Property Prices

Property prices will vary according to supply and demand, their location, size and position. It is therefore not possible to give an authoritative price guide for all Spanish property which is best obtained by referring to property magazines or English language newspapers. As a guide, however, there is a 125 kilometre strip of coastline between Alicante and Cartagena which is developing at a prodigious rate. These properties are heavily advertised in the European press with the following price indicators:

• 2 bedroom apartment 120,000 Euros
• 3 bedroom corner duplex 170,000 Euros
• 3 bedroom detached villa 250,000 Euros
• Individually designed 3 bedroom from 350,000 Euros villa

Using these benchmark property prices it is possible to make some additional generalised statements.

• Property is more expensive adjacent to the coast and cheaper 15 kilometres inland.
• Property is more expensive on the Costa del Sol, the Canary and Balearic Islands
• Property is generally cheaper the further you travel north.
• Property in Andalusia, the home of white walled individual properties restored or in need of renovation, can be surprisingly expensive if only a short distance from the Costa del Sol.
• Within each region it is possible to find exclusive areas of new property attracting prices of 400,000 Euros and, conversely, close by in working towns cheaper property renovated to a high standard at around 200,000 Euros.

A National Picture

A National Survey of property prices takes place annually showing the price of property regionally. The price used is the selling price of a property in Euros per square meter. The figures are also used to calculate property inflation. Property per square meter is consistently more expensive in Madrid and Barcelona, and consistently cheaper in Galicia, Castilla La Mancha and Extremadura. The housing stock in big cities is predominantly tall apartments and in the cheaper regions anything but apartments. The national average is 1500€ per square meter.

For the last 20 years property inflation has averaged 20%. In the last few years this has dropped slightly to 15-20%. Property bordering the Mediterranean has a higher inflation factor.

Paying The Money

New property

• 10 per cent on signing the contract
• 40 per cent stage payment
• 25 per cent stage payment
• 25 per cent on completion

Resale property

• 10 per cent on signing the contract
• 90 per cent on completion

A partly built property

• 50 per cent on signing the contract (walls, roof, windows and doors completed)
• 25 per cent stage payment
• 25 per cent on completion

The Basic Rules

• A deposit of ten per cent or less is normal for a new or resale property. For a partly built property it will vary according to the amount of work completed. It is payable by cash or banker’ s draft to the agent or to the seller.
• All payments can be negotiated.
• The deposit is non returnable if the buyer fails to complete unless there is a clause in the contract to the contrary.
• If the builder fails to deliver a new property on time penalty charges accrue. Again these should be stated in the contract. In practice the contract will always state a flexible date of completion.
• If a seller fails to complete the transaction the buyer is recompensed to a value twice the amount of the deposit unless the contract states otherwise.
• Final and stage payments should be paid by banker’ s draft in Euros.