House Prices in Spain Keep Rising in 2026: What’s Really Happening?

Over the past few years, we have heard almost everything.

That house prices were due for a correction.

That interest rates would slow down the market.

That after such strong price increases, an adjustment would inevitably follow.

And yet, the latest data once again reveals a much more complex reality.

House prices in Spain continue to rise.

The national average now stands at around €2,792/m², representing an increase of approximately 11.1% over the last twelve months.

But perhaps the most interesting figure is not the national average.

When we look at the map of Spain, enormous differences appear between provinces.

And that is where we can begin to understand what is really happening.

What Will You Discover in This Article?

We are going to analyse how house prices are evolving in Spain, which provinces are recording the strongest increases, why Mediterranean areas are gaining prominence, what is happening with property sales, and the role being played by limited supply, new-build housing and foreign buyers.

And, naturally, we will take a closer look at Alicante, because it presents one of the most striking figures in the current property market.

Spain Exceeds €2,700/m²

The national average price now stands at approximately:

€2,792/m²

The accumulated growth shows the intensity of the latest property cycle:

+2.9% in three months

+11.1% in twelve months

+38.1% in three years

These are significant figures.

But relying solely on the Spanish average can lead to misleading conclusions.

Because there is no longer really a single Spanish property market.

There are many different markets evolving at different speeds.

Spain’s Property Map Shows Significant Differences

If we look at house and apartment prices in some of Spain’s main provinces, these differences become very clear.

Madrid continues to have one of the country’s most expensive urban property markets.

Barcelona remains at high price levels.

Málaga has established itself as one of the Mediterranean’s major premium property markets.

The Balearic Islands are practically in a category of their own.

But the strongest percentage increases are appearing elsewhere.

Among them:

Alicante and Murcia.

Approximate Evolution Over the Last Twelve Months

The Mediterranean Is Gaining Momentum

One of the clearest trends is precisely this.

Madrid and Barcelona remain two of Spain’s most important property markets.

But if we look only at the speed of price growth, other provinces are moving ahead.

Valencia.

Murcia.

Málaga.

And especially Alicante.

A combination of factors helps explain this evolution:

population growth,
international demand,
labour mobility,
remote working,
second homes,
residential tourism,
and a housing supply that is not always growing at the same pace.

The result is particularly strong pressure in certain Mediterranean markets.

Alicante: One of the Most Striking Figures in Spain

This is worth examining more closely.

Not because this article is specifically about Alicante, but because its performance helps us understand exactly what is happening in certain parts of Spain.

The province is recording approximately:

🏠 €2,944/m² for houses → +16%

🏢 €2,693/m² for apartments → +16%

This is a considerably stronger increase than that currently being recorded in Madrid or Barcelona.

And there is another important detail:

houses and apartments are growing at almost exactly the same rate.

This suggests that the pressure is not concentrated exclusively on one particular type of property.

In Alicante, several markets also converge simultaneously:

national buyers,
foreign buyers,
primary residences,
second homes,
and new-build properties.

An especially powerful combination.

But Something Seems Strange: Fewer Homes Are Being Sold

This is where one of the most interesting contradictions in the current market appears.

Prices continue to rise.

However, property sales have started to moderate.

Spain ended 2025 with approximately 751,900 transactions, but several months in 2026 have recorded year-on-year declines.

So:

How can prices continue to rise if fewer homes are being sold?

Because a reduction in the number of transactions does not necessarily mean that demand has disappeared.

It may mean something very different:

that there are fewer and fewer properties available that buyers are willing or able to purchase.

The Problem May Be More About Supply Than Demand

This is probably one of the keys to understanding Spain’s current property market.

For years, Spain has been building fewer homes than certain markets require.

Some estimates put the accumulated housing shortage at more than 700,000 homes.

And that shortage is not evenly distributed.

It is particularly concentrated in areas experiencing:

population growth;

job creation;

an influx of foreign residents;

tourism pressure;

and strong residential demand.

Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Alicante and Málaga are good examples.

When demand remains strong but the available supply is insufficient, something quite logical happens:

prices rise.

New-Build Housing Is Behaving Differently

Within this scenario, there is another particularly interesting factor.

New-build homes continue to find buyers.

While some resale transactions are slowing down, new-build sales continue to show strength.

And this also makes sense.

Today’s buyers are placing much greater value on features such as:

energy efficiency,
insulation,
aerothermal systems,
communal areas,
terraces,
parking,
swimming pools,
and less need for renovation.

There is also an additional problem:

not enough new housing is being built in every area where demand exists.

When a good development appears in a sought-after location, the best units can be reserved long before construction is completed.

Foreign Buyers Remain a Key Part of the Market

Spain has another characteristic that distinguishes it from many other European property markets.

A significant part of its demand comes from abroad.

