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What’s the average price of a property in Spain in 2021?

What’s the average price per square metre for a new build and a second-hand home in Spain? 

Published: 19 July 2021 12:03 CEST
What's the average price of a property in Spain in 2021?
The fishing village of Lastres in the northern Spanish region of Asturias. Photo: Sara Riaño/Unsplash

Spain’s property market has not yet experienced the drop in prices that many budding house owners were hoping for in 2021. 

Some may therefore prefer to not wait for any potential downturn in the market and just go for it and purchase the Spanish property of their dreams. 

But what’s a normal price to pay for a property? This of course depends on numerous factors but Spain’s Property Appraisal Society recently shed some light on what you can expect to pay for a 90 square meter home in Spain – approximately the average size of a residential flat – depending on whether it’s completely new or it’s second hand. 

How much can you expect to pay for a brand-new property in Spain in 2021?

According to Spain’s Property Appraisal Society, the average price of a new home in Spain so far in 2021 is €223,380.

That’s equal to $263,169 or £191,683.

The average per square metre price of new homes in Spain stands at €2,482 sqm after a slight annual variation of 0.4 percent and a six-month variation of 0.2 percent across 16 of Spain’s 17 regions.

This is the highest value new builds in Spain have achieved since 2010, when the average square metre was going for €2,537/sqm. 

As the map below reflects, the Spanish regions where the value of new builds is highest are Catalonia (€3,992/sqm), Madrid (€3,682/sqm)  and the Basque Country (€2,762/sqm). 

On the other side of the spectrum are regions like Extremadura in southwestern Spain and Murcia in the southeast, where the average square metre price is €1,209/sqm and €1,265/sqm respectively. 

Spain’s Property Appraisal Society collected data between March and June 2021, using the values ​​of nearly 38,000 homes from 2,900 new developments across the country.

What’s the average price of a property in Spain overall in 2021?

Spain’s Property Appraisal Society doesn’t have data exclusively for second-hand homes for 2021, instead calculating the average price of new and second-hand homes together. 

This at least serves to know what the average price of a 90 sqm property in Spain is. 

The average cost of a residential property in Spain in Q4 2020 was €150,750, the latest available data shows. That’s equal to $177,470 or £129,483.

The average per square metre price of all types of homes in Spain stands at €1,675 sqm, representing a drop of 0.4 percent in the first six months of 2021 but an annual increase of 0.7 percent on last year’s average price.

Madrid, Catalonia and the Basque Country again have the highest prices for second-hand properties, followed closely by the Balearic Islands. 

The average price per square metre for residential properties is below the national average of €1,675 sqm in all of Spain’s other 13 regions. 

What’s the average price of a second-hand property in Spain in 2021?

According to leading Spanish property search engine Idealista, the price of second-hand homes has increased by 10.1 percent during the past 12 months. 

As of July 2021, the average price for a second-hand property in Spain stood at €1,816/sqm.

For a 90sqm used property in Spain, the price is therefore an average of €163,440 – equal to $192,472 or £140,253.

The Balearic Islands, with an annual increase of 2.7 percent, is the Spanish region with the highest price for second-hand housing: €3,169 euros/sqm. 

Next in line are Madrid with €2,945/sqm, the Basque Country with €2,668/sqm and Catalonia with €2,325/sqm. 

On the opposite side of the table, the cheapest regions to buy a second-hand property are Castilla La Mancha (€875/sqm), Extremadura (€933/sqm) and Murcia (€1,056/sqm).

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LIFE IN SPAIN

EXPLAINED: How to buy a boat in Spain

Considering buying a boat to enjoy life to the fullest in Spain? Here's a breakdown of costs, legal requirements, financing options and useful tips to factor in before purchasing a bowrider, a day sailer, a yacht or any other 'barco'.

Published: 3 May 2024 12:18 CEST
EXPLAINED: How to buy a boat in Spain

Spain has around 8,000km of coastline, and access to the Mediterranean, Atlantic, and Bay of Biscay. For boat enthusiasts, you’re spoilt for choice in Spain.

But it’s not just as simple as picking out a boat, buying it and setting off into the ocean.

There are several decisions you’ll need to make first, rules to follow, administrative hoops to jump through, and then maintenance costs on top of that.

Types of boats

The first thing you’ll need to consider is the type of boat you want to buy.

Generally they can be split into two broad categories: motor boats and sailing boats.

