There's no winning town: four filters are crossed - demand, entrance price, employment and regulatory risk - before looking at a flat. Spain closed 2025 with 146,3 M of extras and tourist apartments are already the 52,1% of that extras. Málaga (82,4% of occupation), Canarias and Alicante lead by demand and entrance price lower than Madrid or Barcelona, but these last two have been put in regulating red.
The most expensive mistake of the tourist housing investor isn't buying the wrong flat: it's buying at the wrong market. A good asset in a market with a decline of demand or a market with a low demand and a low market and a low market with a high level of demand and a low market with a low market share. That's why work starts a level above the brick: at market screening.
Screening means crossing four macro filters - demand, entry price, employment and regulatory risk - before looking at a single announcement. It's not a "pretty cities" and "best place to live" ranking. It's capital assignment. That article gives you the grid and data with source to apply to 2026.
The frame: España bates records but the record isn't consistent
The backdrop's outstanding. Spain closed 2025 with a historic record 146,3 million outpatient nights (+ 3,0%)and the tourist apartments already represent the 52,1% from that extrachotelerwith an increased 5,9% (INE, EOAT 2025). The 75,2% of these nights are from non-residents, y Reino Unido encabeza la emisión con un 30,4%.
But a national record isn't an investment thesis. The demand is focused: The Canary Islands was the leading destination of tourist apartments with more than 28,6 million nights (+ 10,9%) (INE EOAT, 2025). Para el capital, lo relevante no es el agregado país, sino qué mercado captura demanda estructural, a qué precio de entrada y bajo qué reglas. Ahí entran los cuatro filtros.
1 Filter - demand: Is there structural flow, not just summer?
The first filter is the actual demand and its composition. It's not good enough with "people come" lt matters how much, from where and if it's destationary. Three signs:
2 filter - Input price: the yield denominator
The jield is income divided by purchase cost. The tourist income tends to converge between comparable cities, and what fires or sinks the jield denominator: how much you pay for the square meter. And there's huge differences.
| Market | Prices for sale (€/ m ², 2026) | Inverter's reading |
|---|---|---|
| Madrid | 5.960 € / m ² | Fancy entrance and demand high ADR and sustained urban occupation |
| Barcelona | 5.243 € / m ² | face and face with Red regulatory risk (see 4 filter) |
| Valencia | 3.359 € / m ² | Moderate entry with growing demand |
| Málaga | Maximum at 2026 | Leader but price up: monitoring the entry moment |
| Seville | 2.804 € / m ² | Low Denominador: Yield can beat more expensive prime markets |
Source: Idealist, 2026 (housing price used for sale, april-May 2026).
The conclusion is counterintuitive: A town with somewhat lower employment but low entrance price can rent more than a face prime. Seville to 2.804 € / m ² part of a denominator about half that Madrid to 5.960 € / m ². That's why screening puts income and cost at once. To look at only income is the first step to pay more.
3 Filter - Occupation: The actual engine of the Annual Income
Occupation is the lever that converts an asset into cash flow. At 2025, target leaders were clear:
| Destination | 2025 |
|---|---|
| Málaga | 82,4% |
| Canary Islands | 81,5% |
| Alicante | 80,7% |
| Media Spain (hotel) | 75,5% |
Source: Str-Cushman and Wakefield Hotel Barometer, 2025. Hotel employment serves as a proxy for the health of destination and well-run VT is usually above them.
Two inverter nuances. First, the occupation of destiny is a ground, not a roof: Professional management with dynamic training can place a concrete asset well above its market average. The second, without detatuation, cheats: 80% distributed throughout the year better than 80% focused at high season, for best cover of fixed costs.
