In Madrid, the rise in housing prices is setting records month after month. In January 2026, the average price of housing in the capital reached €5,861 per square meter, the highest level in its history and very close to the psychological barrier of €6,000/m², according to the latest data from the Idealista portal. This represents an increase of 0.7% over December, a 2.7% rise in just three months and, above all, a 14.8% jump compared to January 2025, confirming that the price hike has not slowed down despite high interest rates and difficulties in accessing housing.
While the capital breaks record after record, the average price of housing in Spain stands at €2,650/m², less than half that of Madrid city. The national year-on-year increase is even higher, at 18.4%, but starts from much lower levels, highlighting the gap between the capital and most of the country. Buying a home in Madrid is now, on average, more than twice as expensive as in Spain as a whole, a gap that makes it difficult for young people to leave home and pushes many families to look for alternatives in the metropolitan area or even in other provinces.
X-ray of a record: widespread increases in Madrid
Editorial credit: Community of Madrid
The internal price map shows a city divided in two. At the high end, Salamanca is now close to €10,000/m² (€9,968), followed by Chamberí (€8,873/m²), Chamartín (€7,971), Retiro (€7,691), and Centro (€7,322). These are the five most expensive districts, according to Idealista, where an 80-square-meter apartment can easily exceed €700,000 or €800,000, consolidating these areas as territories almost exclusively for high incomes or consolidated wealth.
At the bottom of the table are Villaverde (€2,823/m²), Puente de Vallecas (€3,287), Usera (€3,348), Villa de Vallecas (€3,560) and Carabanchel (€3,573), the five most “affordable” districts for buying a home in the city. But even here, things have heated up:Villaverde and Puente de Vallecas lead the year-on-year increases with rises of 27.9% and 26.9% respectively, while Carabanchel has risen in value by 23%. The result is that the gap between the most expensive and cheapest neighborhoods now exceeds €7,000/m², but the percentage increases are greater in precisely those areas where housing was less expensive.