Cost of Living in Spain

[ValenciaSon]

Will it catch up with Germany, France and Italy?

[Ben]

Will it catch up with Germany, France and Italy?

Probably, in the big cities at least, but it will take a lot longer in the Provinces. Will Madrid ever be as expensive as London? Let's hope not!

[Marina]

Except alcoholic drinks, tabacco, fruit and just a few more items, prices in Madrid are not that far from those in France, Italy and Germany and salaries are still much lower.

In smaller towns the cost of living is still way below other places in Europe but not as cheap as it was a few years ago.

[ogando]

I was wondering what it costs to live there compared to New York.

When I look at job listings online the pay scale seems low even when converted to the weak US dollar.

Are most apartments rental or purchase?

Does anyone know what would be the monthly cost for a one bedroom in Madrid?

[ValenciaSon]

Are banks providing home loans to most wage earning professionals in Spain or is most real estate property inherited?

[osvaldo]

I was wondering what it costs to live there compared to New York.

When I look at job listings online the pay scale seems low even when converted to the weak US dollar.

Are most apartments rental or purchase?

Does anyone know what would be the monthly cost for a one bedroom in Madrid?

Ogando,

There's no comparison -- NYC is way more expensive, however, the pay scale in Spain is a lot lower. For a really good real estate web site, check out idealista.com.

[Ben]

Are banks providing home loans to most wage earning professionals in Spain or is most real estate property inherited?

Banks provide a lot of mortgages/loans to people in Spain, much the same as in the UK. What's the situation in the States?

[ValenciaSon]

Banks provide a lot of mortgages/loans to people in Spain, much the same as in the UK. What's the situation in the States?


Banks in the US are providing loans to most wage earners. Not too long ago, about 3-5 years ago, banks it seemed were handing out mortgage loans to too many people (people not really qualified). Since then they seemed to have scaled back but if you are a person with a decent, steady wage, it isn't too difficult to get a mortgage loan in the US. There is some geographic variability to this of course.

[Marina]

In Spain is much more common buying property than renting it, at least compared to other European countries like Germany. But very possible is one of the countries where the prices are higher compared to the salaries.
For a renting a flat with one bedroom in Madrid center probably you need about 700 Euros/month. If you don't mind living in the suburbs probably from 500 Euros you can find something decent.

[Mike_2]

resurrecting an old thread...

What are mortgage rates like these days in spain and how much to the banks require for a down payment? When we move to Salamanca in April my wife and I will rent for a while but we're planning to eventually buy a place.

cheers
Mike

[richardksa]

... And is there any need for any official documentation, eg NIE, to rent. And what safeguards are in place to protect tenants?

[Marina]

mortgage rates are around [0.30,0.60]+Euribor which in total now is approximately 4%, usually you have to provide 20% of the total value of the property in advanced and the mortgage will be for up to 80% but these days some banks offer mortgages for up to 100%. Note however that the value of the property is given by an official independent entity in a document called tasación, and is not the price in which the property is going to be bought, so if the tasación is above the selling price you can mortage more than 80% of the selling price.


For renting usually a nómina (= company receipt of your wages), or in the worst case an aval(=deposit of the value of 3 months rent in a bank) would be needed, but this really depends in the area and the renting demand of the moment. I believe that for renting you only need a passport number.