The Valencian Community as a whole, and the province of Alicante in particular, have not escaped the rise in house prices seen in recent months as energy and building material costs have increased. Although prices are still a long way from Spain’s most expensive areas, the price per square metre here has risen by an average of 6-10% over the past year.
This is shown in the latest report by the valuation company Tinsa, according to which the price per m² in the province of Alicante rose by 6.4% year on year (1.9% quarter on quarter). This is the most moderate rise of the region’s three provinces, but even so, homes in Alicante remain the most expensive, at €1,404/m². In Valencia the figure is €1,364/m², up 7.2% year on year (0.9% quarter on quarter), and in Castellón €1,140/m², up 10.8% over the year (2.6% over the quarter). In any case, this is still well below the peaks reached shortly before the Spanish property “bubble” burst in 2008: Alicante is 28.6% lower, Valencia 26.8% and Castellón 35%.
Among the provincial capitals of the Valencian Community, homes are most expensive in the city of Valencia, at €1,913 per m², up 8% a year. In the city of Alicante a square metre is valued at €1,546, up 5.1%, and in Castellón at €1,152, an increase of 3.7% over the past year.
Among the other towns, Benidorm (€1,746), Orihuela and Torrevieja stand out, with prices above €1,450 per m², while in Alcoy and Elda they do not even reach €900. The most noticeable rise in the province of Alicante was in Elche, up 8.6% to €1,246.
The average mortgage payment is €510 in Alicante, €546 in Valencia and €418 in Castellón. In all cases these figures are below the national average (€678) and much lower than the most expensive mortgages, found in the Balearic Islands (€1,228 a month), the Community of Madrid (951) and the province of Málaga (808). Based on the calculation of theoretical annual effort, a household in Alicante has to spend 34% of its income on housing, compared with 28.3% in Valencia and 25% in Castellón.
