Valencia Property Blog

In the past we have done posts like this one giving you the biggest asks that people have when looking for a property in Valencia. Today we have decided to crunch the numbers. One of the things we ask people to do is to fill in the form. You can fill in yours at the link. In these forms we have two sections that are extremely imprtant, your "Must Haves" and "Would Likes" in your property. We won't go into the differences between the two here because we have done that in our previous articles but we thought it might be revealing to look at what people mostly ask for when looking for Valencia Property and then take a look at the reality of the situation. Do people find what they are looking for? Let's take a look shall we?

Outdoor Space

The single most requested feature across the every enquiry we get is for outdoor space. More than half of all our enquiries listed a balcony or terrace as either a "Must Have" or a strong preference in the "Would Likes", making it the runaway number one. Outdoor space in its wider sense with a garden, private patio, communal terrace, even a rooftop is also among the top requests, particularly from families and suburban buyers. A pool appears in roughly one in five enquiries which is surprisingly low because for villa buyers it is frequently non-negotiable, villas generally come with pools, probably in 80% of cases. The implication is of course that a well-specified outdoor space can move a property from the shortlist to "The One" faster than almost any other single feature.

The difficulty, especially in the city, is finding that outdoor space because, as we have mentioned inumerable times before, outdoor space in the city comes at a price premium and honestly is rare. And then comes the big question, do you really need it? If you want it you want it and voila, we shall somehow find it for you but... there's always a but... is it really necessary? That's a whole basis for a discussion with each individual client however strong the requirement is because life is different in Spain and Valencia.

You meet friends at cafes and bars or go out to do things. You don't generally invite friends round for a coffee or beer because coffee and beers at cafes or bars is cheap and that cafe or bar may have air conditioning you aren't paying for or a lovely shaded area as opposed to a south facing terrace with the sun blazing down on you and forcing you inside. Of course, we are talking here from the perspective of the summer but in the winter, autumn or spring a south facing terrace or large balcony can be a huge blessing.

Bedrooms and Bathrooms

Three bedrooms is the most common bedroom requirement by some distance, appearing in roughly half of all our enquiries. Two bedrooms is the next most common, typically from couples or investors. Funnily enough though, the three bedrooms requets is also usually from couples or individual buyers rather than families and that's because of vivid imaginations.

What do I mean by that? We are often told by clients that the third bedroom is essential because they want an office of course, that's the second bedroom, but also they want a bedroom for guests because they will have so many! This is wrong on so many levels but is understandable because...

Everyone in your family and your friend group will tell you that as soon as you buy a place they'll be on the first plane over to visit. They won't. But even if that actually happened then Airbnb, Booking.com, Hotels and even an acceptably comfortable sofabed exist for a reason. That reason is to discourage people from overstaying their welcome. An extremely comfortable third bedroom is an invitiation to do just that, especially when news gets back to the rest of your family about free holidays and food! One of the major gripes from people who have settled here and then have constant visitors is that of being an unpaid tour guide, chef and general dogsbody much too often.

Two bathrooms is requested almost as often as three bedrooms though and is increasingly treated as a minimum "Must Have" rather than a "Would Like". In fact until about five years ago we had never sold a one bedroom apartment or studio so it was a given. Spanish construction methods have always been about stuffing as many bedrooms as possible into the space available rather than encouraging open spaces and flow.

Several enquiries, especially from the USA, have noted a specific preference for at least one bathtub (That's the giveaway, other nationalities just say a "Bath" in the bathroom). They don't want just a shower, they want a bath(tub). The correlation is not really with any specific country but with Anglo-American bathing culture. The British and North American expectation that at least one bathroom contains a bath is sufficiently ingrained that buyers take it into their Spanish property search. Continental Europeans on the other hand regard a shower as the default and don't think to ask about baths. We have never had a Dutch, German or French client insist on having a bathtub but a lot of the North American/British cohort sort of expect it. That's another difficult one to find but it's easy enough to do a remodel and get the best looking bathtub you've ever seen!

Light

Natural light is the third most mentioned feature. Phrases like "bright and airy", "good light", "mucha luz" and "no caves" come up repeatedly across all nationalities and all budget bands. North-facing interiors and dark ground-floor apartments are cited as deal breakers more often than almost anything else. For buyers coming from Northern Europe or North America, the expectation that a property in Spain should be flooded with light is almost universal and the disappointment when visiting a place and it isn't is equally consistent. We have even written an article about why you might not want to buy that first floor place even when it allows for your large terrace request.

However, with light comes the potential for heat and many Spanish constructions, especially older ones, have smaller windows for a reason, to keep that heat out which requires a trade off in terms of light. One of our suggestions now is for solar screen window film to reduce UV rays coming into the property thus reducing the heat while at the same time maintaining light without blackout blinds.

Floor Level and Access

Not being on the ground floor is mentioned by roughly a third of enquiries, often as an absolute deal breaker rather than a preference. It connects to security, noise, and privacy in roughly equal measure but it misses one big thing about Spanish apartments and development, very few are ground floor. We have mixed use development in most areas of every town and city and the ground floor will be a shop, garage or storage facility. Again I refer you back to the first floor article above but especially for our American buyers, first floor is not ground level. Ground floor or even "Entresuelo" is the lowest floor. First floor is above something.

