The search for homeownership in cities with a larger supply of properties on the market continues to be led by provincial capitals rather than other large urban areas.
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According to a study by idealista, Madrid once again tops the list of municipalities with the highest demand pressure relative to supply in the first quarter of the year, followed by Zaragoza and Valencia.
However, the start of 2026 has brought a shift in positions. L’Hospitalet de Llobregat and Valladolid have climbed the ranking and now sit ahead of Barcelona and Vitoria – supported by more affordable average house prices. Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Seville and A Coruña complete the national top ten.
The relative demand ranking prepared by idealista/data includes locations whose housing markets recorded more than 1,300 listings between January and March. Madrid remains in first place despite the fact that the average asking price for homes for sale in the capital now exceeds €608,000.
After Spain’s capital, the next most in‑demand destinations are Zaragoza, with an average asking price of around €235,000, followed by Valencia at €323,000 and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, where prices sit at roughly €302,000.
Fifth place is held by L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, close to Barcelona, with an average home price below €196,000 – closely followed by Valladolid at around €232,000. These more accessible price levels have allowed both cities to overtake two of Spain’s most expensive provincial capitals: Barcelona, where average asking prices exceed €428,000, and Vitoria, with homes averaging close to €320,000.
The list is completed by two further provincial capitals – Seville and A Coruña – with average prices of approximately €278,000 and €336,000 respectively.
After the top ten, the list includes larger cities that are not provincial capitals. Alongside Bilbao and Santander appear Badalona and Gijón, all with slightly lower average property prices. In Bilbao, the average price exceeds €368,000, while Santander sits close to €300,000 – compared with around €200,000 in Badalona and €283,000 in Gijón.
The next municipalities showing the highest demand pressure in the first three months of the year are Oviedo, Terrassa and Almería, with average prices ranging between €187,000 and €250,000 – all of them well below San Sebastián, where the average asking price exceeds €684,000 per home.
Tarragona and Palma de Mallorca complete the top 20, with average prices of €269,000 and €806,000, respectively. They are followed by Dos Hermanas (Seville), Murcia, Alicante, Burgos, Gandía (Valencia), Jerez de la Frontera (Cádiz), Sabadell (Barcelona), Castellón de la Plana, Málaga and Vigo. In most of these places, average prices range between €200,000 and €235,000 – with notable exceptions in Alicante (€317,000), Málaga (€436,000) and Vigo (€352,000).
Alicante, the province with the most towns and cities in the list
Alicante stands out as the province with the highest number of towns and cities experiencing the greatest pressure of demand relative to supply in the first quarter of the year. Of the 84 towns included in the list, 16 are located in Alicante province. Alongside the capital, the list features Elche, Santa Pola, Dénia, Benidorm, Torrevieja, Altea, Jávea and Calpe.
Málaga follows, with its capital and eight additional places – Torremolinos, Benalmádena, Mijas, Fuengirola, Estepona, Manilva, Marbella and Benahavís. Barcelona and Murcia rank next, each with six municipalities. In Catalonia, this includes Mataró in addition to the towns already listed within the top 30, while in the Region of Murcia, places such as Cartagena, Águilas and Mazarrón feature alongside the city of Murcia itself.
Cádiz is the fifth province with the highest number of municipalities on the list, totalling five – the capital, Jerez de la Frontera, El Puerto de Santa María, Chiclana and Sotogrande.
The most expensive locations
With regard to housing prices, the study places Benahavís (Málaga) at the top of the list, with an average price of €2.4 million. It is followed by neighbouring Marbella at €1.77 million and Calvià in the Balearic Islands, where average prices reach €1.74 million.
Sotogrande in Cádiz also exceeds €1.7 million, while Altea in Alicante completes the top five with an average of €1.22 million. Below the €1 million threshold, Jávea stands out at around €985,000 – followed by Palma de Mallorca at €806,000, Estepona at just under €796,000 and Adeje in Tenerife, with an average price of approximately €760,000.
All remaining locations record average prices below €700,000. Among the most in‑demand areas with the lowest price levels are Roquetas de Mar (Almería), Jaén and Lleida – each with average prices below €180,000 in the first quarter of the year.
