Valencia is a prime market for holiday homes

Property sales and rentals in the Valencia are on the up, making it one of Spain’s most popular cities for holiday homes, and with prices rising, a market with increasing potential for timeshare and shared vacation ownership.

Leading real estate agent Lucas Fox Valencia saw the volume of its sales and rentals soar in 2017, increasing by 86 per cent and 59 per cent respectively compared to 2016.

And according to the company’s latest sales data, 40 per cent of transactions in 2017 were to international buyers, up from 33 per cent in 2016, with the majority coming from France, the United Kingdom and the United States.

A third of Lucas Fox buyers purchased property as a main home and a third purchased as a secondary residence, with the remainder buying for either investment or relocation purposes.

The average price of a property sold by the firm in Valencia city in 2017 was €461,635. The Spanish Department of Development (Fomento) shows the average price of a home sold in Valencia Province was just over €100,000 in the third quarter of 2017.

Juan Luis Herrero, partner at Lucas Fox Valencia, said: “The property recovery in Valencia has really taken hold in the last two to three years.

“Since summer 2014, the number of transactions and prices have been rising steadily and there is now a lot of movement in the market. This has contributed to greater interest from foreign buyers, which has more than doubled since 2011.”

Property Lounge in the heart of Valencia Old Town, is Lucas Fox Valencia’s third sales office in the city

Lucas Fox Valencia’s growth in property sales reflects the trends shown by official figures. Data from the Spanish Institute of Statistics (INE) shows that the number of homes sold in 2017 in Valencia Province rose by 21% compared to 2016, averaging 2,226 sales per month.

Sales of new homes in Valencia Province increased by 6% in 2017 compared to 2016, according to INE, making up 13% of total sales. In Barcelona Province, new home sales rose by 19% and in the Community of Madrid by 18% but Herrero believes 2018 could be a pivotal year for this market.

“In previous boom years around 3,000 new homes were being sold every year in Valencia city but last year this figure was only just over 400,” he said.

“Now Valencia Town Hall is granting licences for the construction of 1,500 new homes and the initial projects are selling well thanks to their competitive pricing and this will further spur on more projects.”

In terms of property prices, Valencia city showed an annual increase of 11% at the end of 2017, with prices in the Old Town, Eixample and El Pla del Real rising by 13%, 15% and 9% respectively, according to Idealista. Average rental prices in Valencia Province showed an annual increase of 9%.

2017 was also another strong year for tourism in the city. More than 6.7 million passengers arrived at Valencia airport in 2017, an increase of 16% compared to 2016.