Neither microwaves at the foot of the bed nor zulos without ventilation. In Zaragoza, for 600 euros per month, one can rent an apartment between 50 and 70 m² with one or two bedrooms, a living room, kitchen and bathroom in a popular area. There are not many bargains and it is not easy to find what you want since the offer is not very wide, but it is not an impossible mission like in other large Spanish cities.
The price mentioned above is not accidental. There is an unwritten law that recommends not allocating more than 30% of your salary to paying for your home, be it a mortgage or rent. Given that the average salary in Spain is around 2,000 euros gross per month according to INE data, it is advisable not to spend more than those 600 euros per month on roofs and beds.
For someone like the person signing, struggling to find a flat in cities with exorbitant prices such as Madrid, London or Hong Kong, diving into the real estate portals of Zaragoza is an experience that restores a certain calm to the spirit.
The first thing that surprises in the initial sweep is the average price per square meter: if in Barcelona it reaches 19.8 euros and in Madrid 16.5, the Aragonese capital remains at 8.8 euros, and that has risen in the last year.
With paper and pen in hand, it’s time to break down the offer. On the Idealista portal there are some 185 properties listed for that maximum price, almost a quarter of the total. “From 700-800 euros, there is a constant availability of apartments in almost any location, but those from 500 to 700 euros are more difficult to find. It is not that there is a great offer, but there is, ”Fernando Baena, president of the Association of Real Estate Agents of Aragón (Coapi Aragón), emphasizes to this medium.
In general, they are second-hand homes located in popular neighborhoods such as Delicias, Las Fuentes, San José or Torrero, well connected to the center and the university, more coveted areas where prices are higher. Among them, the majority are exterior, two thirds have an elevator, 54 with a terrace, 18 with a storage room, 14 with a garage and 2 with a swimming pool.
This is the case of an unfurnished 100 m² apartment on Academia General Militar avenue. It is quite far from the center, but in exchange it has four bedrooms, two bathrooms and a communal area with a pool, garden and children’s area for 599 euros per month. The garage space is optional for another 75 euros per month more.
But if from other big cities they can look at Zaragoza with a certain amount of envy, many locals see the glass as half empty. In the last year, housing has become more expensive in the city by around 5%, which has placed the price per square meter at all-time highs. Apartments for less than 450 euros per month have almost completely disappeared from search websites, the primary objective of families with few resources and young people seeking emancipation, and the rental of individual rooms is at prices never seen before. College students have it harder than ever.
One of the main causes of this rise is the limited supply. Zaragoza is a market made up largely of small owners, without large funds or assets that manage a large number of homes as in other large cities. “The fear of having to deal with possible defaults or evictions often makes them back when it comes to putting that second home on the market. That is why it is important that they have legal certainty”, explains Baena.
For now, the city has rid itself of the phenomenon -others call it the “scourge”- of tourist housing. According to the local newspaper Heraldo de Aragón, while in Madrid and Barcelona there are more than 15,000 apartments of this type and in Seville they are already at 6,000, the Aragonese capital has barely subtracted just over 900 properties from its residential offer with this type of housing.
A factor that plays in its favor in its race to become the fourth most populous city in Spain -something that it hopes to achieve in the coming years, surpassing the Andalusian capital- and to consolidate the good objective results in the barometer of quality of life, which indicates that 95.5% of Zaragozans are satisfied with living in their city.
