Although summers are very hot in Spain, only 33% of Spanish homes have air conditioning, according to a study published by idealista, a leading real estate marketplace in Spain.
Naturally, a higher percentage of homes have air conditioning in the warmest regions. In the city of Seville 70% of houses have AC. In Córdoba, 68% of homes have a cooling system, followed by 59% in Palma, 58% in Barcelona, 56% in Valencia, 56% in Madrid, 53% in Alicante or 51% in Malaga.
Differences between properties for sale and rentals – and why it should matter for you!
Close to 50% of homes available on the rental market have air conditioning, while this proportion is barely 31% for properties available for sale.
Again, percentages differ across Spanish regions. Indeed, 80% of the homes offered on the rental market in the city of Seville have an air conditioning system. Whereas the proportion is only 68% for properties available for sale. In Valencia, the difference is similar. Indeed, two-third of the properties that are offered on the rental market have air conditioning, compared to 54% of the properties for sale.
Why should you care?
In November 2018, we bought a 85m2 flat in Valencia, which required a full renovation. As the objective was to do a profitable rental investment, we asked ourselves: do we need to install air conditioning?
Indeed, installing air conditioning is expensive. It cost us €6000, all included, for a flat with 4 bedrooms, and 4 thermostats to control the temperature.
Although this came as a significant cost, we had to consider that 66% of the properties offered on the rental market have air conditioning. Therefore, not having AC would have been a major flaw. Similarly, when selling your property, not having air conditioning can be a blocking issue for potential buyers.
So, consider the percentage of homes that are equipped with air conditioning to decide whether you need it or not:
Where do these statistics come from?
Idealista analyzed more than 945,000 homes for sale and rent available on Idealista.com in July 2019.