The short answer
Three flats on the same plan: buy, let for 5 years, sell. The ranking is by IRR: the annual return after costs, taxes and the sale.
Benidorm Hills, Finestratnew build, premium class · handover in 3 years
- Gross rental yield 5.5%
- Rent 2 000 € a month
- Invested 435 000 €
Finestrat, resalecomfort class · let from the first month
- Gross rental yield 4.9%
- Rent 1 600 € a month
- Invested 390 000 €
La Nucía, by the sports citynew build, premium class · handover in 2 years
- Gross rental yield 3.9%
- Rent 2 000 € a month in the school year
- Invested 435 000 €
Benidorm Hills, Finestratnew build, premium class · handover in 3 years
- Gross rental yield 5.5%
- Rent 2 000 € a month
- Invested 435 000 €
La Nucía, by the sports citynew build, premium class · handover in 2 years
- Gross rental yield 5.4%
- Rent 2 200 € a month in the school year
- Invested 435 000 €
Finestrat, resalecomfort class · let from the first month
- Gross rental yield 4.9%
- Rent 1 600 € a month
- Invested 390 000 €
La Nucía, by the sports citynew build, premium class · handover in 2 years
- Gross rental yield 6.1%
- Rent 2 400 € a month in the school year
- Invested 435 000 €
Benidorm Hills, Finestratnew build, premium class · handover in 3 years
- Gross rental yield 5.5%
- Rent 2 000 € a month
- Invested 435 000 €
Finestrat, resalecomfort class · let from the first month
- Gross rental yield 4.9%
- Rent 1 600 € a month
- Invested 390 000 €
La Nucía takes first place in the cautious scenario if rent there reaches 3 150 € a month or prices grow 1.4 points a year faster than the market. You can check this and change the figures in step 4.
La Nucía takes first place if rent there reaches 2 600 € a month or prices grow at least 0.6 points a year faster than the market. You can check this and change the figures in step 4.
On the Town Hall figures La Nucía is already first: rent of 2 400 € a month and price growth beat both Finestrat options. If the Town Hall plan slips, look at the base scenario.
The full calculation: 3 chapters, 7 steps
Go in order or open the chapter you need. The bar at the top always shows where you are and what comes next.
What is happening in La Nucía
- The question
- Growth hotspot: what is built and what is under way
- Demand: who comes and for how long
The money in La Nucía
- Returns: rent, costs, taxes and the sale
- La Nucía result
Comparison and answer
- Finestrat on the same assumptions
- Answer: the ranking and what changes first place
New builds in La Nucía · Finestrat
Want the calculation for your budget and timing? I will rerun the model for your amount and show you specific flats in La Nucía and Finestrat.
Message me on WhatsAppFor information only, not financial or legal advice. Figures from the Town Hall and developers are given as stated.
Why La Nucía is called a growth hotspot
The Camilo Cano sports city covers 450 000 m², and the Town Hall plans to extend it to more than 900 000 m². In 2025 it hosted 169 events; according to the Town Hall that meant 840 000 visitor nights and about 4 million visits a year. Documents confirm a Wavegarden wave pool and 40 apartments for athletes, and since January 2026 the first NBA Basketball School in Spain has been running there.
By area it is not «the largest in the world», as the mayor puts his goal: today it ranks roughly 19th among the complexes we found, and about 14th after the extension. It is one of the largest municipal sports zones in Spain and the main sports tourism centre of the Costa Blanca. More about the town in the article «La Nucía, city of sport».
Prices and rent: La Nucía and its neighbours
| Town | Sale, €/m² (09.2026) | Over a year | Rent, €/m² a month |
|---|---|---|---|
| La Nucía | 2 504 | +11.2% | 11.0 |
| Finestrat | 3 316 | +4.5% | 17.0 |
| Altea | 3 504 | +4.2% | 13.9 |
| Benidorm | 3 824 | +10.7% | 17.7 |
Asking prices from Idealista. La Nucía grows with the coast; a «sports city premium» is not yet visible in prices, but the starting price is lower than in the neighbouring towns.
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Benidorm Hills in Finestrat gives a steady long-term rent of 2 000 € a month and takes first place in the cautious and base scenarios. The money starts working after 3 years, when the building is handed over.
A new flat in La Nucía by the sports city is a bet on growing demand: on the Town Hall figures it comes first with an IRR of 9.5%, in the cautious scenario it comes last. It suits those ready for seasonal letting: families of academy pupils in the school year, team training camps of 10 nights or more in summer.
A resale flat in Finestrat is let from the first month and needs less money (390 000 € in total), but its price grows more slowly: third place in the base and optimistic scenarios.
How it is calculated: gross, net and IRR
Gross: annual rent divided by everything invested (price, purchase taxes and costs, furniture). Net: the same after community fees, management, upkeep and income tax. IRR also takes time into account: when you pay, when letting starts and what you sell for after 5 years. That is why a flat with a lower gross yield can win if its price grows faster.
Tax depends on the investor: an EU or EEA non-resident pays 19% on the base after costs and depreciation; a Spanish tax resident pays their IRPF rate on the same base; a non-EU non-resident pays 24% on income. The switch is in step 4 of the calculation.
Options designed for letting are collected in the selection «Three options people buy to let».
Vitalii Kotenko, new-build agent on the Costa Blanca, RE/MAX Benidorm. I recount the figures on Mondays, and the update date changes together with them.
Selections on this topic
More analysis
- Tourist apartment or home with a VT licence: what you are buying on the Costa BlancaHow a tourist apartment in the Valencian Community differs from a home with a VT licence: living, registration, operator, 21% or 10% VAT, income and risks.
- Buying off plan: how the law protects your money and how to check it yourselfLaw 38/1999 requires every payment for a home under construction to be refunded with interest. What the guarantee looks like, how to check it and how to get your money back step by step.
- You are better off with me than without meThe question I get most often in private messages is this: if I walk into the sales office on my own, without an agent, will they give me a better price? My answer is no.
Where the numbers come from
Ayuntamiento de La Nucía: lanucia.es; portal de transparencia lanucia.sedelectronica.es (actas de la Junta de Gobierno Local 2024-2026)
BORME (Boletín Oficial del Registro Mercantil)
Alicante Plaza: 21.01.2026, 25.05.2025, 11.12.2025
Ministerio de Cultura y Deporte: Anuario de Estadísticas Deportivas 2025; Turisme Comunitat Valenciana, 2025
Idealista (precios de oferta), RealAdvisor (estimación por modelo)