Closely linked to the floor level is the lift. About one in three buyers stipulate that there must be a lift/elevator, very commonly with the qualifier "if above the second floor." For older buyers, buyers with mobility considerations or perceived mobility issues in the future (ie, anyone planning to hold a property long-term) the lift question comes up early and is often a deal breaker even if a property is perfect in every other way. It's amazing how badly people think their knees will work in ten years time! Go to the gym people!

Climate Control

Air conditioning appears in roughly one in three enquiries, usually paired with heating, which reflects the Valencia climate rather than luxury thinking. It should figure much higher because AC is now an essential via traditional AC units, integrated AC or heat pumps. Several buyers explicitly mentioned wanting to know whether AC can be installed if it is not already there, it can, but it does sometimes limit certain mid-floor apartments, especially those in protected buildings. This angle around installation and community regulations is important to take into consideration when potentially making an offer on a property. One of our clients a few years ago bought into an ongoing neighbourly dispute about the noise of the condenser unit of the AC that had been installed because of the location in the centre of the building. It was eventually sorted but it was a bad first step in the politics of the Community ownership.

Transport and Location

Metro or bus access is mentioned in over a quarter of enquiries, almost always as a must-have rather than a would like. The pattern is consistent across buyers arriving without a car (common among Americans relocating on a visa), investors who need tenants to be car-free, and families who want independent access to the city.

Proximity to the beach appears in about one in six enquiries, often framed as "within walking distance" or "a short public transport ride." This limits areas where the property can be situated as not much of Valencia City is a "short walking distance to the beach" and most suburban towns are not coastal. Coastal towns tend to be very seasonal. Being close to the Turia park or a major green space is mentioned by about one in eight and honestly, that should be more popular than being near to the beach as the Turia is Valencia's true added value for so many people.

Condition and Kitchen

Move-in ready or recently updated property is requested in roughly one in five enquiries. Buyers who are willing to renovate tend to state it explicitly; the majority are not but it's really a much better option. A modern or spacious kitchen appears independently in around one in six enquiries, quite a lot more than you would expect and much more than you can expect to find in property that comes up for sale. This request often comes with specific language: open plan, good counter space, not a galley kitchen. The best thing to do to get this "look" is a renovation so the request for the condition to be move in ready is often changed after the fact as long as the space gives itself to an excellent modernisation from our renovation team.

Size

Size matters people! A minimum of 100m2 is mentioned by about one in seven potential buyers. Given that the most common profile, as mentioned previously, is for three bedrooms, two bathrooms, with a balcony and a lift in a non-ground floor apartment, this is worth noting as a practical threshold: properties under 90m2 will struggle to fit all of that in so 100m2 is sort of a given.

Investment and Rental Potential

About one in six buyers mentioned rental potential, either explicitly, buying to let, yep we like that, Airbnb interest (we always tell them we don't work with people wanting to rent via Airbnb as we decided this policy some years ago), or wanting to rent when not there, the Stepping Stones Rental way. Equally, some people ask this implicitly by asking about tourist licence status, yield, management etc...

Parking

Around one in five enquiries mentions parking or a garage, most commonly as a would-like rather than a must have. For city-centre buyers it is often listed but usually acknowledged as unlikely and many people mention that they are thinking about living car free which is probably why it's a would like rather than essential. For suburban and villa buyers it is expected and therefore rarely mentioned, if you buy a house with garden then in 90% plus of the cases there will be off road parking even where there isn't a garage.

Emerging Features

The ones to watch as they are becoming more frequently cited include a home office or dedicated remote working space. This appears in roughly one in ten enquiries and every single mention comes from buyers who have arrived in the last twelve months or are arriving soon.

Pet-friendly requirements appear in one in ten enquiries and really this isn't an issue. I have only ever known of one apartment block in Valencia with any restriction on pets. I suppose if someone moved in with a donkey, various chickens or a camel for example then a community meeting would be called to explicitly ban them, but dogs, cats and birds are almost normal in every apartment block in Valencia and if it's your own house then what you do with it is up to you. There's one exception to this I know of, where a garden is communal then oftentimes pets are banned from the garden area but not from the properties themselves.

Bike storage comes up more often than most sellers would expect, quite a lot of separate mentions, including one buyer for whom it was a listed must-have alongside bedrooms. This is why we always ask potential sellers whether there is any bike storage in the building even if they don't use it themselves and are delighted when there is. The Dutch expect it as a norm of course.

Energy efficiency, solar, and heat pumps are mentioned by a small but growing group and unfortunately at the moment these requests are skewed toward higher-budget buyers, it should be everyone because it saves so much.

Double glazing and soundproofing follow a similar pattern, we have recently done a small modernisation in one apartment involving soundproofing because of a neighbour with explosive snoring habits!

Conclusions

Things have changed but at the same time things have stayed the same. The top-five features of balcony/terrace, 3 beds, natural light, lift and not a ground floor are consistent across nationalities, budgets and time. They are the basics of many people's requirements for their Spanish property.

The remote work and pet-friendly trends are the things that have definitely changed and become more common recently and the market is taking time to respond to that. I expect that developers will be changing box rooms and smaller third bedrooms to "Home Office Spaces" on their listings very soon as the norm even for those who don't work from home. A home office space quickly becomes a multimedia and gaming room too or you know, you could even chuck a bed in there and invite the brother and sister-in-law to stay. Just make sure it's not too comfortable.

Essential Further Reading

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The most important articles on the Valencia Property blog

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