# House Build Approx Cost 2022- 1st/2nd hand experience??



## Brian_Watson (Jun 1, 2014)

Hi everyone, 
I know, the title is a bit "how long is a piece of string" but hear me out.

Myself and partner are moving to Spain in September to live/work. Ive lived and worked in Spain previously many times. 

We have a bit of freedom of location but have narrowed it down to three (rather large) locations. They are, 1) malaga province 2) Alicante region 3) Valencia community.

I've been searching the internet for quite a while, years really, re: building process and costs etc, and know they vary massively from region to region. Seeing cost per sqm2 anywhere from 650-2200 and also seeing building projects finished in 8 months, others 3+ years.

My question is, has anyone recently built (or is currently building) or know anyone who has recently built their own home in Spain? Not off a developer but a self build.

The cost of land on which to build is fairly straightforward so not looking for that, essentially just the building costs (architect, materials, labour etc). Or would anyone have an approximate cost for something like.......

1) 120 sqm single story house
2) Block built (i.e concrete or sandstone/limestone etc)
3) no basement
4) fairly minimal design, basically 2 cubes attached by a rectangular entrance/hallway. 
4) not looking to build in Marbella/ heavily touristed areas. Just thought I'd add that in as I know those areas are waaaay more expensive.

Again, I know there are a lot of variables and don't wan't/expect anyone to divulge their financial situation online to a stranger I'm just looking for anyone with actual experience who has recently/ is currently going through the building process because the figures per sqm2 etc online vary wildly.

Any help, pointing in right direction is greatly appreciated of course. Or if I'm in the wrong forum/area apologies.
Thanks all,
regards
Brian.


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

The very basic costs (excluding land) is 1000€ - 1500€ per m2

However, the bigger issue is finding a plot where you are allowed to build. In Valencia you need a plot of at least 10000m2 to build a 100m2 property


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## Brian_Watson (Jun 1, 2014)

wow thanks thats exactly the type of information I'm looking for, been doing quite a bit of research and never heard of that. Can I ask do you need 10,000m2 in all of valencia community or just some areas, that seems a massive plot for such a realtively small house. Is that m2 or feet2? thanks for that,


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## The Skipper (Nov 26, 2014)

Brian_Watson said:


> wow thanks thats exactly the type of information I'm looking for, been doing quite a bit of research and never heard of that. Can I ask do you need 10,000m2 in all of valencia community or just some areas, that seems a massive plot for such a realtively small house. Is that m2 or feet2? thanks for that,


You may find this article of interest: Construction of a residential house in rustic land in Spain. Valencia, Alicante, Murcia, Almería, Málaga | TLA-Lawyers in Valencia-Alicante-Malaga-Bilbao. Property, Inheritance and Immigration English, French, Dutch and German spoken


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

Brian_Watson said:


> wow thanks thats exactly the type of information I'm looking for, been doing quite a bit of research and never heard of that. Can I ask do you need 10,000m2 in all of valencia community or just some areas, that seems a massive plot for such a realtively small house. Is that m2 or feet2? thanks for that,


That's metres not feet and the whole of the Valencian Communidad. It really depends on how the land is classified.

In Murcia, I seem to recall it's 30000m2


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## Barriej (Jul 23, 2012)

Brian_Watson said:


> wow thanks thats exactly the type of information I'm looking for, been doing quite a bit of research and never heard of that. Can I ask do you need 10,000m2 in all of valencia community or just some areas, that seems a massive plot for such a realtively small house. Is that m2 or feet2? thanks for that,


You also have to be careful of what the local area allows as well, a friend has just purchased 7,000 sq meters that has a nice house but he wants to pull it down and rebuild. The old house is something like 300 sq m but the council wont give him a permit for a new build of any size, he can reform the old house though but he doesn't want too. 
He is not too happy because his lawyer said there should be no problems. 
So he is now stuck with a house he doesn't like (I do though, its got character although quite old) and land he can't now build on either (he also wanted a three car garage and a granny annex above it)..

All because he didn't bother to ask the right questions earlier or actually visit the planning office. 
Its not as if he wasn't told there may be issues, the local planner drinks in one of the bars we visit and my FIL introduced them.

At least you are asking and hopefully getting a better picture of what is and may be allowed here.


