Spain's most affordable coastal areas for buying property

Buying a home on the Spanish coast is not typically a budget option, with property being in high demand and low supply in beach locations. But there are still areas where a main residence is relatively affordable, and in some cases – especially if you're seeking a holiday home – are actually cheap.

When giving average buying prices for the following towns, we have based these on a property of 100 square metres. This could be, perhaps, a spacious three-bedroom apartment, or a small villa. These prices, though, are not set in stone: Exact property type and location can alter the cost significantly.

The central hub of many coastal towns is often a few kilometres inland, and their beach neighbourhoods used almost exclusively by local residents in summer, when they move into their second homes. If you decided to live in the town proper, you would still be comfortably near enough to the beach to be able to enjoy it – typically a five- or 10-minute drive, or a 20-minute cycle ride away – and would be able to buy a home for considerably less.

Older properties – pre-2000 – are normally cheaper, and depending upon your willingness to refurbish your home and to what extent, you could save even more. Renovations needed might be merely cosmetic – ranging from repainting or, perhaps, retiling, through to replacing the kitchen and bathroom – or could involve major structural works. If the former is the case, you may even decide you can live with the original decades-old décor, particularly if you plan to use the property as a holiday home, if it means spending less.

If the property is not going to be your main residence, you won't need as much space, which will also reduce expense. In some coastal towns in Spain, you can find one-bedroom apartments for as little as €30,000 or €40,000.

Here are some of the cheapest coastal areas to buy homes in, each with a description and price range.

Galicia

You might have expected the cheapest coastal properties in Spain to be found in the north, which has cooler and shorter summers and does not appear on the international beach tourism trail. This is not necessarily true, although eight of the 10 least-expensive seaside towns for homebuyers are in the far north-western region of Galicia.

This green and pleasant land is a far cry from what you would expect a Spanish Costa to look like. Instead of palm trees, you'll find a lush, grassy landscape that benefits from constant light in winter, autumn and spring, and more closely resembles that of northern Europe. Galicia's emerald scenery, rugged cliffs and multiple river deltas – or Rías - are often likened to Scotland and Ireland and, indeed, the region shares strong historical ties with both.

Galicia is an ideal choice if you're seeking somewhere 'totally Spanish', even in high holiday season – it's a popular staycation hotspot – and where summers, although very warm, are less scorching and humid than on the traditional Costas.

Average prices for a 100-square-metre home are cheapest in the Lugo-province towns of Burela (€88,758), Viveiro (€107,704), and Foz (€127,606); in the Pontevedra-province towns of Marín (€109,994), Boiro (€120,482), and Vilagarcía de Arousa (€127,384); and in the A Coruña-province towns of Ferrol (€95,679) and Ribadeo (€120,482).

Costa Cálida (Murcia Region)

Three of the coastal provinces with the cheapest properties are almost at the diagonally-opposite extreme to Galicia – in the south-east of the country. One of these is Murcia, a single-province region just south of the Costa Blanca, and one that much more closely reflects the standard image of a holiday-home destination.

Golf courses, spa resorts and purpose-built urbanisations, and a large and well-established northern European community, the Costa Cálida was discovered by expatriates relatively recently in comparison with the Balearic and Canary Islands, the Costa Blanca and Costa del Sol, meaning it remains less expensive and less crowded. It has long been popular among Spanish nationals as a winter holiday destination, due to the warm year-round temperatures of the Mar Menor – an 'inland sea' enclosed on three-and-a-half sides by a narrow isthmus, or land strip, known as La Manga – in the Cartagena area.

Average prices for a 100-square-metre home are cheapest in La Unión (€132,700 in Roche and Portmán areas; €135,700 in La Unión town), Mazarrón (€152,900 in Bolnuevo area; €109,400 in town centre), and Lorca (€135,300).

Almería province

Just south of Murcia and in the vast region of Andalucía, the coast of the province of Almería is very multi-cultural. Nearly half the population of Níjar is foreign, as is around a third of the headcount in Vícar, El Ejido, and Roquetas de Mar. In Partaloa, Arboleas and Bédar, the number of non-Spanish residents rises to two-thirds.

