Barcelona

Find your new home in Barcelona

About Barcelona

Barcelona has become the first destination for all Europe as Spain begins to recover economically, Barcelona is the ideal city to invest before the real estate market rises further. The low interest rates and its solid economy attract investors looking for properties in Barcelona, as the Spanish real estate market shows excellent potential in capital profitability. New homes have been the most popular and are expected to represent at least 50% of transactions in the first quarter of 2018.

Population in 2018

1,621,537

Don't miss in Barcelona

#SagradaFamilia #Ramblas #Barceloneta

Cost of living

High

Barcelona Weather

jan
10
feb
10
mar
12
apr
13
may
16
jun
20
jul
23
aug
24
sep
22
oct
18
nov
13
dec
11

Interview with Engel & Völkers

Oriol Canal, Director General of the Metropolitan Market Center of Engel & Völkers, Barcelona.

What are the activities, tourist destinations, and curiosities that most attract the foreigners who visit the city?

At a global level, Barcelona is one of the most interesting cities for foreigners to visit. It has a good climate, public beaches, rich architecture, and a great offering of cultural, gastronomical, and leisure activities.

Architecture:

This is the city of Antoni Gaudí and his famous monuments, including the Sagrada Familia Cathedral, Casa Milá (also known as La Pedrera), and Park Güell.

Las Ramblas is one of the most preferred walking areas for both locals and tourists. A nice walk that goes from Plaça de Catalunya to the sea. A good place to find souvenirs, flowers, restaurants, and living statues.

Activities:

  • April 23 – Saint George’s Day (Día de Sant Jordi): Saint George is the patron saint of Catalunya. This day is also known as the Day of Roses. Men give roses to women and women give books to men. It is a day of love and friendship. This tradition comes from when Saint George killed the dragon, out of whose blood grew a rose.
  • September 24 – La Mercé: Feast of the patron saint of the city.
  • FC Barcelona: Watch a game.
  • Many concerts: Primavera Sound Festival, Sónar (an electronic music festival).
  • Night of the Museums: All museums remain open for the night and offer free admission.
  • Sports: Formula One and motorcycles.

Gastronomy:

Barcelona is a very avant-garde city. Many of its restaurants have Michelin stars. The well-known El Bullí is temporarily closed. Very close to Barcelona is El Celler de Can Roca, which has been considered one of the best restaurants in the world.

Museums:

There are numerous museums, among which stand out the Picasso Museum and the Miró Museum.

Quality of Life:

Barcelona is a very safe city, with a mild and pleasant climate. It is a pioneer in education and healthcare. Its business schools are rated among the 10 best in Europe: ESADE y IESE. It has a top-notch healthcare system, which has people come from abroad for ophthalmology treatment. The public clinics, like Hospital Clínico, are also very good - even his Majesty the King Juan Carlos I has come here for surgery!

Public education is also very good. We have the Montserrat School, which is considered one of the best schools in Spain.

There are also many international schools, such as the Liceo Francés, the Benjamin Franklin International School (American), the Swiss School, and the German School...Another school to highlight is La Miranda.

In addition to the beaches, several ski resorts are an hour and a half away: Masella, La Molina, Baqueira. We are also close to Andorra and the French Pyrenees.

The Pyrenees are an hour and a half away from Barcelona and offer trekking, rural tourism, bicycle tours, and mushroom hunting in autumn for the highly-valued ‘Robellones’.

Another event with a worldwide importance that is held in Barcelona is the Mobile World Congress. This is the biggest event for telephones and new technology and gathers more than 100,000 attendees. This week-long event is held at the end of February.

Which would be the best neighborhood or area that you would recommend to a foreign buyer?

It depends on what you are looking for. In the city center, above all, you will find apartments.

If you are planning on living in Barcelona for several years and want to be close to schools, look for large houses with parking in the Zona Alta, the Sarriâ-Sant-Gervasi district, or the Pedralbes neighborhood.

The tourist that is buying for their holidays would prefer the Old Town (Casco Antiguo / Ciutat Vella) which includes Las Ramblas and the sea, which you can reach on foot. Eixample (Ensanche) is in the emblematic center of Barcelona. This area is enjoyed by many foreign clients who come to spend some time in the city. It has a great atmosphere and public transport. All of the stores speak English. Barcelona’s Passeig de Gràcia is the equivalent to New York’s Fifth Avenue or Paris’ Champs-Élysées.

Diagonal Mar, the newest zone (only 20 years old) has skyscrapers on the seafront with services including gyms, swimming pools, gardens, paddle tennis, and tennis.

In Pedralbes, on Pearson Avenue, there are large luxury houses, mostly bought by foreigners, which cost over 3 million euros.

What type of product sells best to foreigners? Apartments? Single-family homes? Mansions? Residences? And also, how many rooms? With a swimming pool? Garden? Terrace?...

European clients prefer apartments with elements from classical architecture, from the 19th to 20th century, with modern architecture. These are apartments with very high, adorned ceilings and colored mosaic floors (made of hydraulic cement floor tiles).

For 2- to 3-bedroom apartments or luxury houses in the suburbs with 1-2 bathrooms, the price per square meter is around 5,000 euros. These tend to have balconies, and those with terraces are highly-valued. The attics (or penthouses) offer more privacy and light, while the “principal” apartments usually have a terrace in the rear.

There are not many communal areas in the apartment buildings, but in the Zona Alta and in Diagonal Mar they do have swimming pools. In the city center, only renovated buildings have communal swimming pools on their roofs.

What does your management have to offer a foreign buyer?

We are an international real estate agency with more than 40 years of experience. In Barcelona, we are the market leaders and have the biggest selection, with 3,500 quality properties.

We offer clients personalized treatment with agents who act as their personal shoppers. We speak 15 languages! We invite clients to visit only those properties that fit with what they are looking for. We guarantee and offer security so that the legal aspects of the transactions go well.

Relocation Services

We can put our clients in contact with companies we collaborate with, such as insurance agencies, surveyors, architects, financial services, local tax advice, or international tax services as well as our own lawyers on staff and a legal department. We can also help search for schools or other services that are required, such as the management of light and water if clients want to rent out their property later on.