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## Melosine (Apr 28, 2013)

snikpoh said:


> That's metres not feet and the whole of the Valencian Communidad. It really depends on how the land is classified.
> 
> In Murcia, I seem to recall it's 30000m2


Have no idea where you get 30,000 because In my area of Murcia minimum plot sizes to build 250 m house, are.. in m2.....3,000, 5,000, 10,000 and 20,000 +. Dependent on how close to civilization on want to be.


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## Melosine (Apr 28, 2013)

Barriej said:


> You also have to be careful of what the local area allows as well, a friend has just purchased 7,000 sq meters that has a nice house but he wants to pull it down and rebuild. The old house is something like 300 sq m but the council wont give him a permit for a new build of any size, he can reform the old house though but he doesn't want too.
> He is not too happy because his lawyer said there should be no problems.
> So he is now stuck with a house he doesn't like (I do though, its got character although quite old) and land he can't now build on either (he also wanted a three car garage and a granny annex above it)..
> 
> ...


In my area of Murcia, as I suspect many others, one cannot just demolish and rebuild.
An Brit acquaintance I know who lives up a mountain, right out in the sticks, miles from nearest habitation, did exactly that ......because he thought he had a right....and recieved a very hefty fine.
Much the same in UK. Its not about not asking the right questions but respect to local planning laws to inquire


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

Melosine said:


> Have no idea where you get 30,000 because In my area of Murcia minimum plot sizes to build 250 m house, are.. in m2.....3,000, 5,000, 10,000 and 20,000 +. Dependent on how close to civilization on want to be.


Link to that please as it doesn't match my sources


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## Melosine (Apr 28, 2013)

snikpoh said:


> Link to that please as it doesn't match my sources


I live in the area of Lorca, Murcia, and we bought land to build a house so am well versed in plot sizes.
17 years when we bought in an urbanised area plot sizes had just risen from min 3,000 to 5,000 per 250 build with stipulation to have min 50m frontage onto tarmac road.
Neighbours with properties via an unmade road min 10, 000 m2 upwards.
Still same now as will be noted via estate agents who have lots of individual self build plots for sale


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

You've answered my point, in the countryside (may be rural but urbanised) I think it is 30000m2


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## Melosine (Apr 28, 2013)

snikpoh said:


> You've answered my point, in the countryside (may be rural but urbanised) I think it is 30000m2


With the greatest respect, how did I answer your point for 30,000 m2 in Murcia.? 
When was living in the outback "ever considered to be urbanised " where only utility is electricity. No mains water, no main sewage and rough track, sometimes more than a 2km to property. 
Yet those in my area who do still only require a minimum of 10,000 m2.
All who live like I, in the countryside, provided the property is fronted by a tarmac road only require a min of 5,000 m2.
Distance to a village being immaterial.
I know people here who bought great swathes of mountains. Hectares and hectares and even there areas have been segregated to 10,000 m2
I cannot, nor intend to, speak for parts of Murcia other than my area but still fail to understand where your insistence of 30,000 m2 comes into the equation.
Perhaps you would be good enough to quote your source.


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## sadlybroke (Jun 19, 2012)

We are in the process of building our house in the Malaga province (Benalmadena). The size of our plot is 870 sq metres. 20% of the plot size in our urbanisation may be built on and 25% of the plot size may be interiors (which includes covered terraces). This varies from urbanisation to urbanisation.

We were lucky with our plot. We had a choice of two and decided to buy one of them. I paid a lawyer who was supposed to do all the searches and advise with the plot purchase. He found nothing of concern in either of the two plots. Then, after we purchased our plot, we found out that there is a massive pipe in the ground along the length of the other plot with a protected area of 5 metres on each side of it, where nothing may be built. Also, there is a protected area of 3 metres around the perimeter of the plot, again nothing may be built there. This means there isn't enough space to build a house on that plot. We are soooooo lucky that we chose the other one. I feel sorry for the poor people who bought the other plot and only then found out they may not build there and they just wasted €€€,€€€. The lawyer failed to highlight this when he carried out the searches.

He also failed to find out that the water and electricity connection that was on the plot was not suitable and we were shocked to be quoted €200k for connecting the plot to utilities (this, fortunately, changed later). So much for Spanish lawyers and their "extensive searches" prior to property purchase.

