Choice is not shrinking, but prices are rising: what changed in a month between Alicante and Dénia

Hurry or wait?

Some hurry to book the first flat that suits them before everything is sold out. Others decide to wait until spring: perhaps developers will start giving way. Over the month the numbers showed that the first group is not wrong: choice is not shrinking, but the same flats are getting more expensive. It is those waiting for discounts who are wrong.

In the same developments there are no fewer homes available

I took 25 developments where on both dates both the number of available homes and the total number of flats and houses are known.

All month long reservations were signed in these buildings, and yet there are more homes available. Almost the whole difference came from the new phase on the hillside above Benidorm, released on 30 September. Without it, 280 against 282: sales and new releases nearly balanced each other out. Choice is not shrinking, but the same buildings are getting more expensive: over the month prices were raised in nine developments and only cut in one (details in the section on prices). That is why someone who books the flat they like straight away is not wrong: a month later it usually costs more, not less.

What changed by type of home

The same developments as in the September count. The comparison is approximate, but the direction is clear.

In September there were almost no three-bedroom flats: 11 available. In the same developments there are now 40: some buildings released new flats, some broke their price lists down in more detail. There are almost twice as many villas available. The least choice is left in one-bedroom flats.

And this is the full snapshot as of 15 October: 61 developments from Alicante to Dénia. There are more than a hundred developments on the site, but the share already sold can only be calculated where the developer gives the full list of flats and houses with the status of each. The rest show only what is available, without the total, so they are not in this table. Tourist apartments are not in it either: there is no full list for them.

The most sold are the top floors with their own solarium on the roof (áticos): of 223 such flats, 164 are sold, almost three out of four. There are only 25 three-bedroom flats with a garden, and two thirds of them are available. The widest choice is in villas: a little over half have been sold.

What sold in a month

Villajoyosa is selling fastest. Aster II has sold out to the last flat, and at Orizonne II a third of the available flats went in a month. In Finestrat, Green and Blue found buyers for two villas. In the other developments sales were steady, one to three flats a month.

If you like a flat at Orizonne II, it is not worth putting off the decision for months: five flats went there in a month.

What came on the market

A new phase of Benidorm Hills on the hillside above Benidorm.

Edenia II in El Verger, a new development: one-, two- and three-bedroom flats from 235,000 euros including a parking space.

At Alfaz Essence in l'Alfàs del Pi some of the flats have not yet been released for sale. That is a reserve that will come out later.

In Villajoyosa flats are back on sale at Allonbay Hills, Azure and Alonis Living.

Prices: the same buildings get dearer, only new ones are cheaper

In September I split homes into broader types, so the row-by-row comparison is approximate. Tourist apartments are on a separate row: these are homes to let under a licence, and in some of these developments VAT is 21%, not 10%, so their prices cannot be compared directly with ordinary flats. The price list for Riviera 1 is old, and I check it before any reservation.

For four types of flat the lowest price fell: by 19,000 euros for one-bedroom flats, 21,000 for one bedroom with a garden, 32,500 for three bedrooms and 41,900 for an ático with a solarium. These are not discounts. The bar was lowered by the new development in El Verger, by developments that were not in the September count and by flats that came back on sale.

In the same buildings the price went up. Over the month it was raised in nine developments. In Finestrat, two-bedroom flats and áticos at My White Resort went up by 30,000 euros, flats at Marqués Golf Resort by 40,000 and the villas at Las Bellas by 70,000 to 90,000. By the sea in La Cala, Villajoyosa, ground-floor flats at Ocean Hills added 5,000 to 10,000, and the penthouses at neighbouring Vista Cala 52 25,000. A townhouse and one flat in Finestrat went up by 5,000. Prices were cut in three developments, and only in one did they only go down: a villa at Vila Natura in La Nucía became 10,000 cheaper. At SaliSol Golf in Finestrat one villa became 10,000 cheaper while two neighbouring ones went up by 4,000; at Alonis Living in Villajoyosa the third phase became 20,000 to 33,000 cheaper while the other two went up by 1,500 to 2,500. For anyone waiting for discounts this is the main answer: what gets cheaper is the choice, not the same flats.

On top of the price come 10% VAT and 1.4% stamp duty, plus the notary and land registry.

Sales pace: about five per cent a month

In the Benidorm area 5.5% of the available stock goes each month. For the first time there are two points, 17 September and 15 October, and from this issue on I track the pace separately for flats together with townhouses and for villas.

Flats and townhouses began to sell faster over the month: 5.4% of the remaining stock a month against 3.1%. It is too early to talk of a market speeding up: the measurements cover only a month, and in September half as many developments went into the calculation. For villas there is no September figure: one sale across three developments says nothing. Now roughly one in eighteen available villas goes each month. The November issue will have a third point, and it will be clear whether the pace holds.

The current stock would last a year and a half to two years if developers stopped releasing new homes. But they keep releasing, so I do not expect a shortage in the coming months.

Notaries: why the average price per metre is misleading

When a buyer asks what a square metre costs in a town, they are given the average price from notary statistics. Next to it I always check two things.

The median. This is the price exactly in the middle: half of the sales are cheaper, half are dearer. In Villajoyosa the average is 2,393 euros per metre and the median 1,885. The average is pushed up by new builds: before a notary they cost 3,761 euros per metre there. Anyone guided by 2,393 will overpay for a resale flat. In Jávea the figures almost match, and there the average can be trusted.

The number of sales. In Altea a metre of new build before a notary cost 7,127 euros, but only 13 such sales were signed there in a year. That is the price of a few houses, not of the market. In Finestrat there were 305 new-build sales in the same year, in Dénia 393, and those figures I trust.

Where the price may rise and where you can negotiate

The price lists show where the last flats will not get cheaper and where it makes sense to ask for a discount. These are signs, not a promise.

The price may rise:

Orizonne II, Villajoyosa. Since mid-September 5 of 14 available flats have gone; 9 of 66 are left (developer availability as of 16.10).

My White Resort, Finestrat. 13 of 99 flats are available, and the developer has already raised prices by 30,000 euros (list of 17.09).

Marqués Golf Resort, Finestrat. 6 of 81 flats are left, and prices have already gone up by 40,000 (list of 17.09).

In this situation the last flats usually do not get cheaper.

You can negotiate:

SaliSol Golf, Finestrat. Not a single villa has sold since June. More are available, 9 of 14, one even came back from the sold ones, and completion has been moved to 2027-2028 (October list).

Alonis Living, Villajoyosa. The developer has already cut prices in the third phase by 20,000 to 33,000 euros, and five flats are back on sale (list of 15.10).

Here it makes sense to ask for a discount, and I will handle that for you.

What to buy now, and for whom

One or two bedrooms up to 330,000 euros. There is plenty of choice and time to compare. There is no point waiting for discounts: the price was lowered by new developments, not by concessions.

Two bedrooms by the sea in Villajoyosa. This is where things sell fastest. If you like a flat, better to decide in weeks rather than months.

Three bedrooms with a garden. A rare format, but two thirds of these flats are available. Now is a good moment to choose the floor and the orientation.

A villa. The widest choice and the same lowest price as a month ago.

I keep a database of developers' price lists from Alicante to Dénia and check every week what has sold and what has come out. The price for you is the same as at the sales office, and I do the searching and comparing for you. Why you are better off with me than without me.

Vitalii Kotenko, estate agent in Benidorm. The next monthly issue is on 16 November 2026.