Madrid and Barcelona provinces have the highest disposable incomes. With Tax Agency data corresponding to 2021 for personal income tax, Pozuelo de Alarcon is once again the wealthiest town in Spain, with €80,244. Matadepera (€69,511) and Boadilla del Monte (€63,007) follow at a distance. Also appearing in this 'top 10' are noteworthy towns such as Alcobendas (€63,007), Sant Cugat del Valles (€63,007) and Majadahonda (€63,007).
Applying the data from the idealista study of the third quarter of 2023 on the home-buying and rental effort, the ten wealthiest towns in Spain present percentages close to the national average (21%) for home-buying effort but much lower for renting effort. The average for these ten towns is 21.5%, while the national average is over 31% of family income, above the percentage recommended by experts to avoid over-exertion.
Looking at them, differences can be seen in both average house prices and effort rates. The highest average property price among the ten wealthiest towns in Spain is in Pozuelo de Alarcon (€454,101), with an effort rate of 22.9% of household income, which is not the highest on the list.
The highest proportion of house purchases is in the Barcelona town of Alella (26.5%), still within the effort recommended by the experts, and with an average house price of €393,000. Still above Pozuelo, in terms of effort rate, are Sant Cugat del Valles (25.8%), with an average house price of €404,677, and Boadilla del Monte (€418,000), which spends 23.5% of its income on home purchases.
In addition, Majadahonda (22%) is above the average national effort rate, with an average house price of almost €340,000. Catalan town Teia (21.3%) is in line with the national average, followed by Sant Just Desvern (20.5%). Torrelodones (18.4%), Alcobendas (17.9%) and Matadepera (16.1%) are below 20% of the income allocated to buying a home.
With average rents of €1,200, the rental effort rate is relatively low
The rental effort rate does show a contrast between the national average (31.1%) and the average for these ten towns with the highest incomes in the country (21.5%). In Pozuelo, the town with the highest income, the weight of the rental effort is 18.7%, one of the lowest percentages on the list, despite having an average rental price of €1,388/month.
The most expensive average rent is in Alella (€1395/month), which has an effort rate of 25.8%, although it does not represent the highest effort rate in this 'top 10'. It is Teià, with 28.1%, with an average rent of €1,300. Another of the highest effort rates is in Sant Just Desvern (26.2%), among the towns with the highest rents in the list (€1,350/month).
In Sant Cugat de Valles, the rental effort rate reaches 22.7%, with rents reaching €1,314. Boadilla del Monte is still above €1,300 monthly rent, although the weight of rental housing drops from 20% to 19.6%.
Still above 20% is Majadahonda (20.7%), with a somewhat lower average rent of €1,200. Alcobendas (19%), Torrelodones (19.5%) and Matadepera (16.5%), with average rents ranging from 950 euros to €1,110 per month, are already below a fifth of the income allocated to paying rent.
Málaga keeps its promise and suspends new tourist accommodation licences for three years
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