Luxury Housing in Spain: Market Leaders

Photo: Idealista

In Spain, more than 43,707 houses and apartments priced above €1 million are on the market, but over 80% of them are concentrated in just six provinces. The leaders are the Balearic Islands and Málaga, followed by Madrid, Alicante, and Barcelona, according to Idealista.

Luxury homes are available in 49 of Spain’s 50 provinces, but the distribution is highly uneven. In most regions, the number of premium properties is small and has little market impact, while a handful of territories form the core of the luxury real estate sector.

The Leaders

The Balearic Islands remain the absolute leader, with 23% of all homes priced above €1 million. Málaga ranks second with 20%. Madrid follows with 14%, while Alicante and Barcelona each account for 11%. Girona contributes 6%. Together, these six territories represent 84% of the entire luxury housing market, essentially defining its national structure.

The second tier includes provinces with moderate shares: Santa Cruz de Tenerife holds 3%, Cádiz and Valencia 2% each, Granada 1%, and Las Palmas 0.9%. Smaller shares of 0.6% are reported in Pontevedra, Gipuzkoa, and Biscay.

At the other extreme are provinces where luxury housing is almost absent. Zamora has none, Palencia and Soria just two each, and Cuenca three. Salamanca lists seven such properties, while Badajoz, Burgos, and León each have 11. Nationally, these figures are statistically insignificant.

The Ultra-Luxury Segment

Within the luxury market, the ultra-luxury segment includes homes worth over €3 million. As of August 2025, 8,725 such properties were listed in Spain. The concentration is even stronger here: two regions alone – the Balearics (34%) and Málaga (31%) – account for 65% of the entire ultra-luxury market.

Madrid comes next with 1,021 listings (12%), Barcelona has 535 (6%), Alicante 447 (5%), Girona 293 (3%), and Santa Cruz de Tenerife 245 (3%). Nine provinces have no listings above €3 million, highlighting the exclusivity of this segment.

Prices Breaking Records

According to Cadena SER, in July 2025, the average purchase price in the Balearic Islands reached
€5,069 per sq. m, 84% higher than the 2007 bubble peak (€2,762). That means a typical apartment rose from €221,000 in 2007 to about €400,000 in 2025.

In Málaga, the average price rose
49% since 2007, from €2,778 to €4,145 per sq. m. For an 80 sq. m apartment, the price increased from €222,000 to €332,000. Compared with the market low of May 2015 (€1,572), this represents a 163% surge.

Expert Opinions

Fotocasa’s Head of Research, María Matos, warns that limited supply combined with rising demand could make housing inaccessible for the majority. If trends continue, she believes similar record-breaking prices could spread across Spain next year.

Lucas Fox co-founder Alexander Vaughan forecasts sustained demand and rising sales volumes, driven by local buyers and investors from Europe and the Americas. Promora CEO Gonzalo López-Van Dam expects the strongest growth in Madrid and the Costa del Sol. Colliers’ Luis Valdés estimates current ultra-luxury values at €25,000 per sq. m, predicting they could soon exceed €30,000.

Experts agree: limited land and a shortage of premium properties will keep pushing prices higher.