The news website 20minutos picked up a new analysis by the property portal pisos.com on 28 August. It finds that the price premium for flats with a swimming pool in Spain varies greatly by province. The analysis of all 50 provinces shows that the difference compared with similar properties without a pool ranges from almost negligible to more than three times as much.
The study clearly attributes the effect to market forces. The key factors are the scarcity and distribution of properties with this feature. Where land is scarce and pools are rarely available, the premium is much higher. This creates a particularly wide price gap in several inland provinces; Zamora is cited as an example. In regions with a high concentration of properties with pools, however, the effect is less pronounced, because the feature is more of a standard.
At the lower end of the spectrum, the authors place coastal markets with many residential complexes where communal pools are common. For Alicante the study finds only a minimal premium; similarly small premiums are reported for Málaga, Granada and Barcelona In absolute terms, properties with pools do tend to cost more in expensive markets such as Baleares but a pool itself is less of a differentiating feature there, since location and the general price level have a greater influence.
Ferran Font, head of the research department at pisos.com, is quoted as saying that a swimming pool has shifted from being an optional extra to a conspicuous differentiating feature. Its effect on price is not uniform, however, and depends on the local market. This describes a trend; it is no substitute for a property-specific valuation.
For buyers and sellers, this means that the financial effect of a pool can only be reliably assessed against local comparisons. Market participants should therefore take into account the number of similar listings and the scarcity of land in the area. The analysis shows that features can drive prices up in tight markets, a factor whose impact varies considerably by province.
The findings were first reported by several regional media outlets on 9 July and summarised again by 20minutos on 28 August. The specific percentages and rankings are based on pisos.com’s analysis of data for Spain’s 50 provinces.
Editor: Daniel Mayer (Article created with AI assistance).