PROPERTY SEARCH

Date Published: 16/11/2022

ARCHIVED - The cheapest and most expensive places to buy property in Cartagena

ARCHIVED ARTICLE -

There’s a distinct lack of housing in the Murcia municipality with younger buyers finding it difficult to get a foot on the ladder

<span style='color:#780948'>ARCHIVED</span> - The cheapest and most expensive places to buy property in Cartagena

A shortage of land in the popular municipality of Cartagena means that, for the first time in years, the number of completed homes far outstrips the amount being built, a serious supply problem which pushes the prices up and makes it almost impossible for many younger people to get their foot on the property ladder.

"We must implement measures to facilitate access to this sector of the population, who are the ones demanding housing the most, since it is young people who usually start buying a home to start their life project," said the Minister of Fomento, José Ramón Díez de Revenga during the 'Reside' real estate fair.

While land is scarce, salaries are also rising at a far slower rate than inflation, and these two factors have combined to significantly hike up prices in the last two years.

Very few new homes have been built since the coronavirus pandemic, pushing first-time buyers out to more peripheral areas where houses and land are more affordable.

Today, the cheapest place in Cartagena to buy is La Aljorra, where each square metre of land will set you back 723 euros, according to Idealista’s October data. This town is followed by El Algar, La Magdalena and Pozo Estrecho, with square metre prices still below 1,000 metres.

For those with considerably more to spend, the most expensive area to buy in all of Cartagena is Perín, where the price of a square metre has increased by 12% in the last year to reach 1,882 euros. The city itself is substantially cheaper but still ranked at number 2, at 1,124 euros/m2.

Costs in beauty spots like the Mar de Cristal and Cabo de Palos have also risen 3% since last year to stand at 1,550 euros and Isla Plana has taken a 1.2% jump to 1,693 euros per square metre.

Just like the hospitality and healthcare sectors, construction companies are struggling to find qualified workers, so that even with investors willing to spend, there are simply not enough bodies to build the number of homes needed in Cartagena.

Even those who opt for renting rather than buying are struggling at the moment, as the price of leasing a home has also skyrocketed.

"In Cartagena there are problems with access to housing in general. There is hardly any supply for rentals and new housing is very expensive for the middle class. It is chaos," the experts explained.

Image: Pixabay

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