According to the Idealista/data analysis, in the ranking of the highest prices and rents in the market at the end of 2021, the municipalities of Benahavís (Málaga), Calvià (Balearic Islands) and Pozuelo de Alarcón (Madrid) are once again at the top with values above 1.1 million euros on average, and with the most expensive rents in the country, above 1,900 euros per month. The towns of Madrid and its outskirts are the most sought after for purchase, while Vitoria and the Cataluña cities are the most sought after in Idealista, the main real estate marketplace in southern Europe.
The residential market has closed 2021 with a different evolution if we talk about sale or rent.
While used houses for sale have increased by an average of 2.8% year-on-year in Spain, although with falls in some large capitals, the prices of rental income have fallen by an average of 4.5% at the national level, with increases in the big cities, except in Madrid, Bilbao or Sevilla.
This latest ranking of the 100 most expensive municipalities in Spain, due to the offer of prices for sale and rental income requested by the owners, reconfirms that the high-standing coastal areas and the large capitals are the highest in the country.
To enter this ranking of the locations with the highest and most demanded prices, the markets must comply with a wide range of advertisements in idealista (more than 1,500 between sale and rent) during the analyzed quarter, in order to be able to carry out a detailed study of their prices and demand.
The most expensive municipalities in Spain: La Zagaleta, Costa d’en Blanes and La Finca
The classification of the most expensive municipalities in Spain is marked by the presence of some of the most outstanding luxury developments such as La Zagaleta, in Benahavís; the area of Costa d’en Blanes, in Calvià; or La Finca, in Pozuelo de Alarcón. These three towns have the highest average prices in Spain, exceeding 1.1 million euros. In fact, Benahavís exceeds 1.5 million euros.
Behind them, there are coastal towns scattered around the Mediterranean such as Marbella (Málaga), which is close to one million euros, or Sotogrande (Cádiz), which is close to 800,000 euros in average prices. Above 600,000 euros on average are Sitges (Barcelona), Jávea (Alicante) or Eivissa (Balearic Islands). Above half a million euros are Castelldefels (Barcelona) and Llucmajor (Balearic Islands).
The first provincial capital to appear on the list is San Sebastián (13th), with an average price of 482,000 euros, ahead of Palma (15th), with 450,000 euros, and Madrid (17th), with 400,000 euros.
Compared to the previous quarter, the towns of Alhaurín de la Torre or Rincón de la Victoria appear, above 315,000 euros on average, and also the municipalities on the outskirts of Madrid, such as Torrejón de Ardoz, Móstoles or Getafe, with prices means between 175,000 euros and 195,000 euros.
The greatest relative demand for the purchase of houses is concentrated in Madrid and its outskirts
The classification changes completely in terms of the relative demand for housing, that is, those houses that receive the greatest pressure from demand over supply, based on the number of “leads” (contacts by email, counteroffers and saved in favorites) received by idealistic ad.
In this ranking, Madrid once again occupies the upper part of the table, but this time it is strongly accompanied by the municipalities on its periphery. In the previous classification of the third quarter it was accompanied by Pozuelo de Alarcón (now 3rd) and Alcalá de Henares (6th), now they are joined by the Madrid towns that are coming in strongly, if we talk about demand, such as Getafe (2nd), Móstoles (4th ) and Torrejón de Ardoz (5th).
Capitals of outstanding provinces also appear, such as Zaragoza (7th), Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (8th), Seville (9th), Santa Cruz de Tenerife (10th) or Valencia (11th).
It should be noted that Pozuelo de Alarcón is the only municipality that is at the top of both classifications, since both Benahavís (100th in the demand ranking) and Calvià (66th) fall to lower positions.
The rental market
The price ranking for the rental market once again incorporates the towns where we saw the most expensive values for sale, and where two new municipalities are added, such as Marbella (2nd) and Sotogrande (3rd). These two towns in Andalusia, together with Benahavís (1st) and Pozuelo de Alarcón (4th) in Madrid, exceed 2,000 euros on average in monthly rents. Once again, Benahavís has an advantage over the rest, since more than 2,700 euros per month is requested on average.
Very close in the ranking of towns was Calvià, which closed the year with average incomes of around 1,915 euros per month, ahead of Castelldefels (1,861 €/month). The top 10 municipalities with the highest incomes are completed by: the Ibizan capital (€1,578/month); Sitges (€1,565/month), in Barcelona; Estepona (€1,465/month) and Alhaurín de la Torre (€1,347/month), both in the province of Malaga.
Another 10 Spanish towns that present average rental prices above 1,000 euros per month, are located in coastal areas such as Llucmajor, Mijas (Málaga), and Altea, Jávea or Alfaz del Pí (the last three in the province of Alicante) , and in provincial capitals such as Madrid (€1,163/month), Barcelona (€1,160/month), Donosti (€1,146/month) or Palma (€1,090/month), along with Getxo (€1,053/m²), in Vizcaya.
The Cataluña locations are the most demanded to rent
The main relative demand in the rental market is in Barcelona and its metropolitan area. Despite the fact that Vitoria repeats itself as the municipality with the greatest pressure from demand on the supply of flats for rent in its market, the areas that concentrate the weight of demand this last quarter of the year (ahead of the city of Barcelona itself ) are L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, Terrassa, Sabadell, Badalona and Mataró.
Along with them, there are two other towns such as Girona, the second provincial capital on the list, and Salou (Tarragona). The top 10 rental demand is completed by the municipality of San Cristóbal de La Laguna, in Tenerife, very marked by the presence of the university in its municipality and by the entire student movement that surrounds it.
After Vitoria and Girona, the capitals with the highest relative demand for rent are Castellón de la Plana (20th), Santa Cruz de Tenerife (21st), Almería (23rd), Madrid (24th), Valencia (25th), Tarragona (26th), San Sebastián (27th) and Zaragoza (29th).
