Homes priced under 200,000 euros now represent only 11% of available properties in Malaga

Finding properties for under 200,000 euros in Malaga is becoming increasingly challenging: this is a perception shared by anyone looking for an apartment in the city. Moreover, the data confirms it. In the last five years, the proportion of available homes priced under 200,000 euros has gone from 45% of all listings on Idealista's real estate portal to a mere 11%: the third lowest percentage of all Spanish provincial capitals (behind San Sebastian and Palma). The drop is almost 34 percentage points, one of the largest recorded nationwide. Then, if you exclude homes with squatters, those with tenants or those sold under a bare ownership agreement (usufruct), the percentage drops even further, to 6.9%.

In concrete terms, there are currently 520 properties listed on the aforementioned portal for under 200,000 euros in the city of Malaga. If we subtract the listings that are not immediately available (occupied by tenants, usufructuaries or squatters), the number drops to 322. This figure, in proportion to the 4,656 houses listed on Idealista, represents the 6.9% already mentioned.

In contrast, homes priced above 500,000 euros now account for just over a third (33.8%, to be precise) of the current residential supply in Malaga city, having doubled their share of the city's housing stock. Only five years ago, they represented 16.9%. In absolute terms, this percentage means that there are currently 1,566 houses and apartments advertised above this price threshold: three times as many as those priced below 200,000 euros.

This greater proportion of high-end housing is a consequence of the accelerated price increases over the last five years, but also of the boom in the luxury housing segment - better known nowadays as 'prime' - in the capital of the Costa del Sol. Many of the new-build projects being developed in recent years fit this profile, enjoying high demand, primarily from foreign buyers. This is easily seen at both ends of the city's coastline, where there is a proliferation of developments with homes costing over one million euros. In contrast, finding a new-build apartment for under 200,000 euros is virtually impossible. Further evidence of this is the growing presence in Malaga of real estate agencies specialising in the prime market.

What's happening in Malaga is also happening throughout Spain: since 2020, as prices have soared, the bulk of the residential supply has shifted primarily from more affordable prices to higher price-tags. Across the country, the housing stock below 200,000 euros has gone from representing 60% of all listings on Idealista to just 37.6%, a drop of more than 22 percentage points. "This phenomenon is self-reinforcing because the most affordable homes are on the market for less time and practically fly off the rails, while the most expensive are on sale for longer and, therefore, have a greater impact on the overall stock," explains Idealista's spokesperson.

The most notable declines have occurred in Pontevedra (where homes priced below 200,000 euros have seen their share of the total housing supply fall by 41 percentage points), Albacete (down by 40 points), Valencia (-37.4), Granada (-35.1), Guadalajara (33.9) and Malaga (-33.8).

In other major markets, the declines have been somewhat smaller, such as in Barcelona (-2.3 points), Seville (-9.3), Palma (-14.5) and Madrid (-18.9). In Barcelona city, the cheapest homes now represent 14% of the total, while in Madrid this figure has fallen to 12.1%, compared to 31% in 2020.

In San Sebastián, the capital with the most expensive house prices in Spain, it can be said that housing for under 200,000 euros is practically non-existent: it barely represents 1.7% of the residential market. Palma is very close to this extreme, with barely 4.4% of available properties below 200,000 euros. Five years ago, that figure stood at 18.8%.

Back in 2020, there were 41 Spanish capitals where the supply of homes for sale for under 200k represented over 50% of the total market stock. Now, just five years later, only 21 cities exceed that percentage.