House prices in Almeria have surged by more than 18% in just one year as buyers flock to one of Spain’s more affordable coastal markets.

The asking price of second-hand homes across the province climbed 18.4% year-on-year in August, reaching an average of €1,803 per square metre, according to Fotocasa’s latest property index.

That was the biggest annual increase of any province in Andalucia, ahead of Jaen at 13.6%, Sevilla at 11.9% and Cadiz at 11.6%.

Despite the sharp increase, Almeria remains relatively affordable, as its average asking price is still 43.1% below the Spanish national average, according to the index.

And while signs are emerging that Andalucia’s wider property boom may be losing some momentum, Almeria continues to buck the trend.

Across Andalucia, second-hand properties were advertised for an average of €2,958/m2 in August, representing annual growth of 10.9%.

However, prices fell 0.5% compared with July, marking a second consecutive monthly decline.

Fotocasa said the regional market appears to be entering a period of ‘de-escalation’ after annual price increases exceeded 20% during much of the previous year.

Almeria, by contrast, recorded another 1.1% monthly increase in August.

Coastal hotspot surges almost 39%

Some of the most dramatic increases are being recorded along Almeria’s eastern coastline.

In Garrucha, second-hand asking prices soared 38.7% in a year, reaching €2,355/m2.

It was the second-biggest increase among all Andalucian municipalities analysed by Fotocasa, behind only Santa Fe in Granada province, where prices jumped 59.4%.

Garrucha prices also shot up by an extraordinary 11.7% in the space of a month and are now more than €550/m2 above the Almeria provincial average.

The provincial capital has experienced a less dramatic but still significant increase.

Homes in Almeria city reached €1,929/m2 in August, up 8.9% compared with a year earlier.

That makes it the sixth-most expensive of Andalucia’s eight provincial capitals, behind Malaga (€4,387/m2), Cadiz (€3,446), Granada (€2,893), Sevilla (€2,854) and Cordoba (€2,082).

Only Jaen (€1,796) and Huelva (€1,692) remain cheaper.

The figures reveal an increasingly divided Almeria property market, in which the province as a whole experiences Andalucia’s fastest price growth while some coastal hotspots are rising at an even more dramatic pace.

Across Andalucia, meanwhile, second-hand asking prices have now recorded annual increases for 70 consecutive months, dating back to November 2020.

Read more Andalucia news at the Spanish Eye.