Águilas sits at the far southern end of the Región de Murcia, on the Almería border. The station still stands and Cercanías line C2 to Murcia is still on the map, but no train has run on it since 1 October 2021: Renfe runs the whole route by bus while high-speed works go on, and the 820,300 passengers recorded in 2025 all travelled by road. Adif has indicated autumn 2027 for Murcia to Lorca; for Lorca to Águilas there is no published date.
Just under thirty eight thousand people were registered here at the start of 2025, up from just over twenty five thousand in 1993. On foreign residents, the honest figure is dated: at the padron of 1 January 2022, 4,436 of 36,403 residents were foreign nationals, about one in eight. We could not verify a newer count, nor any breakdown by continent or country, so we do not print one.
Asking prices per square metre in July 2026 were below Mazarrón, Cartagena and Murcia city, rising by less than a tenth over the year, slower than all three. The internal spread is wide: Hornillo, the dearest district, asks about nine tenths more than the Centro. Two more gaps: there is no hospital in the municipality, the reference hospital is in Lorca, and no weather station near Águilas publishes climate normals, so no climate table appears here.
The verdict
The upside is real. So is the downside. Both matter more than any brochure will admit.
A well-used public transport link to Murcia, by road
Renfe's replacement plan runs the whole C2 route, Murcia del Carmen to Lorca Sutullena to Águilas, by bus, and it carried 820,300 passengers in 2025. It is a bus, not a train, but it exists and it is heavily used.
Cheaper per square metre than Mazarrón, Cartagena or Murcia city
In July 2026 asking prices per square metre were below Mazarrón, Cartagena and Murcia city, though not below Lorca inland. The Centro district is the cheapest area with published data, sitting noticeably below the municipal average.
A mostly Spanish town, not an expat enclave
At the last dated count, the 2022 padron, about one in eight residents were foreign nationals, and health-zone data covering part of the town counted few British residents. Buyers wanting everyday Spanish life will find it here.
Published price data for six of nine districts
Idealista lists nine districts for Águilas and publishes July 2026 asking prices for six, from Hornillo down to the Centro. Isla del Fraile, Las Majadas-Las Molinetas-Labradorcico and Tébar-Los Arejos carry none. Enough to see the wide internal spread before a viewing.
A long population rise with a stall in the middle
The municipal register grew from just over twenty five thousand people in 1993 to just under thirty eight thousand at the start of 2025, but it was flat between 2010 and 2017 before growth resumed. A long rise, not a boom.
No hospital anywhere in the municipality
Águilas is in health Area III, whose reference hospital, Rafael Méndez, is in Lorca, inland. For anything beyond primary care you travel, and with no train running, you travel by road. Older buyers should weigh this seriously.
No climate figures we can honestly print
No weather station near Águilas publishes long-term climate normals; the region's only official stations are inland at Murcia and Alcantarilla, or on the Mar Menor at San Javier. Rather than borrow their figures, we print no climate table for Águilas at all.
No train has run here since October 2021
Cercanías line C2 is still on the map, but the whole line has run by road since 1 October 2021 for the Murcia to Almería high-speed works. Adif has indicated autumn 2027 for Murcia to Lorca only, with no published date for Lorca to Águilas.
Road access is a step below Mazarrón's
The RM-11 from Lorca is not catalogued as an autovia in the regional road register, unlike the RM-3 that serves Mazarrón. The RM-333 continues south to the Almería provincial border towards Vera.
No current figures on foreign residents
The newest same-date count we could verify dates from January 2022, and no continental or country breakdown is available at municipal level. If knowing who your neighbours would be matters, the data simply is not there.
Editor's note
Águilas earns its place for a specific buyer: someone who wants a mostly Spanish coastal town, at lower asking prices than the coastal towns north of it, who drives, and who does not mind travelling for hospital care. If that is not you, look elsewhere. Buyers who want an established northern European community should look at Mazarrón, where more than a third of residents were foreign nationals at the 2024 annual census and the European contingent is British-led, though Mazarrón has higher asking prices. Buyers who want city services should consider Cartagena, which has two reference hospitals inside the municipality, or Murcia city, the regional capital, with three reference hospitals and a shorter run to the airport. If you cannot or will not drive, be careful here: no train has run to Águilas since October 2021, with no published date for its return. Of the coastal towns in this batch only Cartagena has a working train, long-distance and regional services though no commuter line. We would rather you bought the right town than this one.
Updated 2026-08-30
Where to live and what to expect at each price point.
Dearest of the six districts that carry a published price, asking about nine tenths more per square metre than the Centro. It was also the slowest riser of the six over the year to July 2026.
Second dearest of the six districts with a published price, and among the slowest movers over the year to July 2026. It sits well below Hornillo above it and well above the town centre below it.
Third of the six published districts on price and one of the stronger risers over the year to July 2026, moving faster than the municipality as a whole. Mid-table on price, upper end on movement.
Fourth of the six published districts on price and one of the slower risers over the year to July 2026. It sits in the middle of the municipality's published range and is not moving quickly in either direction.
The fastest riser of the six published districts over the year to July 2026, out towards the cape at the edge of the municipality. Fifth of the six on price, so it is rising from a comparatively low base.
The town centre, cheapest of the six districts with a published price by a wide margin, and rising faster than the municipality as a whole. Hornillo asks about nine tenths more per square metre than this.
Honest answers to the questions buyers actually ask.
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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