4 Filter - Regulatory risk: today, first discount
At 2026 the regulatory risk stopped being a footnote to become the first filter to rule out whole markets. The regulations of VT in Spain are and Municipaland moves quickly. The light map:
The details that change calculation: since the reform of April Horizontal Property Act of 2025A community of neighbours can veto new VT with a majority of 3 / 5. That makes risk an asset variable, not just a town. A structural exception: a complete building with only one owner He doesn't have a community to vote for, so dodge that veto - that's why serious capital increasingly looks at the whole block. We developed them at where to invest in tourist building and how the investor appreciates the regulatory risk.
From market to asset: the cascade of euro pre- sign
Once a market passes all four filters, the macro screening cedes to the underwriting of the concrete asset. And here's the wedding that separates the professional decision from the enthusiasm: The gross performance that ads sell isn't what goes into your pocket.. A recreational profitability of the 6-10% gross falls to the 3-7% net after expenditure (sector estimate). The only figure that decides is NOI, and you get to it with the cascade of pre-sign euro:
| Concept | % about income | Example (EUR / year) |
|---|---|---|
| Gross income (rental) | 100% | 30.000 |
| − Comisión de canal (OTA 15–18% / Tudesvío 10%) | −14% | −4.200 |
| − Cleaning and laundry | −12% | −3.600 |
| − IBI, community and supplies | −10% | −3.000 |
| − Management and operation | −15% | −4.500 |
| − CAPEX, replacement and gaps | −8% | −2.400 |
| = NOI / gain by hand | ≈ 41% | 12.300 |
Proprietary percentages for a managed tourist floor (sector estimate) and each item conforms to market and asset. The goal of the cascade is for each discount euro to be visible before signing, and not after.
The channel commission deserves its own focus: the holiday distribution remains dependent on OTAs -Booking concentrates the 54,3% of the Reserve, Airbnb the 26,7% and directly only the 17,6% (Lodgify, 2025). Each reserve that moves from OTA to the direct channel improves the NOI: Bliss's own channel, Tudesvío, opera al 10% de comisión frente al 15–18% de las OTAs (isn't free but the difference goes directly to the net). How to figure this number step by step have it at net yield in tourist housingand the comparative town to town net VT profitability by town 2026.
Clear Screening vs. Round Promises: Bliss's Wedding
Most managers and vendors of "opportunities" make the way back: they start from a round promise (+ 40%, "150% Annual," "1.800 € Net") and never teach both the source and cascade. The investor criterion requires the opposite: every market figure with source and year and every euro of lost expenditure before signing.
| Criterion | Bliss Homes | Round promise / regular fee |
|---|---|---|
| Market figures | with source and year (INE, STR, Idealist) | "+ 40%," "150% Annual" without source |
| Gross to net | Euro cascade | Just the raw inflated announcement |
| Regulatory risk | Mapping by CCAA and municipality | Unknown or minimized |
| Direct Canal | Tudesvío 10% vs 15-18% OTAs | Total OTAs Unit |
| Reparation of the upside | Combined model ground and distribution (R2R) | Fixed canon: roof to your upside |
| Operating Test | 87% occupation, improved versus mean, 44 props | No verifiable portfolio claims |
It's not marketing: it's the difference between buying an auditory thesis and buying a promise. Bliss manages his portfolio with a mean occupation of 87% and income above market average (internal portfolio data), and translates that information-how operative to pre-purchase scanning. In front of the fixed canon that challenges your profitability, the mixed model of ground + distribution captures the upside as an asset yields more. You'll see it applied to buy a rural house for tourismwhere the same method goes to rural markets that chains ignore.
Operating Abstract: 2026 Grid
Before looking at a single commercial, you can get through these four filters at every market in this order:
Solo cuando un mercado pasa los cuatro, baja al activo y monta la cascada de euros. Para profundizar en la comparativa por ciudad, ve a net VT profitability by town 2026for the whole block, a our Building Pageand for the overview, a tourism investment.
FAQ
What are the best cities to invest in tourist housing at 2026?
