If there is one place in Spain where house prices are out of control, it is Marbella. The city on the Costa del Sol recorded the highest increase of all major Spanish municipalities in the past year: 19.9%.
With that, the price per square metre reached a new record high of €4,121, according to data from real estate portal Idealista, which relates to existing homes offered for sale.
Aside from Marbella, two other towns in Málaga province also saw house prices rise by more than 10%. These were Mijas and Fuengirola, which rose by 14.2% and 12.1% respectively. Both are at record highs, as is the capital Málaga, which saw an 8% increase between January 2022 and January 2023.
These increases are well above the average annual increase nationally, which was 5.4% in January, according to Idealista. A week ago, the Spanish National Institute of Statistics (INE) published the advance CPI data for January, showing an annual rate of 5.8%. So, at the national level, the price of apartments is rising less than inflation. But this trend contrasts with what is happening in places like the Costa del Sol, where apartments are rising two or three times faster than the CPI.
Provincial capitals with price rise greater than inflation
Idealista’s report lists the 16 provincial capitals where house prices have increased more than the INE’s inflation rate from year to year. Santa Cruz de Tenerife (18.7%), Alicante (13.2%), Valencia (11.4%), Guadalajara (11.3%) and Cuenca (10.8%) lead these increases with double-digit percentages. In some cases they are doubling and even tripling the CPI index. Also notable are Palma (9.9%), with the highest average price of these 16 capitals, with its €3,467/m2; Seville (8.1%) and Málaga (8%), which reached historical highs of €2,365/m2. In these cities, house prices rose more than inflation. The same goes for capital cities like Segovia (9.9%), Pontevedra (8.3%), Badajoz (7.3%), Huelva (7.2%), A Coruña (6.8%), Tarragona (6.6%), Granada (6.3%) and Pamplona (5.8%)
Increase lower than inflation
In 30 other capitals, house prices rose, but less than inflation. Among them the major markets of Madrid (4.9%) and Barcelona (3%). Here, there were some of the highest average prices among provincial capitals, at €3,929/m2 and €4,050/m2 respectively, after San Sebastian at €5,124/m2, following a 3.2% year-on-year rise in January.
In which capital cities did house prices fall?
Six capital cities recorded a year-on-year decline in average house prices. They are Palencia (-3.5%), Zamora (-2.5%), Ceuta (-2.4%), Jaén (-2.2%), León (-0.4%) and Ávila (-0.3%). Ávila (€1,078/m2) and Jaén (€1,083/m2) even have some of the cheapest house prices of these cities.
Municipalities with more than 80,000 inhabitants
Idealista’s data also analyses the development of house prices in the 50 cities with more than 80,000 inhabitants in Spain. Of these, almost half (24) have annual price increases for owner-occupied houses above the CPI in January, and in eight of them by double digits. Of these, Marbella (19.9%), Orihuela (18.5%) and Torrevieja (16.1%) stand out, where prices remain at record highs of €4,121/m2, €2,246/m2 and €1,672/m2 respectively.
Rising above 10% are Jerez de la Frontera (14.4%) and El Puerto de Santa María (14%), both in Cadiz, as well as Mijas (14.2%) and Fuengirola (12.1%), both in Málaga, along with San Cristóbal de la Laguna (13%) on the island of Tenerife, and the Madrid towns of Alcorcón (10.8%) and Rivas-Vaciamadrid (10.6%).
These increases were offset by price decreases in five of these major cities, including Algeciras (-5.8%), Telde (-5.5%), El Ejido (-3%), Santiago de Compostela (-1.3%) and San Sebastián de los Reyes (-0.9%).
Large urban areas
In the municipalities surrounding Madrid there are towns with price increases greater than those of the capital itself (4.9%) and in nine towns above inflation (5.8%). Besides the aforementioned Alcorcón (10.8%) and Rivas-Vaciamadrid (10.6%), these include Leganés (9.5%), Las Rozas de Madrid (8.3%), Coslada (7.5%), Alcobendas (7.4%), Alcalá de Henares (7.2%), Torrejón de Ardoz (6.9%) and Móstoles (6.8%).
The cities of Pozuelo de Alarcón (4.9%), Getafe (4.8%), Fuenlabrada (4.4%), Parla (4.2%), and only in San Sebastián de los Reyes did prices fall in January compared to a year ago, with the aforementioned 0.9% drop.
Rising above 10% are Jerez de la Frontera (14.4%) and El Puerto de Santa María (14%), both in Cadiz, as well as Mijas (14.2%) and Fuengirola (12.1%), both in Málaga, along with San Cristóbal de la Laguna (13%) on the island of Tenerife, and the Madrid cities of Alcorcón (10.8%) and Rivas-Vaciamadrid (10.6%).
These increases were offset by price decreases in five of these major cities, including Algeciras (-5.8%), Telde (-5.5%), El Ejido (-3%), Santiago de Compostela (-1.3%) and San Sebastián de los Reyes (-0.9%).
In Barcelona, increases in the metropolitan area of the Catalan capital are more moderate than in places in Madrid, where Sant Cugat del Vallès (6.6%) and Mataró (6.5%) stand out, still above inflation.Hospitalet de Llobregat (4.9%) and Cornellà (3.8%) show increases still higher than in the city of Barcelona (3%), followed by Terrassa (2.8%), Sabadell (2.6%), Sant Boi de Llobregat (2.5%), Santa Coloma de Gramanet (1.7%) and Badalona (0.8%).
The province of Cadiz (4.7%) also stands out. While the capital grew less than the CPI, nearby cities, such as Jerez de la Frontera or Puerto de Santa María, grew twice as fast as inflation, along with Chiclana (9.3%) or San Fernando (7.7%).