Regarding the timescales, it took us 2 years to design the house and create the plans. We were very careful when selecting an architect. The one we chose seemed perfect at first, but then gradually lost interest in the project and became unresponsive to emails and calls. We ended up changing architects and the new ones have been fantastic. I would very strongly advise finding an architect who is local to your site. Our first architect was based 2 hours away and it took a long time for him to schedule visits to the coast whenever it was needed - and it was needed many times.

So, we submitted the planning application and paid the fees in early 2019. Our architect, later also project manager has been chasing the town hall on weekly basis. They knew his number and just didn't pick up in the end, he had to call from friends' phones. The only response was "we're working on it". He couldn't get appointments - covid didn't make it easier, that's for sure. He found a contact that could be helpful, a man who used to work at the town hall and still had good connections there. However, he asked for a "commission" to speed things up so we quickly abandoned the relationship with this man. It was a very, very stressful period. Eventually, three years later, we got the planning permission and a couple of weeks after that the construction started. It really did take us 3 years from the application to receiving the planning permit.

We haven't finished the construction yet. There have been many delays and, unfortunately, in the meantime, the material and labour costs have shot up which made the whole adventure about 20% more expensive than envisaged. We had companies bidding on work, getting the work, starting it and then asking for a massive increase to finish it. We couldn't risk not having work completed (as no other company would take on a project that is half-finished) so we had to pay the increased prices. 



Brian_Watson said:


> 1) 120 sqm single story house


Ours is just over 200 sqm, a bungalow with a basement.


Brian_Watson said:


> 2) Block built (i.e concrete or sandstone/limestone etc)


We opted for timber frame which has far better insulation properties, is more environmentally friendly and quicker to build (they construct the house in the factory while ground works are being carried out on the plot at the same time). The cost is roughly the same. Keeping the house warm in the winter and cool in the summer is far cheaper. The finish is the same - you can't tell what construction type the house is by just looking at it (unless you are a professional, I guess).


Brian_Watson said:


> 3) no basement


We have a basement but we reduced it from the original plan to save costs. The basement is probably the most expensive part of the project, around €80k in our project. Ground works such as building retaining walls is expensive, too. If you have a flat plot, it should be easy and straightforward.


Brian_Watson said:


> 4) fairly minimal design, basically 2 cubes attached by a rectangular entrance/hallway.


It doesn't matter that much how complex the house looks. The structure can be simple and achievable even in houses that look "different". From my experience, the quality of finishes matters a lot, more than the design of the house. In some countries, like Germany, project catalogues are popular and cheap. They are modular houses and can be slightly modified. I am sure there must be companies in Spain offering them, perhaps for the German expat community.


Brian_Watson said:


> 4) not looking to build in Marbella/ heavily touristed areas. Just thought I'd add that in as I know those areas are waaaay more expensive.


We're building in Benalmadena, so not Marbella but still expensive. All our suppliers are from inland areas though - from Coin up to the south of Seville and Granada provinces. We do not use any suppliers based on the coast because they are just too expensive.

I am very budget conscious, always ask for several quotes, and always look for ways of saving money. We went through cost reduction exercises many times and removed many nice-to-have-but-not-essential items from our project. We divided the project into 2 phases and we're concentrating on the first phase only. I plan to do a lot of DIY work (finishes like painting, some tiling, staircase railing, the fence outside, landscaping, etc.). Yet, our build costs come up at around €2,500 per square metre. That's just the projection and doesn't include items like the kitchen or wardrobes. I am sure it will be higher in the end due to the constantly rising costs of materials. We are not building a luxurious mega villa, but a decent family home. Not cheap, but not luxurious.

It is expensive and stressful, but it is my lifelong dream and I am enjoying every moment of it.


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## sadlybroke (Jun 19, 2012)

Just recalculated our budget - everything (build, fees, taxes, architect, notary, landscaping, all finishes...) works out at €3,180 per sq metre. Plus the cost of the plot (and associated fees like lawyer, taxes, notary, surveyors, etc.) on top of it. There are loads of extra expenses not included in the construction costs. I have to stress again, we are not building a high tech luxurious villa, just a normal modern house on a budget. It is expensive.


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