Who hasn’t wondered the same thing when facing the biggest purchase many people make in a lifetime, like buying a home? Buyers often try to shave a bit off the asking price, hoping the seller will bite. It’s part of the process, yet it doesn’t always work. Outcomes hinge on the offer, how hot the market is, how much property is available, and even shifts in value expectations that can arise over time.
In markets like Istanbul, where prices trend upward and inventory tightens, buyers may still encounter solid discounts, though the margin tends to shrink as premiums rise. In Alicante, for instance, fewer bargains are often visible initially, as owners place higher starting prices to reflect demand. Yet in some cases discounts can still reach around 10% or more, averaging closer to 12% according to analyses by Euroval and the Institute of Real Estate Analysis (Insta.)
Across Spain, Nacho Amirola and his team examined more than 70,000 transactions to compare asking prices with final prices in major portals, with figures broken down by municipality. The result is a clear pattern: bargaining lowers the cost of homes by roughly 9% on average, though the variation from market to market is substantial.
The Basque capital, Vitoria-Gasteiz, shows one of the largest gaps in the country, with discounts averaging around 23%. That disparity largely reflects the unusually high price levels found there. In Alicante, by contrast, sellers tend to be less flexible with apartments, and discounts are less common. These observations come from the same body of research that analyzes dynamism, location, and both domestic and foreign demand across markets (Source: Euroval and Insta.)
In some markets, the contrast between list prices and what buyers actually pay is slim. For example, two of five towns studied—Alicante and Denia—show almost no difference on average between offers and closings. The trend reflects a mix of rising demand, more flexible financing, and the post-quarantine shift toward remote work, which has helped buoy activity in areas with robust local and international interest.
Elsewhere, Elche presents a different picture. With less foreign demand, the gap between asking and final prices can climb to around 12%. Even as sales volumes rise, sellers’ expectations sometimes surpass what buyers are willing to pay, creating a tighter price alignment in that market.
Housing prices in the province rose notably last year, by about 8.7 percent overall.
In Torrevieja, the typical discount sits near 6%, while Orihuela shows a smaller average discount around 4%. These coastal towns have seen a larger supply influx in recent years, attracting a broad range of buyers, yet keeping price negotiation expectations higher for sellers than in some other regions.
Analysts note that many sellers misread the market, assuming their property is worth more simply because nearby prices tick upward. The takeaway is a cautious reminder: buyers and sellers should closely evaluate comparable sales and current market momentum before pricing or requesting discounts—an approach that helps ensure more accurate expectations on both sides.
In the Valencian Community as a whole, Sagunto records the largest discount, roughly 11%, followed by Torrent with about 7% and Valencia around 4%. These figures illustrate how local conditions shape negotiation outcomes, from demand intensity to inventory levels and investor activity (Cited data: Euroval, Insta.).
Buyer demand continues to lift market activity in the region. By quadrant, the Alicante market has moved into a space of higher sales activity and rising valuations that echo pre-crisis moments of 2008. Recent quarterly data show a robust pipeline of transactions, with 12,046 homes sold in the first quarter, a high mark not seen since the summer of 2007. Price per square meter has also climbed, averaging around 1,411 in March, while the euro has shown a notable year-over-year uptick, reflecting renewed confidence in the housing segment.
Overall, the current climate favors both buyers and sellers when they approach pricing with informed expectations, comparative analysis, and a clear understanding of local demand dynamics. By staying mindful of the breadth of variations across towns and regions, market participants can navigate negotiations with greater clarity and better positioning.