Northern Europeans are a small minority, particularly the La Cañada neighbourhood and the out-of-town urbanisations – Roquetas de Mar, Mojácar, Arboleas, and Cuevas de Almanzora. Although much less numerous, Mojácar and Cuevas de Almanzora are home to established communities of German nationals.

Almería's lunar landscape, which includes Europe's only 'official' desert, the backdrop for numerous films, is also one of Spain's largest agricultural producers. Beaches on the Costa Almería are often rugged and unspoilt, albeit popular in summer.

Almería shares the huge Sierra Nevada National Park with it neighbouring province, Granada. As the Sierra is home to the only ski resort in the southern half of Spain, and one of the country's largest, the tourism industry continues year-round.

Average prices for a 100-square-metre home are cheapest in Adra (€125,800), Vícar (€119,100 – down to €86,900 in La Gangosa and €90,200 in Puebla de Vícar), and Lubrín (€70,200).

If you're willing to live a few kilometres further inland, typical prices for a 100- square-metre home fall to €74,600 in Alhama de Almería, €99,700 in Huércal-Overa, and €79,000 in Vélez-Rubio.

Granada province

Directly west of Almería, the province of Granada is probably the only coastal holiday destination in Spain that is world-famous for something other than its beaches. Travellers from every continent head to Granada to visit the enormous Alhambra Palace complex, but its shoreline tends to be overlooked in favour of its nearest neighbour, the Costa del Sol.

Known as the Costa Tropical , Granada's coast is, in fact, close to the north end of the subtropics and enjoys a balmy year-round climate – contrasting with its short summers and cool autumns and springs farther inland. Relatively unspoilt, and calmer than most of the other Costas in Andalucía, this is precisely what attracts many of its European expatriates – meaning they are fewer in number, and more likely to 'blend in'.

Only around 10% of the Costa Tropical's inhabitants are foreign, and these are very diverse, representing up to 90 nationalities. In towns most popular with European residents, such as Almuñécar, Salobreña and Motril, around 30% of foreigners are British and German. A significant minority – especially in Almuñécar – come from the Scandinavian countries, France, and Italy.

Average prices for a 100-square-metre home are cheapest in Torvizcón (€64,900), Albuñol (€129,400), and Los Guajares (€76,100 for houses; €96,800 for flats).

Tarragona province

Ideal for those who want to live on the Catalunya coast but without the Barcelona prices, this Mediterranean province gets far less attention internationally than it deserves. It's not on the package resort trail, and is fairly rural, but without being isolated. Small towns and villages very close to each other mean you can live in a familiar, peaceful community, without having to sacrifice modern infrastructure and facilities. Expatriates make up a significant minority, but are very thinly-spread – easy enough to find, but also easy to avoid if you prefer total immersion in Spanish culture.

Tarragona's coastline, the Costa Dorada , is far less touristy than the Costa Brava and Costa Blanca, aside from its lively holiday hotspots of Reus, Salou and Cambrils, which are popular with Spanish nationals and, to a lesser extent, Europeans.

Otherwise, most tourism on the Costa Dorada centres on eastern Spain's largest marshland, the Ebro Delta, a key year-round rural holiday destination and a frequent natural retreat for residents taking day-trips.

Average prices for a 100-square-metre home are cheapest in Sant Carles de la Ràpita (€146,800 – ranging from €131,700 in the centre to €173,900 right on the beach), Alcanar (€137,900), Ulldecona (€110,200), Bonastre (€87,700), Llorenç del Penedès (€98,700), Flix (€83,700), and Valls (€106,900).

Castellón province

Directly south of the Costa Dorada, the province of Castellón is the most rural on Spain's east coast, with long distances and vast tracts of untouched countryside between small, historic villages, many with just a few hundred inhabitants. Most of Castellón is at a higher altitude than surrounding coastal areas, meaning temperatures are cooler and summers are less humid.

Despite its raw and rustic appearance, the province is fairly well connected, served by motorways and major inter-provincial highways and, up to around 30 kilometres inland, even the Valencia city metro.

