The old fishermen's quarter by the sea: tiled houses, real character, the beach.
Valencia Expat Daily is a free English digest of the city's news, plus the events, deadlines and openings worth knowing about. Five minutes, every morning.
Low tiled houses, a grid of narrow streets, and the Malvarrosa beach at the end of them. Cabanyal spent decades neglected and is now the most talked-about part of the city, which has pushed prices up fast. You wake up near the sea; you also live a proper tram ride from the centre.
The catch: Gentrifying fast, and further from the centre than newcomers expect.
A dozen questions about how you want to live, and we tell you which of the nineteen areas fits, what it costs, and what you would end up complaining about.
Take the two-minute quizThe same twelve measures on all nineteen pages, so two can be read side by side. Our own ratings, not official statistics.
| Getting around without a car | Workable without a car |
|---|---|
| How central it is | Outside the centre but connected to it |
| Noise | Calm most of the time |
| Going out in the evening | A handful of local bars |
| Green space | A park or two |
| The sea | The beach at the end of the street |
| With children | Good for children |
| English and the international crowd | A sizeable international crowd |
| Space for your money | Ordinary value for Valencia |
| Parking | Parking is a daily problem |
| What you would be renting | Dense older city flats |
| The buildings | Almost all pre-1960 blocks |
Asking prices in El Cabanyal run around 20 EUR per square metre a month. On the benchmarks we use for all nineteen areas:
That is the 3rd highest of the 17 areas we hold reliable asking data for. Bands rather than exact numbers, because a single figure would imply a precision we do not have.
Portals publish asking prices, what you will be quoted this month. The government publishes signed contracts, which include everyone who moved in years ago on a rent that never caught up. Both are true at once. Arriving now, budget against the asking price, and see why the two figures disagree for the longer version.
Asking prices in El Cabanyal run around 4,017 EUR per square metre to buy. On the same benchmark sizes the rent figures use:
By the square metre that is the 5th most expensive of the 18 areas we hold sale data for, which is not the same as the cheapest to buy in: what a home costs here also depends on how big the homes are. Bands rather than exact numbers, for the same reason as the rents.
Buying a resale home in the Comunitat Valenciana carries a transfer tax, ITP, plus notary, land registry and legal costs. The general ITP rate has been 9% since 1 June 2026, cut from 10% by Ley 5/2025; above 1,000,000 EUR the excess is taxed at 11%. Reduced rates of 6% and 3% exist for under-35 first-time buyers, large families and buyers with a disability, but all of them cap the property at 180,000 EUR, which is below almost every band on this page. A new build is different again: no ITP, but IVA at 10% plus AJD at 1.4%.
On a 241,000 EUR one-bedroom flat in El Cabanyal, which is the middle of the band above:
So the costs on top come to roughly 9.9% to 11.2% of the price. Non-resident lenders generally go to 60–70% of value, so plan on finding 30% or more yourself. Since Spain's 2019 mortgage law the bank pays the AJD, the notary and the registry on the mortgage deed itself, and you pay the valuation.
The tax is not due at the notary: it is self-assessed on Modelo 600 within one month of the date of the deed, in calendar days. Most websites quote 30 working days, which is the national default and roughly two weeks too generous here. Rates checked 2026-08-10. This is market information and not tax, legal or financial advice, and the reduced rates in particular turn on personal circumstances we know nothing about. Confirm anything here with a lawyer before you sign.
What happened in Valencia, what is on, and the deadlines and openings that actually affect you. In English, free, and written for people who live here.
The comparison newcomers make most often. El Cabanyal is the old fishermen's grid with the Malvarrosa sand at the end of the street, low tiled houses and very few lifts. Camins al Grau is newer and quieter, built around the marina and the Ciudad de las Artes, which is the water without the sandy-feet life.
Each sentence below is computed from the same data as the quiz rather than written by hand for the pair. Percentages compare a one-bedroom flat.
Between the centre and the port, near the Ciudad de las Artes and the marina.
Choose Camins al Grau instead and you get: Right by the marina and the Ciudad de las Artes, a little closer to the centre, and about 5% cheaper. Much less character and few old streets left.
5% cheaper on a one-bed
We publish Valencia's news in English every morning. The stories that named El Cabanyal load here, live, so this is never a snapshot of the day the page was written. If nothing appears, read today's edition instead.
Advertised asking prices in El Cabanyal run around 20 EUR per square metre a month, so roughly 1,080 to 1,320 EUR for a 60 square metre one-bedroom and 1,800 to 2,200 EUR for a 100 square metre three-bedroom. That is the 3rd highest of the 17 Valencia areas we hold reliable asking data for. A room in a shared flat costs about 400 EUR wherever you are.
Asking prices in El Cabanyal run around 4,017 EUR per square metre, so roughly 216,920 to 265,120 EUR for a 60 square metre one-bedroom and 361,530 to 441,870 EUR for a 100 square metre three-bedroom. That is the 5th most expensive of the 18 Valencia areas we hold sale data for. These are advertised prices, not what properties finally sell for.
On top of the price you pay ITP, the transfer tax on resale homes, which has been 9 per cent in the Comunitat Valenciana since 1 June 2026, plus notary, land registry, gestoría and legal fees. On a 241,000 EUR one-bedroom flat, the middle of the range here, that is about 2,000 to 4,900 EUR in fees on top of roughly 22,000 EUR of tax, so around 265,000 EUR all in if you are buying outright. That is 9.8 to 11 per cent on top of the asking price; the cheaper the property, the higher that percentage goes, because a lawyer and a gestoría cost much the same whatever you are buying. If you are borrowing as a non-resident, lenders generally go to 60 to 70 per cent of value, so expect to find at least 30 per cent yourself as well. This is market information, not tax advice.
Not really. El Cabanyal is workable without a car for everyday life, though you will notice the walk or the ride more than you would in the dead centre.
It works. El Cabanyal is a reasonable place to raise children without being built around them: a park or two, and calm most of the time.
The beach at the end of the street. The marina is within reach.
Mostly. El Cabanyal has a sizeable international community, so you will find English speakers without looking hard, but everyday services still run in Spanish and Valencian.
They are the same kind of place with different answers. Choose Camins al Grau instead and you get this: right by the marina and the Ciudad de las Artes, a little closer to the centre, and about 5% cheaper. Much less character and few old streets left.
No. This is editorial guidance from a local newsletter, not legal, financial, tax or relocation advice. Rent and sale figures are market data and move constantly, and tax rates change: the ITP rate on this page changed in June 2026. Check anything that matters with a professional before you sign.
Every morning: what happened in Valencia, what is on, and the deadlines and openings that actually affect you. El Cabanyal included.
