Engel & Völkers in Marbella: over 20 years of local real estate expertise

Engel & Völkers began as a single real estate office in Hamburg in 1977 and now operates around 1,100 locations across more than 35 countries. Its first office outside Germany opened in Spain, and Spain remains one of its most established markets. Today six Engel & Völkers offices cover Marbella, the first having opened in 2003. From the Golden Mile and Marbella Club to Puerto Banús & Nueva Andalucía, Marbella West , Elviria and El Rosario, each reflecting a long-term commitment to the individual communities that define Marbella’s luxury property market.

Engel & Völkers was founded in Hamburg in 1977 by Christian Völkers and his friend and business partner Dirk Engel, as a boutique brokerage firm. Together they established the brand identity and the approach to property brokerage that the network still follows today: quality, discretion and personal service. The company was founded in a townhouse on Hamburg’s Elbchaussee, a building that continues to shape its corporate
identity.

International expansion began in 1990 with the opening of the first office outside Germany, in Mallorca. Spain has remained a core market for the network ever since. Further offices followed across the country’s most desirable coastal and urban destinations, and Marbella became one of the network’s most significant international markets.

The first Engel & Völkers office in Marbella was opened by Smadar Kahana, who led the launch after a career as international marketing director of a global company in Munich. That decision to establish a local foothold in Marbella, rather than operate remotely, defined the approach that has shaped the business ever since. Over the following two decades, the local network grew from a single office into six strategically positioned offices covering Marbella’s principal luxury residential areas.

Each office serves a distinct part of the market, giving consultants direct knowledge of the communities they work in rather than a generalised view of Marbella as a whole.

This network matters because Marbella is not a single market. Pricing, buyer demand, property types and lifestyle characteristics differ considerably between a frontline apartment in Puerto Banús and a hillside villa in the Golden Mile area, or between a beachside home in Elviria and a golf community property in Marbella West. Real estate agents based in each area develop knowledge that cannot be replicated from a single central office.

Engel & Völkers Marbella’s reputation is reflected not only in its market activity, but also in the recognition it has received from industry organisations, civic institutions and international media.

• Milestone Award for Highest Sales Volume (2021). Engel & Völkers Marbella received the internal Engel & Völkers Milestone Award for achieving the highest sales volume across the network in 2021, a measure of performance against a global benchmark of more than 1,000 offices.
• Recognition by Marbella Town Hall (2026). During Marbella’s Europe Day celebrations, the Town Hall formally recognised Smadar Kahana, Managing Director of Engel & Völkers Marbella, for her contribution to the city’s development, international profile and community. Civic recognition of this kind is rare in the property sector and reflects a relationship with Marbella that goes beyond commercial activity.
• Forbes recognition (2026). Forbes highlighted Engel & Völkers as a significant name in Spain’s luxury property market, referencing its presence and transactions in prestigious locations including Marbella, Sotogrande and La Moraleja.
• Top 5 global agent ranking. Thomas Ajtony, a member of the Engel & Völkers Private Office, ranked fifth worldwide among more than 16,000 Engel & Völkers agents. A consistently recognised Top 10 Global Sales Advisor, this places him among the strongest-performing luxury property advisers across the entire international network, with that expertise based in Marbella.

Marbella’s luxury buyers are almost entirely international. Clients arrive from the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Poland, Switzerland, Ireland, Belgium and the United States, among many other countries. Effective property representation in this market requires two things that are rarely found together: genuine local knowledge and credible international reach.

Engel & Völkers Marbella combines both. The local team has spent more than two decades building relationships, developing area knowledge and completing transactions across Marbella’s principal residential markets. That local foundation is supported by the infrastructure of a global brand with established recognition among high-net-worth buyers worldwide.

What this means for sellers

When a seller lists with Engel & Völkers Marbella, their property is:

• Presented to local buyers through six Marbella offices and their established networks
• Marketed internationally through the global Engel & Völkers network across 35 countries
• Promoted to qualified buyers in key source markets before those buyers have even begun searching in Spain
• Supported by a dedicated marketing strategy that includes professional photography, digital campaigns, virtual tours and print publications

The result is access to a buyer pool that extends well beyond what a locally focused agency can reach, delivered by a team with the local knowledge to qualify and advise those buyers effectively.

What this means for buyers

International buyers working with Engel & Völkers Marbella benefit from:

• A local consultant who understands the specific area they are considering, not just Marbella as a whole
• Guidance on properties available within their budget across all six office areas
• Practical support with the steps involved in purchasing property in Spain as a foreign national

The buyers’ guide and sellers’ guide reflect this commitment to transparency: providing clients with the information they need to make decisions with confidence, not just a property search tool.