New-build appraisal in Alicante: 6 months, 80% LTV and 300-500 €

For your new-build mortgage in Alicante, the appraisal is that sealed envelope a technician prints in some office in Madrid or Valencia and your bank opens before lending you a single euro. It is not extra paperwork. It is the number that decides whether you sign at the notary calmly or scramble for thirty thousand more the week before completion.

What a mortgage appraisal is

The appraisal (tasación in Spanish) is a technical report that estimates how much your home is worth following a methodology fixed by the Bank of Spain, specifically Orden ECO/805/2003 (amended in 2025 by Orden ECM/599/2025, in force since August 2026). It is signed by a technician registered with an appraisal company on the Bank of Spain's Special Register. Not just any surveyor. Not the developer's sales agent either.

The bank requests it for a very concrete reason: Spanish mortgage law requires using that figure as the benchmark for the loan and for registering the security at the Property Registry. No appraisal, no mortgage.

You choose the appraiser, not the bank (Law 5/2019)

Since 2019 it is unambiguous. Law 5/2019 on real-estate credit contracts gives you the right to pick the appraisal company freely, as long as it sits on the Bank of Spain's homologated list. Your branch cannot push its preferred subsidiary and cannot charge a surcharge if you bring your own.

In practice many buyers accept the bank's appraiser because it comes inside the standard pack. Keep the option open. If the first valuation comes in low, a second one from another homologated company (also valid for six months) may save the deal.

Three appraisals, one home

New build has a detail that sets it apart from resale: when you sign your reservation contract, the flat does not yet exist. The appraiser works at three different moments.

On plan. The technician studies the architect's stamped project, the quality memorandum, the municipal building licence and the developer's paperwork. They calculate the hypothetical value of the property as if already built, comparing it with similar dwellings in the area. This is the figure that lets the bank pre-approve your loan well in advance.

Intermediate valuation. During construction, if the bank funds the developer or you have an autopromoción, valuations are issued that reflect the percentage of works completed. Tinsa, Gloval, CBRE and Sociedad de Tasación run these routinely as progress hits each certification milestone.

Final appraisal. With the building finished, cédula de habitabilidad and first-occupation licence in hand, the appraiser returns, physically inspects the unit and issues the definitive report. That is the one that travels to the notary on signing day.

80%, 100% and why non-residents read it differently

Spanish banks lend up to 80% of the lower of appraised value or purchase price. It sounds carved in stone and it is not, quite.

In new build, if you have already paid 20% or 30% of the price during construction (those famous cantidades anticipadas guaranteed by Law 38/1999), the bank can fund 100% of what you still owe the developer. On paper the loan looks like 80%. In your pocket it covers everything. The rest you put in earlier.

For non-residents the maths shifts. Most Spanish banks cap non-resident lending at 60% or 70% of appraised value and rarely go higher. Picture a flat valued at 350,000 € by the appraiser, with a contract that reads 360,000 €. A local buyer might mortgage 280,000 €. A non-resident foreigner negotiates, at best, 245,000 €.

Between 250 and 500 euros, valid for six months

Average pricing in Spain runs from 250 to 500 €, depending on size and area. For a 100 to 110 m² flat in central Alicante, expect 300 to 400 €. A large villa in Moraira, Altea or Jávea easily climbs to 600 or 800 € given the surface, the plot and the appraiser's travel. The buyer pays. Law 5/2019 shifted most other mortgage fees to the bank, but the appraisal stayed on your side.

The report is valid for six months from issue date. If your purchase drags past that, the bank asks for a new one, unless completion happens first. For off-plan deals delivered 18 months out, the bank usually re-issues the final appraisal once the property is built.

When the number does not add up

The appraisal lands below the agreed price and the arithmetic gets uncomfortable. Imagine you signed arras for 320,000 € and the appraisal says 300,000 €. The bank applies 80% to 300,000, not 320,000: 240,000 € instead of 256,000. You need to find 16,000 € more.

Three ways out: bring more cash, renegotiate with the developer (harder in new build, where pricing is fixed top-down) or order a second appraisal from another homologated company. Sometimes the second appraiser lands on the same figure. Sometimes, simply because they saw the building under different light, they add five or six thousand that unlock the deal.

Who appraises along the Costa Blanca

The four majors operate across the province. Tinsa, Gloval (particularly strong on the Mediterranean arc), Sociedad de Tasación and CBRE Valuation Advisory. Alongside them, Arquitasa (over 30 years in Alicante) and firms such as Valmesa and Tasvalor cover the capital and El Campello, San Juan, Santa Pola, Elche, Dénia, Altea, Jávea and Calpe. Any of them is accepted by your bank as long as the name appears on the Bank of Spain registry, which is freely searchable on its website.

At ESYS VIP we walk you through the appraisal report alongside the rest of the documents. You can explore our properties or contact us if you want a calm pair of eyes beside you during your purchase.