Cost of property in Spain: An overview of 2019

The end of 2019 lays bare a new figure in the property sector. In 2019, the price of new housing in Spain increased by 4.5 per cent in provincial capitals and new builds in big cities rose to €2,453 per square metre.

However, the increase is lower than the one registered in 2018, when housing increased by 5.4 per cent. And experts predict that the hike in prices will continue to slow down. In 2020, forecasts place the increase in new property between 3 and 3.2 per cent. 

As it stands, a typical property of 90 square metres located in the capital of a province, costs around €220,800. In cities and areas other than the capital, the average price of a new home is €1,682. This represents an increase of 1.8 per cent compared to December 2018.

The capital cities of Madrid and Barcelona continue to lead the increase in prices, although the growth rate also continues to abate in relation to the previous semester. The growth rate in Barcelona dips from 8.1 to 6.1 per cent and in Madrid, it decreases from 7.5 to 6.6 per cent. As for new homes in the capitals, Barcelona remains the most expensive city in Spain as prices reach €4,433 per square metre.

By contrast, Cáceres, Ciudad Real and Badajoz remain the capitals with the best value for money, where new homes are valued at around €1,200 per square metre.

Taking autonomous communities into account, Murcia is among the cheapest, along with Extremadura and Castilla La Mancha.

Although prices have levelled out, the accessibility to housing has gone down steeply. Currently, it takes 7.4 years of full salary to acquire a medium-sized property in Spain. This indicator is calculated by autonomous community and is based on the ratio between the market value of housing and the annual gross average income. The Balearic Islands continue to be the area where the most years are needed to access a home, an average of 16.4 years of income. On the other hand, La Rioja and Murcia are highlighted as the regions with the most accessibility to housing, 4.9 years.