Motor boats are the most popular type of boat sold and offer the greatest variety of options because they include pretty much everything from smaller more affordable power boats to huge luxury yachts.

As such, you could get a smaller motor boat, say for day trips of fishing on the coast, for as little as €10,000, whereas yachts, as you can imagine, can cost millions, depending on the size, power, design and quality of the boat.

According to several Spanish maritime sources, buying a used boat that you can live on in Spain can cost anywhere between €13,000 and €150,000.

Spanish website topbarcos.com has hundreds of boats listed for you to get an idea of what’s available in the second-hand market, as well as a page for new vessels.

Sailing boats are the more environmentally friendly option and require the most skill to sail, and include light sailboats, catamarans and trimarans. Again, prices vary from €5,000 to over a million, depending on the size, type of sail, material and quality of the boat.

Once you’ve decided on the type of boat you want and found one you’d like to buy, you’ll need to consider any potential legal requirements.

A woman sits next to a yacht in Puerto Banús luxury marina in Marbella. (Photo by JORGE GUERRERO / AFP)

What are the legal requirements when buying a boat in Spain?

  • The correct nautical qualifications for the type and size of the boat you want to buy. There are different types of nautical licences to sail different boats in Spain, such as the PNB (Basic Navigation Skipper), the PER (Recreational Boats Skipper), the PY (Yacht Skipper) or the CY (Yacht Captain). Each has specific limitations in terms of length, power, distance from the coast and the type of sailing you can do.
  • Compulsory civil liability insurance that covers possible damages that you may cause to third parties with your boat.
  • Have all the necessary documentation for the boat, such as the certificate of seaworthiness and (essentially an MOT for the boat, showing that it’s in working order) and the navigation permit.
  • You’ll also need to pay the corresponding taxes on the boat purchase, such as VAT (21 percent), the special tax on certain means of transport (12 percent) or the transfer tax (4 or 6 percent, depending on the region).

READ ALSO: How do I get my boat licence in Spain

What other factors should you keep in mind before buying?

Think about what type of navigation you want to do, how often, with how many people and what your budget is. 

Don’t go with the first boat you see. Search and compare different models, brands, prices, conditions etc and don’t forget to keep an eye out for scams.

It’s a no-brainer but try the boat before you buy it, don’t just rely on photos or descriptions. Request a test ride to check the condition and navigational operation of the boat. 

If you do not have much experience or knowledge of nautical matters, it’s advisable to hire a professional to accompany you throughout the purchasing process. It could help you avoid possible legal, technical or administrative problems that arise.

They will also assist you with checking the condition of the boat’s interior: the carpentry, the engine, the electrical installation, the tanks, bilge, kitchen, bathroom and other compartments.

Here is a list of dozens of Spain-based brokers (as they’re called) or nautical companies that can assist you. 

Crucially, they will also be able to give you an informed assessment of what price you should be paying for the boat you’ve chosen. 

How can you pay for a boat?

Unless you have enough disposable income to pay for it cash, you probably want to know what kind of financing is available to you. 

There is the nautical mortgage (hipoteca náutica), which mimics the system for property mortgages, including the need for a down payment and embargo conditions in non-payment situations. 

Nautical credits (Créditos náuticos) also exist, which again are not too different from regular loans, including fewer notary costs than nautical mortgages and fixed interest rates. 

And lastly, nautical leasing is also an option, which is when a company acquires a boat and rents it to a customer for a certain period of time (normally between 4 and 15 years) and usually with an option to buy at the end of the contract.

Don’t forget the upcoming maintenance costs

If you manage all that and buy the boat, you’ll need to maintain the boat and pay costs to do so. These include:

The mooring: ie. the place where the boat is left when it is not in use. The price of mooring depends on the size of the boat and the location of the port. It can range from around €100 per month to several thousand.

However, be warned, in Spain these aren’t easy to come by. The Association of Industries, Commerce and Nautical Services (ADIN), estimates that Spain has only 107,894 moorings for 229,000 boats.

You’ll also need to pay for periodical technical checks that must be carried out on the boat from time to time to check its condition and operation. Again, the price depends on the type and size of the boat and the services contracted. It can vary from around €200 euros to several thousand.

Regularly cleaning the boat to avoid dirt, rust, algae, and parasites damaging the boat can also be quite costly. It can vary from as little as €50 for smaller boats to several hundred for bigger ones, and most experts recommend it should be done every 4-6 weeks.

READ ALSO: How to live on a boat in Spanish waters

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