MADRID – Owning your own house by the sea is an attractive prospect for many people. With more than 8,000 kilometres of coastline, there are plenty of options in Spain. Only the prices vary quite a bit.
Mortgage portal iAhorro has now revealed the most affordable coastal provinces in Spain to buy a house. The research provides a detailed overview of the most affordable options, and the report lists the cheapest coastal province. This still means that the prices for homes by the sea are obviously higher than the average for the province. Still, we don’t want to keep the ranking from you.
Cheapest coastal provinces
According to the report, Castellón is the cheapest province in the Valencia region with an average house price of €157,000. In the second quarter of 2023, the average price fell by 8.72% from $172,000 in the first quarter.
The region of Murcia is in second place, with an average price of €160,000. Here, that price is down 6.43% from the first quarter.
Other provinces in the Valencia region saw a moderate increase, such as Alicante with 1.19% (€170,000 on average) and Valencia with 1.78% (€229,000 on average).
Most expensive coastal provinces
At the other end of the spectrum are the coastal provinces in the Basque Country, the Balearic Islands and Catalonia. Vizcaya province in the Basque Country reached an average price of €330,000. Meanwhile the average price in Álava was the highest in the country at €349,000. In the Balearic Islands, the average price increased by 10.14% to €304,000. And in Catalonia, the price averaged €304,000, despite a decrease of 6.46% compared to the first quarter.
Reasons for price variation
The report of the mortgage portal points to the increased costs, mainly due to the higher Euribor and the increased interest rates of the European Central Bank (ECB). The average price of houses in all Spanish coastal areas together fell 2.47% between April and June 2023 compared to January to March.
The rise in Euribor and interest rates has led to more expensive mortgages. “Someone who previously could buy a house for $300,000 may now only be able to consider a house for $250,000 or even less due to the increase in rates,” said an iAhorro spokesperson.
Earlier we wrote about the cheapest coastal municipalities in Spain to buy or rent a home. The top 3 consist of the places Ferrol in Galicia, Gandia in the province of Valencia and Cartagena in the Murcia region.