Foreign Buyers Have a Much Greater Impact in Alicante Than in Spain as a Whole

Across Spain, foreign buyers account for around 14% of residential property transactions.

But that national average hides enormous differences.

In the Valencian Community, the proportion of international buyers is well above the Spanish average.

And in the province of Alicante, the phenomenon is even more pronounced.

During 2025, foreign buyers accounted for approximately 51.5% of all residential property transactions in the province, compared with 48.5% for Spanish buyers. Alicante therefore became the only Spanish province where foreigners bought more homes than Spanish nationals.

This figure helps explain why Alicante can behave differently from the national property market.

Demand here does not depend solely on salaries, interest rates or the purchasing power of Spanish residents. There is also strong international demand from countries such as the Netherlands, United Kingdom, Belgium, Poland, Germany and Sweden, among others.

And in certain areas of the Costa Blanca, particularly those strongly oriented towards international buyers, the actual proportion of foreign purchasers can be even higher than the provincial average.

Buying a Home Also Requires Increasing Financial Effort

There is, however, another side to the market.

House prices are rising faster than the incomes of many families.

The theoretical financial effort required to purchase a home now stands at around 35.7% of the average household’s income.

This is beginning to cause significant changes.

Buyers leaving major cities.

Families looking towards surrounding municipalities.

People choosing smaller homes.

Or buyers beginning to consider provinces where they can still get more property for the same budget.

And this may also explain part of the growth in secondary markets.

Renting Isn’t Making Things Any Easier Either

Those who decide to wait before buying are not necessarily finding an affordable alternative.

The rental market remains under significant pressure in many Spanish cities.

The average price is approaching:

€15.3/m²

with an annual increase of around:

4.2%.

In addition, the reduction in available rental supply has made finding a home increasingly difficult in certain markets.

As a result, some families eventually reconsider buying.

Not because property is cheap.

But because renting isn’t cheap either.

Is Spain in Another Property Bubble?

Whenever house prices reach record highs, comparisons with 2007 inevitably appear.

But comparing the two periods solely on the basis of nominal prices is too simplistic.

Current prices are close to those previous highs in nominal terms.

However, after adjusting for inflation, they would still be approximately 33% lower in real terms.

There are also important differences:

banks apply stricter lending criteria;

debt levels are different;

construction levels are much lower;

there is a significant housing shortage;

and Spain’s population has continued to grow.

None of this guarantees that prices will continue rising.

But neither does it allow us to automatically conclude that we are seeing a repeat of 2007.

What a Property Price Map Can Never Tell You

Maps are extremely useful for understanding trends.

But they have one limitation.

Within the same province, completely different property markets can exist.

Two homes located barely ten kilometres apart may have:

different levels of demand,
different types of buyers,
different levels of supply,
and different potential.

That is why an average price per square metre should be used as a reference, never as an automatic valuation.

This is particularly evident in coastal provinces.

And Alicante is probably one of the best examples.

Alicante city, Torrevieja, Guardamar, Orihuela Costa, Ciudad Quesada, Santa Pola and Altea may all belong to the same province, yet they can respond to very different property markets.

What the Major Property Portals Don’t Tell You

There is another part of the market that rarely appears in statistics.

Developments where prices change during construction.

Homes reserved before they ever reach the major property portals.

Properties that appear attractively priced but require significant renovation.

Or seemingly more expensive homes with a location or features that are difficult to replicate.

Statistics explain what the market is doing.

But they cannot tell you whether a particular property is a good purchase.

SalyMar Advice

Trying to predict the exact point at which the market will reach its peak or bottom is extremely difficult.

That is why we believe there is a much more useful question than:

“Are house prices going to fall?”

The question should be:

“Does this property make sense for me at today’s price?”

Analysing the market is important.

But then you need to analyse the property itself.

Its location.

Its price compared with genuine alternatives.

The available supply.

Its quality.

The associated costs.

And, above all, why you are buying it.

Because making a good property decision does not necessarily mean buying at the cheapest possible moment.

It means buying well.

An Increasingly Uneven Spanish Property Market

The latest data leaves us with a fairly clear conclusion.

Spain continues to experience significant house price growth.

But not every market is experiencing the same situation.

Some major cities are showing more moderate growth.

Other Mediterranean markets continue to accelerate.

And provinces such as Alicante and Murcia, with increases close to 16%, are currently showing some of the strongest growth rates in the country.

Understanding these differences will become increasingly important.

Because it probably no longer makes much sense to talk simply about:

“house prices in Spain.”

Every area is writing its own story.

And that is precisely the story worth understanding before you buy.

Not Ready to Buy Yet, or Would You Prefer to Make a More Confident Decision?

Explore our free resources to learn more about the different areas, understand the buying process, and avoid common mistakes before choosing your home on the Costa Blanca.

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