Spain has always been and remains a country of great contrasts. Living in the north and in the south, in the capital and on the periphery, in the countryside and in the city is not the same thing in Spain. And that's putting it mildly. And the differences are not only cultural, but also economic and social. Buying a house in large cities or tourist areas is much more expensive than buying a house or apartment in the so-called "deserted Spain". Not to mention the fact that "deserted Spain" is simply depopulated in many areas... that's why it is deserted.
According to a recent study by the financial comparator HelpMyCash, housing prices are rising rapidly in the most densely populated regions of Spain, but remain exceptionally low in its sparsely populated provinces. The difference is more than significant. Mikel Riera, a specialist in mortgage loans and housing comparator, claims that buying apartments even in small cities can cost 7 times more than in the interior of the country, "deserted Spain".
Rising prices in major cities and tourist areas
To determine how much it costs to buy a home in different regions of Spain, HelpMyCash analysts used data for the third quarter of 2022 as a basis. During this period, there is the most extensive data on the market from the Association of Real Estate Inspectors of Spain. The information from the Association also contains average prices per square meter of housing in each province of the country.
In the comparator study, this price is used to calculate the cost of an average apartment with an area of 80 square meters.
So, according to HelpMyCash, Gipuzkoa is the most expensive Spanish province in terms of square meters of new housing. On average, an apartment with an area of 80 square meters will cost the buyer 309 310 euros here. In second place are the Balearic Islands with an average price of 293,825 euros, in third place is Vizcaya with 285,620 euros. The fourth and fifth places are occupied by Madrid and Barcelona — 267,840 and 257,340 euros.
As for housing on the secondary market, these 5 provinces are also the most expensive, but in a slightly different order. Gipuzkoa still tops the ranking with an average price of 278,555 euros, but it is followed by Madrid (277,890 euros), the Balearic Islands (262,570 euros), Barcelona (241,650 euros) and Vizcaya (224,060 euros).
Housing at minimum prices in "deserted Spain"
The cheapest housing will be in the deserted provinces, as we indicated earlier. For example, a new apartment of 80 square meters in Cuenca costs an average of only 39,515 euros. This is 7 times less than in Gipuzkoa. Cuenca's neighbors by rating are Ciudad Real (63,870 euros), Jaen (70,720 euros), Avila (71,090 euros) and Toledo (71,270 euros).
For apartments from the secondary market, the cheapest will be Ciudad Real — an average of 52,495 euros. This is 5 times less than in Gipuzkoa. Next to the rating are Teruel (55,040 euros), Cuenca (61,475 euros), Jaen (61,890 euros) and Badajoz (65,145 euros).