The coast – known as the Costa Azahar – is much more developed, but considerably less so than most others in Mediterranean Spain. Beaches are never crowded, as most users are local, and holidaymakers usually national. Attempts to develop the Costa Azahar to draw in expatriates and foreign holiday-home owners never took off, with northern European resident numbers only in the low hundreds in Peñíscola and Alcalà de Xivert, and a few dozen in Benicarló, Vinaròs, Benicàssim, Oropesa del Mar, Villarreal, Burriana, and Moncofa.

Average prices for a 100-square-metre home are cheapest in Càlig (€109,100), Almassora (€116,700), Villarreal (€119,600), Nules (€115,000), and Benicarló (€160,700).

Although the more popular coastal towns are much more expensive, they are still typically cheaper than on most of Spain's Costas. On average, a 100-square-metre home costs:

• Vinaròs: €176,700 (€169,500 in the Boverals-Saldonar area)
• Oropesa: €197,900 (around €220,000 on the beaches and Marina d'Or urbanisation, or €153,100 in the town centre)
• Alcalà de Xivert: €219,900
• Peñíscola: €221,300 (€165,200 in the Llandels area, or €193,900 in the Costa Sur district)
• Benicàssim: €300,900

La Safor (southern Valencia province)

This small coastal district of 31 towns and villages is the last stop in Valencia before the northern Costa Blanca and province of Alicante begin. An ideal location for those who would really like to live on the Costa Blanca but prefer lower prices and fewer expatriates, you'll be fully immersed in small-town Spanish life in La Safor, yet just minutes by road from a northern European community that expands in number the further south you travel.

Foreign residents in La Safor tend to be working-aged adults and families from Morocco and South America, and the northern European inhabitants are typically closest to the Alicante-province border.

The district only has three towns – the capital, Gandia, with around 76,000 residents, is three times the size of Oliva and four times that of Tavernes de la Valldigna. The other 28 municipalities are villages, but those along the coast almost join together, meaning all necessary facilities, services and infrastructure are close at hand. Oliva, the closest to the provincial border, has the largest northern European expatriate community, whilst in Tavernes, the most northerly, their presence is almost non-existent.

Towns with a beach are Oliva, Bellreguard, Piles, Miramar, Daimús, Guardamar de la Safor, Gandia, Xeraco, and Tavernes.

In all La Safor coastal towns, the beach neighbourhood is between two and five kilometres from the main hub, and sparsely occupied outside July and August. Most properties are summer homes owned by local families, and beach tourists are largely from inland Spain or France. This means they are peaceful areas most of the year, but you would need to drive to reach most everyday services, such as supermarkets and health centres.

Aside from the beach neighbourhoods, La Safor municipalities are 'working towns' and do not give the appearance of being holiday destinations, so they are suitable for those who don't want to live an expatriate lifestyle. Property within the towns can be as much as 50% cheaper than in the coastal hubs.

Average prices for a 100-square-metre home are cheapest in Tavernes de la Valldigna (€118,200 – from €90,000 to €165,100), Oliva (€113,900 to €163,000), Bellreguard (€132,300 in the beach area; €120,000 in town), Miramar (€134,100 for apartments, €174,300 for villas), and Piles (€131,400).

Higher-priced homes on the La Safor coast are still cheaper than the average for a Spanish Costa. On average, for 100 square metres, you would pay:

• Xeraco: €188,900 (beach) €111,000 (town)
• Gandia: €166,400
• Guardamar de la Safor: €294,500 (beach) €151,900 (town)
• Daimús: €235,800 (beach) €138,900 (town)

Of course, a coastal area not known for being one of the cheapest may still have low-priced homes for sale. A high number of luxury properties would force up the average price reported for a town, but this might not be reflected in more 'ordinary' and 'everyday' properties on the market. If your heart is set on a given location that seems to be beyond your budget, don't give up just yet – you could try searching others very close to it, and create an alert for newly-advertised homes within your price range. Our Find Your Place in Spain section will help you explore all the options.