If you are looking for property bargains in Valencia, you won’t get very far. Most of the property prices have returned to pre-crisis levels, and Valencia has never been more expensive…
It has been nearly 15 years since Spain’s property crisis began. Many people recall the good old days at the turn of the century, when property values in Spain rose year after year by up to 20%. It appeared to go on indefinitely, and people were buying like there was no tomorrow. You would have been denied a 100% mortgage only if you openly stated to the bank manager that you had no intention of ever repaying it. Even then, your chances were 50/50.
Then everything came to a halt. According to the records, property in the Comunidad Valenciana began losing value first in Alicante (Feb 2006), then in Valencia (Oct 2006), and finally in Castellon (2007). By 2010, the crisis had extended to even the most affluent areas of the province. The price differences between pre- and post-crisis were dramatic, in some cases reaching 70%. Many people predicted that Spain would never recover.
But it did. Despite many other factors, such as the information revolution, the exodus from small villages, rapid growth in tourism, and, finally, the Corona Pandemic, Valencian real estate experienced rapid growth, with many areas reaching historic highs. The picture was more mixed elsewhere in the province.
Are there any property bargains in Valencia still to be found?
Well, a handful, if you are looking at historical prices – but further away from the big centres. If you buy in Ador, a village close to Gandia, you will today still pay 59.2% less for a square meter than before the crisis. Same goes for Torrent (-52%), Villalonga (-46,3%), Sueca and Rafelbuñol (-43%), Puig and Villamarxant (-42%) and finally Xativa (-40%).
However, you won’t be able to find these prices all over the province. There are fewer bargains near Valencia, or in places like Ontinyent (-17% from historical high), Rocafort (-16%), Vinalesa (-12%), Tavernes Blanques (-10%), Picanya (-7%), Xeresa (-1.7%).
Valencia city is down by an average of 24.3% from its historical highs. However, growth in the past five years has not been evenly distributed.
The crisis appears to be far from over in Benicalap (-41,2%), L’Oliveretta (-34.5%), and Rascanya (-27.6%). If you are happy to live in those areas, you can still find some good deals and hope that the price will rise eventually.
However, there are many areas where you will no longer find bargains. Ciutat Vella‘s prices are roughly the same today as they were before the crisis. El Carmen hit its all-time high in March 2019, La Seu in May 2020, and San Francesc recently. Only Xerea is still about 7% below its historical high.
There are a number of other barrios where the bargains have vanished. This year, the barrios Malilla, Fonteta de Sant Luis, and Na Rovella in Quatre Carreres reached their highest prices ever, as did Marxalenes and Trinitat in La Saidia, La Creu Coberta in Jesus, and L’Amistat in Algiros.
Still not there, but very close to historic maximums are Cabañal (-3.1%) and El Grau (-1%) in Poblats Maritims, as well as Ciutat Universitària (-4,1%) and Exposicio (-5,9%) in Pla Del Real. Ruzafa in L’Eixample reached a high in September 2019, while Gran Via is still down 4.7 percent. Botanic (-6.9 percent) and Arrancapins (-7.2 percent) in Extramurs are also close to historic highs.
Given that not even a pandemic has been able to reverse this trend, we can safely say that we are entering a new era in which each new year may set a new historic high for Valencian prices. Until, of course, we hit another housing crisis…
© Property Bargains In Valencia – Are There Any Left? – TheValencian
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