House prices in Spain are growing everywhere, but at different rates, which leads to an increase in the gap between the most expensive and the cheapest regions of the country, according to Caixabank.
In the first quarter of 2022, San Sebastian (Gipuzkoa) became the city with the most expensive price of residential real estate in Spain. The square meter of housing in the capital Gipuzkoa exceeded the mark of 4,200 euros, as reported by the data provided by the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Development. For comparison, one of the lowest price tags for housing can be found in Puertollano (Ciudad Real) - 560 euros per square meter. This is 7.5 times less than the national record holder.
The cost of real estate is influenced by various factors, such as geographical location, its orientation to the cardinal directions, the availability of communications and infrastructure, access to public services (approx. medicine, education) and spaces, age and condition of the facility, elevators, central heating in the building. Do not forget about energy efficiency.
According to Tinsa, a platform for real estate valuation and digital data management, a typical property in Puertogliano is an apartment with four bedrooms and an area of 90 to 110 square meters. The age of the objects usually exceeds 30 years, and the average cost reaches 68,800 euros. One of the most important industrial centers of Castilla-La Mancha, Puertollano is a key economic hub of the southern half of Spain.
The city has abundant industrial development. Here, for example, the Repsol petrochemical complex is located — the only oil refinery inside Spain. His activities have led to the creation of many support companies and stimulated the development of the service sector in the region.
Back in 2018, the population of Puertollano exceeded the mark of 47,880 people. In 2019, according to the latest available data from the Household Income Distribution Atlas, the average gross income per person was 13,900 euros. In June 2022, the unemployment rate in the municipality was 22.5%.
San Sebastian: 70-90 square meters for 444,000 euros
On the other hand, we have San Sebastian, a typical house in which is an apartment with four bedrooms, but with an area of 70 to 90 square meters. Noticeably less Puertogliano. The age of the property also exceeds 30 years, but the average cost is 6.5 times higher and reaches 444,167 euros according to Tinsa.
The reason for such a striking difference between Puertollano and San Sebastian is that the latter is one of the largest tourist cities in Baskonia and Spain as a whole. More than 15,000 jobs are associated with this sector. This activity provides 14% of the municipality's GDP. This is a huge market, popular among both Spaniards and foreign tourists.