The price of housing in Spain increased by 14.3% in the first quarter of the year compared to the same period of the previous year, which represents a rebound of 11.8% in real terms —once the effect of inflation has been discounted—, reaching 1,987 euros per square meter, according to the latest report from Tinsa by Accumin.
Since the low recorded after the bursting of the real estate bubble, in the summer of 2015, the value of new and used housing in Spain has increased by 68%, although it still remains 4.5% below the highs reached in 2007. If analyzed in real terms, the price increase since the 2015 low is 32% and the price continues 34% below 2007 levels.
The most intense upturns in housing prices, both new and second-hand, are concentrated in the northern cornice, the Community of Madrid, various capitals of the peninsular interior, and the Mediterranean coast.
Compared to the last quarter of the previous year, the advance between January and March was 3.2% at a quarterly rate. The year-on-year variation, three tenths above that observed in the fourth quarter of 2025, has been continuously accelerating since the last stretch of 2024, when the year-on-year increase stood at 4.2%.
"At the beginning of 2026, the impact of past interest rate cuts, which was very present in January 2025, has already been absorbed by the market and the trend towards a stabilization of transactions seems reasonable", has pointed out the director of Tinsa by Accumin's Research Department, Cristina Arias.
Uncertainty over the conflict in Iran and its impact on demand
The report also warns of the uncertainty generated for the coming months by the conflict in the Middle East, due to its possible effect on inflation and on benchmark interest rates, factors that could affect housing demand.
In this context, residential demand will face opposing forces. On the one hand, the possible cooling derived from economic uncertainty, the decrease in purchasing power, and the rising cost of mortgage financing and, on the other hand, the boost that housing can provide as a safe-haven asset against episodes of high inflation.
"Geopolitical instability could fuel a new price increase for new-build housing and accentuate the difficulties of access to housing for the general population," Arias has pointed out.
Increases above 10% in 14 autonomous communities
Of the 19 autonomous communities and cities, 14 show nominal year-on-year increases above 10%, compared to the eleven that registered these rates in the preceding quarter.
The largest increases in the price of new and used housing occur in the Community of Madrid (+19.2%), Valencian Community (19.1%), Castilla-La Mancha (18.8%), Canary Islands (17.8%), Cantabria (16.2%), Region of Murcia (16%) and Balearic Islands (15.5%).
On the opposite end, Extremadura, Ceuta, La Rioja and Melilla show increases below 8% year-on-year. If the last quarter is observed in isolation, the quarterly rate exceeds 4% in Castilla-La Mancha, Canarias, Castilla y León, Region of Murcia and Valencian Community.
In nominal terms, the Balearic Islands, the Community of Madrid, Melilla and, as a new development this quarter, the Canary Islands have already surpassed the highs of the 2007 bubble. Adjusting for inflation (real terms), only the Balearic Islands are practically at that threshold, standing only 0.1% below.
At a provincial level, an intensification of the increases is observed in 40 of the 52 provinces. In 34 of them, year-on-year variations exceed 10%; the largest increases are located in Madrid and several adjoining provinces, in the archipelagos, on the Mediterranean coast, and on the Cantabrian coast.
The effort rate approaches 34%
Despite the price increase, housing affordability remains at levels considered reasonable, with a national average effort rate of 33.9%, slightly above the 33.3% of the previous quarter.
Nevertheless, the number of provinces that exceed 35% —a threshold that is taken as a reasonable level of effort— remains at eight: Balearic Islands, Malaga, Madrid, Barcelona, Alicante, Biscay, Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Cadiz.
The greatest degree of strain is registered in the Balearic Islands, where the resident population bears an effort rate of 54%. Next are Málaga and Madrid, with 49% in both cases.