No hay un único ganador: depende de cruzar demanda, precio de entrada, ocupación y riesgo regulatorio. En 2026 los mercados con mejor combinación de ocupación alta y regulación más estable son los costeros con desestacionalización (Málaga 82,4% de ocupación, Canarias 81,5%, Alicante 80,7%, Barómetro STR–Cushman & Wakefield 2025) y Valencia y Sevilla por precio de entrada moderado. Barcelona (fin de licencias VT en 2028) y Madrid (Plan RESIDE con techo alcanzado) quedan en rojo por riesgo regulatorio, aunque mantengan demanda.
What markets have more tourist demand in Spain?
The demand is focused on coast and islands. The Canary Islands was the leading destination of tourist apartments at 2025 with more than 28,6 million nights, a 10,9% more than at 2024 (INE EOAT 2025). At the national level, extra-carrier nights set a record of 146,3 million and tourist apartments are already the 52,1% of the extra-carrier. The 75,2% of these nights are from non-residents with the UK as first emitter (30,4%).
How do you do the screening of a tourist market before buying?
Four macro filters are crossed into this order: 1) demand (overnight, employment, non-resident weight), 2) entry price (€/ m ², that lays down the name of the yield), 3) actual occupation and standstill of destination and 4) regulatory risk by CAA and municipality (moratoriums, quotas, LpH reform). Only once a market passes all four filters does it make sense to get down to the concrete asset and mount the financial model with pre-sign cascade.
Why's the price per square meter key to the jield?
Porque es el denominador del yield: el mismo ingreso turístico divide entre un coste de adquisición muy distinto según la ciudad. Madrid (5.960 €/m²) y Barcelona (5.243 €/m²) son casi el doble de caros que Sevilla (2.804 €/m²) o Valencia (3.359 €/m²) en 2026 (Idealista, 2026). Una ciudad con ocupación algo menor pero precio de entrada bajo puede rentar más que una prime cara. Por eso el screening pondera ingreso y coste a la vez, no solo el ingreso.
Where's less regulatory risk to invest in VT?
El riesgo no es uniforme. Barcelona (elimina licencias VT en 2028) y Madrid (Plan RESIDE) son los focos rojos. Valencia, Sevilla, Málaga, Alicante y Bilbao están en verde-ámbar, cada una con su propia norma autonómica y municipal que hay que verificar caso a caso. A nivel estatal, el Registro Único (NRUA, RD 1312/2024) fue anulado por la STS 620/2026, así que manda el código autonómico (VUT/VV/HUT). El riesgo regulatorio es hoy el primer filtro de un screening serio.
Is the gross performance I see in commercials real?
Almost never. The raw advertising ignores channel commission, cleanup, IBI, community, management, CAPEX and gaps. A holiday profitability of the gross 6-10% usually falls to the net 3- 7% after expenditure (sector estimate). The investment criterion is to always work with the pre-sign euro cascade: from gross income to NOI by hand with each item broken down. If a market only holds rough, it's not a good market.
How much does the channel commission weigh on net profitability?
A lot, because the vacation distribution depends on OTAs: Booking concentrates the 54,3% of the Reserve, Airbnb of the 26,7% and the direct only 17,6% (Lodgify, 2025). With OTA commissions from the 15-18%, every euro passing through a direct channel rather than OTA improves the NOI. The Bliss's own direct channel, Tudesvío, operates to the commission 10% (isn't free), and moving OTA's reserves directly is one of the cleanest levers of net jield.
Do you care about more town or coast for tourist housing at 2026?
Coast and islands dominate demand and occupation (Málaga, Canarias and Alicante lead employment at 2025) but they also concentrate some of the regulatory risk and rising prices. The town offers shorter and better deparking rooms in some cases, but Madrid and Barcelona are in regulated red. The answer isn't town vs. coast, but the concrete market passing the four scanning filters with best income / cost / risk ratio.
Before buying the asset, valid market
We have built up the market and cascade market and pre-signing euro of your operation: demand, entry price, employment and regulatory risk with verifiable sources, plus the model from raw to NOI with data from our actual portfolio (87% of occupation, improvement relative to mean).