Housing prices drop by 50% just 30 kilometers from Barcelona

The growing difficulties in accessing housing have their own names. Large cities, where the population growth of recent years is concentrated, are where the problems of shortages and high prices are compounded.

This housing tension has made Barcelona the only provincial capital in Catalonia that has already surpassed the cost per square meter of the worst period of the real estate bubble, with an average price of €4,400 in the first quarter of the year, a record high. This is 2% more than in 2007, according to data analyzed by Albert Martínez Lacambra, general director of the Centre Tecnològic del Notariat, and presented a few days ago at a conference on the market situation organized by the College of Notaries of Catalonia.

In Girona, on the other hand, apartments, measured by average price per square meter, are still 20% cheaper than at the height of the bubble. The same is true in the cities of Tarragona (down 37%) and Lleida (down 36%).

The city is the only provincial capital in Catalonia that exceeds the cost of the real estate bubble

But you don't have to go that far from the Catalan capital to see how the real estate market is taking on a different character. In the province of Barcelona itself, prices are still 17% lower than they were 18 years ago. "One of the solutions to improve access to housing is public transportation," emphasized José Alberto Marín, dean of the Col·legi Notarial (Notarial College). The information compiled by the institution through its extensive database shows how prices are down around 50% in municipalities located about 30 kilometers from Barcelona.

Mataró (-46.9%), Granollers (-48.5%), and Terrassa (-56%) are some of them (see chart). However, the commute to Barcelona should not exceed 45 minutes. This is the maximum recommended to ensure that people who work in the city can live outside without losing their quality of life. "This happens in places like London or Berlin," Martínez Lacambra noted at the event.

Public transportation in Catalonia, however, has much room for improvement. The constant road closures in Rodalies are a daily example of this, and if we look at these nearby towns with more affordable housing, the commute time to the Catalan capital exceeds this recommendation. Only Mataró would meet it. Furthermore, the analyzed towns that are further from Barcelona, ​​such as Vilafranca del Penedès, have commute times similar to those of other, closer towns (see map).

For this reason, the experts participating in the conference highlighted the promotion of public transportation as one of the crucial measures to alleviate the housing crisis and relieve pressure on Barcelona. The capital is experiencing a significant increase in migrants in need of housing from the very beginning, a near-standstill in construction due to measures such as the 30% social housing reserve, a concentration of activity, and a saturated and deficient transportation network. The result: everyone is trying to live in Barcelona when the space constraints are evident.

However, the notaries' analysis downplays the role that non-EU citizens may have in the real estate market and rising prices, a phenomenon that has become a political weapon and a target of some of the government's latest measures, such as tax increases. According to their information, non-resident foreigners in the city were responsible for 7.33% of home purchases between January and March 2025, slightly below the Spanish average of 8%. The highest participation of non-Europeans in Barcelona occurred in 2015, with 9.55% of purchases.

Greater supply, geographic diversification, transportation, taxation, and increased public investment in social housing, especially rental housing, are the urgent measures highlighted by all participants.

Professional associations involved in housing issues (Notaries, Barcelona Bar Association, Property Administrators, Solicitors, and Real Estate Agents) also pointed to a growing problem affecting the market. This is "legal uncertainty," which, in their opinion, is being caused by the new regulations being promoted by the central government and the Generalitat (Catalan government). "We are seeing an increase in legal uncertainty with the development of policies that generate significant uncertainty; we ask for clarification," emphasizes José Alberto Marín.

One of the points referred to, and one that is generating intense debate, is the definition of a large homeowner. As La Vanguardia reported this Saturday, the Catalan government's Departments of Economy and Territory and Housing use different criteria to consider a homeowner a large homeowner for tax and housing policy purposes. "It has caused alarm, especially among investors; some say they're leaving Catalonia," they noted during the conference. The professional associations, however, are confident they can work with the administration and overcome the technical issues of the regulation.