Apartments Needing Work Can Be 25 pc Cheaper, But Not Everywhere

Apartments needing renovation work can be up to 25 percent cheaper, but not everywhere in Spain as some old towns are still desirable addresses. A fixer-upper can mean an average saving of more than 38,000 euros that could be used instead for reforms.

The price of an apartment that is not in optimal condition and that needs renovation work is on average 25 percent cheaper than the price of a similar apartment that is in good condition, according to a study published by Idealista.

The cost per square meter of a flat in good condition is 1,705 euros, while in the case of flats to be renovated that amount drops to 1,279 euros / m2.

The biggest difference between flats in good condition and in need of reform occurs in Ourense, where those that need a major update are 46 percent cheaper. They are followed by Jaen (-45 percent), Cuenca (-44 percent), León (-44 percent), Pontevedra (-43 percent), Palencia (-43 percent), Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (-40 percent) and Castellon ( -40 percent).

In San Sebastian, the only city in which the prices of houses to reform are higher (3 percent) than those in good condition, probably motivated by the better location of many old apartments in the centre. It is followed by the apartments in Huelva, where the apartments to reform are 6% cheaper, followed by Pamplona (-7 percent), Murcia (-9 percent) and then there are Barcelona and Madrid (with -12 percent in both cases) .

San Sebastian, for its part, is also the city with the most expensive apartments in good condition (4,930 euros / m2), followed by Barcelona (4,255 euros / m2), Madrid (4,155 euros / m2) and Palma (3,631 euros / m2). Huelva, on the other hand, is the cheapest market to buy an apartment without the need for reform (1,164 euros / m2).

At the national level, the savings that a buyer of a home to be renovated would generate, in the case of opting for a standard 90-meter flat, could top 38,395 euro. Given the price differences between one capital and the other, the amount that could be allocated to the reform varies. The highest amount that could be earmarked for renovations is in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (91,576 euros), followed by Vitoria (89,339 euros), Pontevedra (75,398 euros), Ourense (72,449 euros), and Palma (70,071 euros). The opposite extreme is occupied by San Sebastián (where buying to reform would not entail any savings), followed by Huelva (6,273 euros), Murcia (11,251 euros), Pamplona (15,378 euros) and Alicante (22,772 euros).

Among large cities, Seville is the market in which the least savings would be generated (43,455 euros). They are followed by Barcelona (44,317 euros), Zaragoza (44,592 euros), Madrid (45,984 euros) and Valencia (48,322 euros). Above 50,000 euros are Valladolid (50,659 euros), Bilbao (53,382 euros) and Malaga (61,282 euros).

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