Ask which Spanish town has the most expensive homes and most people say Marbella, or a corner of Madrid. The official answer, every quarter since the middle of 2022, has been Santa Eulària des Riu, on Ibiza.
How does Santa Eulària compare with the rest of Spain?
Spain's Ministry of Housing publishes appraised home values each quarter for every municipality of more than 25,000 people. In the second quarter of 2026 Santa Eulària came top of 306, at EUR 6,844 per square metre, up 13.3 per cent in a year. Calvià, on Mallorca, was second at EUR 5,502, then Eivissa town at EUR 5,473. Madrid came in at EUR 5,418, Marbella at EUR 4,528 and Palma at EUR 3,815.
Santa Eulària has led that table for 17 consecutive quarters, from the second quarter of 2022 to the second quarter of 2026. Over the run its value rose from EUR 4,219 to EUR 6,844 per square metre, a gain of 62.2 per cent. Before it, San Sebastián and Eivissa took turns at the top.
| Municipality | EUR per square metre |
|---|---|
| Santa Eulària des Riu | 6,844 |
| Calvià | 5,502 |
| Eivissa | 5,473 |
| Madrid | 5,418 |
| Marbella | 4,528 |
| Palma | 3,815 |
How should you read the ranking?
These are appraisals, not sale prices, and the samples are small: the quarter's figure for Santa Eulària rests on 123 appraisals. Two other Ibiza municipalities, Sant Josep and Sant Antoni, aren't in the table at all. Use the ranking for direction and an individual valuation for price.
What is pushing Ibiza values up?
Demand is part of it. Foreign buyers made 32.27 per cent of home purchases in the Balearics in the second quarter of 2026, the highest share of any Spanish region and about double the national 15.98 per cent. Ibiza's airport handled 9.1 million passengers in 2025, and the UK was its largest international market at 1.87 million.
Supply is the other part, and it keeps tightening. Since April 2025 the Balearics has allowed no new tourist places in apartment buildings anywhere in the islands. In August 2025 Ibiza's island council went further: no new-build home, and no building put up after 1956, on rustic land can be used for tourist lets. The council puts that at 82 per cent of the homes that could have qualified. New homes must also reuse grey water and cut consumption by at least 60 per cent, and no pool licence is granted where the aquifer is in poor condition.
Those rules arrived after the run began, so they can't explain how it started. They do make it harder to see how it ends. When new supply is this constrained, the homes that already exist carry more of the demand. For how the islands fit Spain's wider prime market, see the Spanish property market in 2026.
What does it cost to buy on Ibiza?
None of this makes Ibiza cheap to enter. Transfer tax on a resale home runs on a progressive scale from 8 per cent to 13 per cent, so a EUR 3 million resale carries EUR 340,000 in tax. A new build at the same price carries EUR 360,000 in VAT and stamp duty. For the process step by step, see buying luxury property in Ibiza, and for what's on the market now, luxury real estate on Ibiza.
Questions buyers ask
What is the most expensive place to buy a home in Spain?
On the Ministry of Housing's appraised values for municipalities of more than 25,000 people, it's Santa Eulària des Riu on Ibiza, at EUR 6,844 per square metre in Q2 2026.
How much have Ibiza home values risen?
In Santa Eulària des Riu, appraised values rose from EUR 4,219 per square metre in Q2 2022 to EUR 6,844 in Q2 2026, a gain of 62.2 per cent.
Are foreigners buying in the Balearics?
Yes. Foreign buyers made 32.27 per cent of home purchases in the Balearics in Q2 2026, the highest share of any Spanish region and about double the national 15.98 per cent.
Can you rent out a new home on Ibiza to tourists?
Not on rustic land. Since August 2025, no new-build home, and no building put up after 1956, on rustic land can be used for tourist lets. The Balearics also allows no new tourist places in apartment buildings.
How much tax do you pay buying a house on Ibiza?
Resale homes pay transfer tax on a progressive scale from 8 to 13 per cent, so a EUR 3 million resale carries EUR 340,000. A new build at the same price carries EUR 360,000 in VAT and stamp duty.
Source: Spanish Ministry of Housing: appraised home values by municipality (XLS)
Source: Registradores: Estadística Registral Inmobiliaria, Q2 2026
Source: Aena: Ibiza airport 2025 traffic
