Rural homes see 50% jump in online searches in Spain’s worst-hit coronavirus regions

Internet searches for rural houses in Spain have doubled in regions badly hit by coronavirus cases and restrictions.

A report from Spain’s leading online property portal Idealista said online inquiries into rural homes in Aragón jumped from 18.9% of total searches in January to 35.2% in November.

(Aragón was one of the only autonomous communities in Spain to see more than 1,000 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 inhabitants during the second wave.)

Other badly-hit regions – Navarra and Madrid – saw increases from 18.1%-26.6% and 3.7%-6.2% respectively.

Across all of Spain, internet searches for rural homes jumped from 10.1% of total searches in January to 14.8% in November.

Idealista said the data does not reflect an ‘exodus’ to a countryside life.

Their report said remote working, low prices and a better life for the children could also behind the surge.

The portal classified rural homes as houses in any municipality below 5,000 population – prices in these areas are 52% cheaper than the national average.

This works out as 840e per metre squared, compared to the national average of 1,752e per metre squared.

Read more in Idealista’s report.