Finding a new build home online feels simple. Getting the right property, at the right price, with the right information is anything but. Here is what the portals will never tell you.
I have lost count of the buyers who have described the same evening to me. A long day behind them, the heating on at home in Manchester or Cork, and a Spanish property portal open on the screen. One development catches the eye. Then another. Soon there is a folder of bookmarks, a spreadsheet with floor numbers and prices that do not quite line up, and a vague but growing sense that the dream of a place in the sun is somehow getting further away, not closer.
They come to me weeks, sometimes months, into that process. And the story rarely changes. They have found the same apartment listed three times at three different prices and cannot work out which is true. They have fallen for a penthouse that, it turns out, sold back in the spring and was never taken down. They have stared at the same six CGI images and a single line of square meterage, trying to imagine whether the morning light falls on the terrace or the bedroom. They are doing the hardest possible version of this, from the furthest possible distance, in a market that was never built to make it easy.
Here is the thing I wish more people knew before they began. The portals were built to gather listings, not to guide buyers. New build, in particular, is a market of moving parts: every floor, every orientation, every terrace priced differently, and almost none of it published in a way you can actually read from your living room. The information you need to make a confident decision exists. It simply does not live on the portals. It lives with the developers, and it reaches you through the agents they trust.
That is the whole reason this guide exists. Not to sell you a particular apartment, but to show you honestly why the search feels so much harder than it should, what is really going on behind those "prices from" figures, and the quieter route that switched-on buyers take instead: one trusted contact with direct developer access, doing the sifting so you do not have to.
None of this means buying new build out here is a bad idea. It plainly is not, and there are thousands of happy families along this coast who are glad they did it. It just means you deserve to start with your eyes open. I would far rather help you find the right home than sell you the easy one.
There has never been more new build property available on the Costa Blanca and Costa Cálida. Gleaming developments, resort-style amenities, energy-efficient homes with modern specifications. The market is thriving, and the appeal is understandable. But for buyers researching from abroad, navigating it online is riddled with frustration, confusion and, crucially, misinformation. These are the challenges that bring buyers to us, often after weeks or months of searching alone.
The same property appears on three portals at three different prices. One shows €185,000, another €240,000, a third "from €165,000". All are technically correct for different units, but without knowing which is which, the information is useless.
A development of 80 apartments has dramatic variation between floors, orientations and positions. A north-facing ground floor and a south-facing penthouse are entirely different propositions, yet portals list them identically.
Most agents update portal listings infrequently. The unit you have researched for a fortnight, building your plans around, may have sold months ago. You are making decisions based on a market that no longer exists.
Most developers do not market directly to the public. Their inventory is distributed exclusively through trusted agent networks. Searching portals alone means seeing only a fraction of what is actually available.
Portals rarely show detailed, accurate floor plans. Layout, aspect and internal flow are among the most important factors in choosing a home, yet buyers routinely shortlist on a few CGI images and a vague square meterage.
Going direct offers more detail, if you know where to look, but rarely more pricing transparency. "Prices from" figures are almost always the least desirable units. The structure across the full range is seldom published.
You can spend weeks browsing new build portals and still not know the true price of a single unit, or whether it is even still available.— The Sunshine Homes New Build Team
Consider a typical development: 60 apartments across five floors. The developer lists prices "from €195,000". That figure is real, for one specific unit. The penthouse with a sea view and south-facing terrace? €310,000. The mid-floor, east-facing two-bedroom? €238,000. Every unit is priced differently, and the factors driving those variations are significant.
South and south-west facing units command a premium. North-facing apartments may be €20–40k less for identical floor area.
Higher floors typically mean better views and more light. Price steps between floors can range from €5,000 to €15,000 per level.
Sea view, pool view, garden view or street view. The difference between a sea view and no view can exceed €50,000.
Ground floor garden units, mid-floor apartments and penthouses with solarium are priced as entirely different products.
A larger terrace or private garden is priced as additional living space, often at a premium rate per square metre.
Parking, storage rooms and furnishing packs may or may not be included. What seems cheap may carry significant add-on costs.
Same development. Same brochure. Four entirely different financial decisions. Which one are you actually researching?
The price on the portal is the beginning of a conversation, not the answer to it. Without unit-level detail, you cannot make an informed decision.
This is not a flaw in the system. It is simply how new build property works. Developers price their inventory across dozens of variables, and no public portal has the infrastructure or the developer relationships to keep that information current, accurate and unit-specific. That requires something portals cannot provide: a trusted agent with direct developer access.
Sunshine Homes is a specialist new build agency and a member of the largest developer network on the Costa Blanca and Costa Cálida. We have invested deeply in developer relationships, real-time data technology and a portfolio spanning over 600 live developments, from starter apartments to luxury villas, from Denia in the north to Murcia in the south. The difference is not just access. It is the quality and accuracy of the information we place in your hands before you ever step on a plane.
Updated daily, showing every unit, every floor, every orientation and its correct current price. No estimates, no portal approximations.
See exactly which unit sits where, its orientation, terrace size and relationship to the communal areas, pool and views, all before you travel.
A significant portion of our portfolio is available exclusively through our network and is never advertised on portals.
Our network relationships mean we negotiate benefits that we pass directly to you, at no cost to you whatsoever.
Through our developer agreements, we can cover your legal fees on a large portion of our portfolio. A saving of thousands of euros.
Fully fitted and ready to move into or rent out from day one, at no additional cost to you.
We accompany every stage of the new build purchase, from choosing your unit through to snagging, handover and beyond.
Our clients don't search for new builds anymore. We send them exactly what they need: the right developments, at the real price, with everything required to make a confident decision.— Sunshine Homes New Build Team
Let us bring the real market to you. One conversation with our new build specialists activates 600+ developments, unlocks live pricing, and gives you everything the portals never could. Just clarity, and someone on your side.