The beneficiaries of the project extend beyond owners and supporters. Since the Alicante real estate market regained momentum after restrictions eased, and especially over the past summer, activity has surged. Transactions have risen alongside property prices, boosting public coffers at a moment when maintaining essential services is a priority for the pandemic era. A notable improvement is visible in the main tax revenue stream for the Generalitat, mirroring other regional governments through the sale of secondary market real estate. This segment now represents a substantial portion of total transactions, roughly 87%.
Recent data indicate that the Valencia Tax Office (ATV) shows a 59.2% uptick in the Alicante province in the first five months of the year, reaching 416.7 million euros compared with 261 million in the same period of 2021.
Although the growth in revenue spans all taxes collected by the regional authority, the primary driver for this strong increase appears to be the performance of transfer-related taxes. The Property Transfer Tax, typically 10% on purchases of second-hand homes where a reduced rate applies, includes exceptions such as affordable housing programs or incentives for under-35s with income limits.
Tax receipts for this levy in Alicante from January through May totalled 285.9 million euros, up 68.1% from the same period in 2021. ATV officials, including director Sonia Díaz, attribute the rise to a higher number of deals and rising property prices observed during this interval.
In the same frame, the first four months of the year saw housing sales increase by nearly 50% across the country, according to the National Statistics Institute (INE). The average appraised value of homes also climbed, by 8.7% year over year, per the latest data from the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda.
historical context
On the other hand, ATV data show a notable rise in revenue from inheritance taxes paid when legacies are formalized. So far this year, payments total 53.1 million euros, up 52.9% from 2021. Díaz notes two possible explanations. First, the figures reflect the tail end of the pandemic period with higher mortality, leading to more processed legacies. Second, there is consideration that the new Cadastre Reference Value used to calculate the base for this tax may also be driving some of the increase, effective from January 1.
Housing prices in the province have accelerated over the past year, increasing by 8.7%.
Documented Legal Transactions Tax collected 51.09 million euros, up 30.4%, while gaming-related rates and taxes produced 23.22 million euros, up 54.2%.
Moreover, Díaz highlights a modest gap between the recognized tax entitlements of 901.1 million euros at the regional level and the actual income, which stood at 867.3 million. This points to a high level of compliance among Valencia taxpayers and, for now, to some uncertainty in the broader economic environment affecting payment capacity. In plain terms, there is no notable rise in nonpayment.