I have been selling frontline seafront properties for 25 years, and if there is one misunderstanding I keep seeing over and over again, it is this: a buyer comes to me convinced they have found a true frontline apartment by the sea, shows me the photos, and what they actually have is a third-line property with a decent glimpse of the sea between two buildings.

It is not the same. And depending on the area, that difference can mean tens of thousands of euros — and the entire future value of the property.

If you are going to invest in a second home by the sea, this is the first thing you need to understand clearly. Not because of labels, but because it changes what you are buying, what you are paying for, and what that property will be worth in 15 years.

What a True Frontline Seafront Property Really Means

A frontline seafront property means that between your home and the water, there is nothing built in front of you. At most, there may be a seafront promenade. Your building is in the row directly facing the sea, with no other construction in front that can block the view, the light, or the access.

That is what defines a true frontline position: not simply that you can see the sea, but that nothing stands between you and the sea — and nothing will be able to stand there in the future.

The reason is simple: the coastal front is already consolidated. The protection easements affecting the public maritime-terrestrial domain, together with urban planning regulations, generally prevent new construction from being built in front of what already exists on the frontline. What is there is there. No more can be created.

That is the key word in all of this: scarcity.

Along the Spanish coast, there are very few genuinely frontline seafront properties left, and no new ones are going to appear. That is why they behave like a completely different asset from the rest of the market.

Sea Views: The Buyer’s Most Expensive Trap

“Sea views” means exactly that, nothing more and nothing less: you can see the sea from the property. It may be a fourth-line apartment set high up with a spectacular panoramic view. It may be a second-line property where the sea appears between two blocks. It may be a penthouse three streets back with a blue strip on the horizon.

The problem is not the view. The problem is that a sea view is not protected.

If you buy a second-line or third-line apartment because of its view, you are buying something that depends on the plot in front remaining empty. And plots on the coast do not usually stay empty forever.

I have seen buyers pay a premium for views that, three years later, were replaced by the façade of a new development. That property lost value overnight, and there was nothing they could do about it.

Frontline seafront is the only position where the view is truly yours, because it has already been secured. In every other case, the view is a loan that someone can take away from you.

Why the Price Difference Exists — and Why It Makes Sense

The premium paid for a frontline seafront property compared with a similar property with sea views varies greatly depending on the coastline, but it rarely falls below 30%. In prestigious areas, it can be significantly higher.

At first glance, it may look like a luxury whim. It is not. From a practical point of view, the reasons are very clear.

First, because of what we have already said: nobody can take that view away from you. You are paying for certainty, not just for a postcard.

Second, because of light and space. An unobstructed seafront brings a different feeling into a home. The openness, the brightness, the horizon. That cannot be replicated with a good side view.

Third, and this matters especially if you are looking at it as an investment: frontline seafront property holds its value and sells more easily. When the market cools down, ordinary properties are the first to get stuck. Good frontline seafront properties are among the last to fall in price and among the first to recover, because demand is always there and supply is never enough.

It is the most liquid asset on the coast.

When you think about the cost, you are not comparing two apartments. You are comparing a scarce, protected asset with another property that is subject to whatever the neighbour in front may decide to build.

What Almost Nobody Tells You: The Nuances Within Frontline Seafront Itself

This is where the informed buyer separates themselves from the buyer who is going in blind, because “frontline seafront” is not one single category either. There are major differences within it, and all of them affect price.

The floor level changes the product. A ground-floor frontline property with direct access to the promenade or the beach is a very different product from a sixth-floor apartment with panoramic views. Not better or worse; different. The ground floor gives you sand-at-your-feet living and street-level energy. The higher floor gives you a bird’s-eye view and silence. I know what each buyer is looking for before showing them anything.

Orientation is not a detail. On the Mediterranean coast, a south or southeast orientation gives you sun for much of the day and protects you from the prevailing wind. A poor orientation on the frontline can leave you with a cold, shaded home in winter, even with the sea right in front of you.

Not every seafront promenade is the same. Some seafronts have a quiet pedestrian promenade. Others have a busy avenue with traffic. Both may be frontline seafront. The experience of living there is completely different.

And salt air exists. Being right by the sea comes with a maintenance cost: window frames, railings, air conditioning systems, façades. This is not a reason not to buy frontline seafront — far from it — but it is a real cost that a serious buyer includes in their numbers from the beginning. Anyone who hides this from you is not looking after your interests.

How I See It After 25 Years

For the type of buyer I usually have in front of me — someone who has already built their wealth and is looking for a second home by the sea — my advice is always the same: if you are going to enter the coastal market, buy true frontline seafront.

Not for status, but for investment logic.

It is the only thing that cannot be manufactured anymore, the only view nobody can take away from you, and the only type of property you will be able to resell well when you decide to, at the moment you choose.

A sea view is an emotion. Frontline seafront is an asset. And when we are talking about the amounts involved in this segment, it is essential to understand the difference before signing anything.

At Addurno, we work exclusively with frontline seafront properties. This is not a slogan: we filter precisely for this, so that you do not have to learn through costly mistakes what it has taken me a quarter of a century to understand.

Jose Luis Castilla Goixart, CEO of Addurno.com