Alicante plans to build 6,000 homes in the coming years, 2,500 of them at ‘affordable prices’

Housing, particularly for young people, is a prevalent and chronic problem in Spain. However, certain places are more stretched than others, and Alicante is one such example. The city is particularly appealing, not only because of its location on the Mediterranean and its unmatched environment (320 days of sunshine per year), but also because of its quality of life.

According to population studies included in the Structural General Plan (PGE), Alicante’s population grows by 10,000 people per year on average. It overtook Bilbao in the census two years ago, and by the end of 2024, it had 358,720 inhabitants, according to official population numbers from the municipal register review published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) last December.

Population and housing studies incorporated into the Structural General Plan anticipate that Alicante will have approximately half a million residents by 2050.

Many people choose to relocate to Alicante for economic reasons (digital nomads) or as retirees, adding to the pressure on home costs. Month after month, Alicante sets new records for property sales. In the province, the most recent available data from March indicates the highest total for a March month, with 4,664 home purchase transactions. This is the finest March in the series since 2007, during the real estate boom.

To keep prices as low as possible, supply must be adjusted to match demand. This is the approach outlined by Alicante’s mayor, Luis Barcala, in this session. Despite reaching halfway through the two-year period, the target of building 6,000 additional dwellings in the city remains unchanged. The mayor ensures that 40% of them will be ‘at reasonable prices’, as the Urban Planning Department contains the duty to allocate this percentage to protected housing (with a defined price).

These new flats will be built as a result of the Municipal Board’s rehabilitation and launch of public housing programs, as well as the creation of new urban sectors, some of which have been planned for decades.

The City Council is actively planning two sectors: Lomas del Garbinet and a preliminary plan for La Albufereta. There will be a total of 2,350 new flats, 940 of which are formally protected.