and water meters and photograph them, so the changeover of supply contracts starts from a number you can prove. Count the keys, including window keys, mailbox key, garage remote, gate fob, pool key and community door codes, and ask what has been issued to cleaners, letting agents or neighbours. Collect appliance manuals, guarantees and any boiler or pool-pump service records. Confirm that excluded items have actually gone and that any rubbish left behind will be removed at the seller’s cost, not yours.

If something is missing or broken on the day, say so before the notary appointment. The usual remedies are a small retention held by the lawyer until the item is replaced, a price adjustment, or a short delay to completion. All three are ordinary and none of them is available to you an hour later. If you are buying a new build rather than a resale, the equivalent exercise is the snagging list: our snagging guide covers what to look for and when to raise it.

Rental Investment: Furnished Is Essential

If you are buying for holiday rental, a furnished property is non-negotiable. Guests expect a fully equipped, move-in-ready home. The quality of furnishings directly affects your nightly rate and reviews. Properties with modern, well-maintained furniture and a well-equipped kitchen consistently achieve higher occupancy and better ratings than tired, outdated interiors.

For long-term rental, the situation is mixed. Spanish tenants renting year-round often prefer unfurnished, as they have their own furniture. However, the expat rental market on the Costa Blanca strongly favours furnished: tenants arriving from abroad for 6–12 months expect a ready-to-live property. If your target market is international tenants, furnished is the way to go. For more on rental returns, see our rental income guide.

Furnished Properties Currently Available

Here are three furnished properties on the market through OceanHome, ready to move into or rent:

Browse all properties for sale or contact our team to ask about furnished status for any listing in our portfolio.