The island that you see on these lines on the left belongs to the Summer Isles archipelago, it is on the northwest coast of Scotland and it can be yours: a 35.9 hectare piece of land located in the heart of the Wester Ross Marine Protected Area, with caves, beaches, cliffs, a fully equipped cabin and even a jetty. Luxury.
Buying an island is not something that most of us can do on paper. Or yes: it costs less than the average price of a 90 square meter apartment in Madrid, According to Tinsa data, one of the large multinational appraisal companies. The idea is no longer so crazy because if you can afford an apartment in Madrid, you can afford an island where Christ lost his lighter.
The accounts don’t come out. The island of Mullagrach, as it is called, is available for bidding at the modest price of 350,000 pounds sterling, about 406,000 euros. And according to Tinsa, the average price of housing (new and used) reached an average value of 4,605 euros per square meter in the first quarter of 2026. And rising: 18.07% annually, that’s nothing. That average value for a small apartment in Madrid is 414,481 euros. Idealista has fresher data and even more dizzyingly high: 5,984 euros per square meter in May 2026, so a 70 square meter apartment would cost 418,000 euros.
Madrid is not alone: Tinsa has a map where you can choose provincial capitals, provinces and autonomous communities. Taking as a basis those approximately 400,000 euros and that area of 90 square meters, the reality is that it would also be better for you to buy that Scottish island than an apartment in Donosti or Barcelona.
Average house price in the first quarter of 2026. Tinsa
Why is it important. Beyond the joke of the island, because an acquisition like this has its substance and its fine print, the comparison is powerful to highlight once again the runaway price of housing both in purchase like for rentconcentrated especially in large nuclei. When buying a remote island is better than a medium-sized urban apartment, it becomes clear that there is a structural problem in large cities like Madrid, Barcelona, London, Lisbon, Amsterdam: people who work there but cannot afford to live there.
A reminder: the average salary in Spain was 29,540.26 euros per worker in 2024. To meet the 30% you need to undertake the purchase with a mortgage, you would need to allocate your salary in full for more than four years. Yes, you can buy an affordable apartment in Villaconejos del Caudillo, but your job is not there. And the offer of basic services in towns, after decades of depopulation and concentration in large cities, leaves a lot to be desired. The agglomeration economy At its best: the value of land depends not so much on its size or how fertile it is, but on its location relative to employment, services and transport networks.
Context. The increase in housing prices in Madrid is neither new nor random: it has its explanation in a strong imbalance between supply and demand of a basic necessity common to the majority of large European cities, which concentrate more and more population and employment, while rural areas become empty, as confirmed by the OECD.
The result? Urban housing is rising in price because many people want it and there is not enough housing available, nor is there public housing nor is there regulation. On the other side of the coin, rural land is stagnating or declining because fewer and fewer people want to live there. The island for sale is a good example: it is isolated and lacks basic services nearby. In fact, the offer is not rare: according to Fotocasa You can have your own island from 320,000 euros, although without construction.
In detail. There are several economic mechanisms that explain this price gap between the Scottish island and the Madrid apartment. To begin with, the elasticity of supply: in a large city there is the space that there is and a series of restrictions (heights, assets, etc.) that do not exist or apply to a lesser extent on remote rural land. Demand is also different: you need to live close to your work, so the need for urban demand is inelastic. The demand for remote islands is a luxury good with a small interested base.
Yes, but. Thus, the comparison between an island and an apartment is juicy enough to pass up, but in practice having an island implies a series of hidden costs that are not within everyone’s reach. And we are not talking about something as simple as not being able to get a mortgage: you have to get there by boat or helicopter, there is no doctor or supermarkets, there is no infrastructure, services and even coverage can be a problem. And if you regret it, let’s see how you find a buyer to get rid of it.
In Xataka | Spain has a housing deficit and a huge problem to solve it: a land jam that blocks millions of apartments
Cover | Isle Ristol by Rude Health and Alev Takil
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