The expansion of Barcelona is today the most iconic neighborhood in the city, with a gridded street of modernist architecture that distinguishes the Catalan capital from any other city in Europe.
Its urbanization began in 1860 with Pla Cerdà and an obvious need to make the city grow beyond the walls. Then baptized with the satirizing Can Fanga, since its soil took years to stop being from a land that became wet with the rain and filled the streets with mud, today it is the third neighborhood with the highest price in the city, second only to by Sarrià-Sant Gervasi and Les Corts.
Recently, with the urban planning action of the City Council – and the well-known “superilles” – neighborhoods such as Sant Antoni or the Sagrada Família have been revalued more quickly and their real estate market exudes enormous potential.
Orbiting around the capital that gives it its name, the Sagrada Família neighborhood finds tenants in an average of 17 days, according to data from Housfy, a comprehensive real estate services platform with a large presence in Catalonia.
Meanwhile, in other neighborhoods of the expansion such as l'Antiga Esquerra de l'Eixample, not far away, owners take an average of 52 days to find a tenant. In it, the more demanding supply attracts a limited demand.
The trends in housing prices in the Sagrada Família have been very similar to the rest of the city's areas. With an average monthly rent of €1,019.4 in 2022, slightly lower than the average, compared to €664.30 in 2013, it is the most affordable neighborhood in the entire district in terms of average rent.
It remains to be seen if it will be for a long time.
As an example, this 3-bedroom apartment on Carrer dels Enamorats was rented with Housfy in just 13 days.
Along Carrer Parlament, the pacification of the Sant Antoni neighborhood has stimulated social and public life. Children play in the parks after leaving school, young people sit on the terraces of bars and restaurants, and local commerce is encouraged in places such as Ronda or the Mercat de Sant Antoni.
With an average of €4,651.7/m², the price of properties for sale, higher than the Barcelona average during 2022 (€4,267.7/m²), scales to catch up with other already gentrified neighborhoods such as Vila de Gràcia (€4,895.0/m²) or Barceloneta (€4,674.6/m²).
And the demand has also grown, perhaps as a consequence of these urban planning actions. According to Housfy's calculation, in Sant Antoni an average of 55 days pass from when a flat is published until the sale is formalized, much less than the average for the entire city of Barcelona, which reaches two and a half months (77 days ).
An example of this is this property in Ronda de Sant Pau, in Sant Antoni, which Housfy recently sold for €339,000.
It is expected that the consequences of the new urban projects will extend from Sant Antoni to Poble-sec, separated only by the Paral·lel leisure centre. This neighborhood, belonging to the Sants-Montjuïc district, is opening up to new profiles of residents who find more affordable prices and an interesting, “indie” lifestyle.
