Idealista has published an analysis in which it has compiled the declaration of assets of these political leaders, although it clarifies that not all of them reside in their own homes, such as Alberto Núñez Feijóo and Yolanda Díaz who are rented. In addition, President Pedro Sánchez has two homes in the province of Madrid while he resides in La Moncloa and Santiago Abascal has gone from renting to owning, after buying a villa in 2020.
Only two of the four current candidates repeat from the previous elections: the Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, and the Vox candidate, Santiago Abascal. In 2020, Yolanda Díaz, current third vice president and Minister of Labor and Social Economy, and now head of the list for Sumar, left her home in Ferrol (A Coruña) to move to Madrid, while Alberto Núñez Feijóo did the same in 2022, after giving up the presidency of the Xunta de Galicia and moving to the capital to lead the PP at the national level.
The current Prime Minister and PSOE candidate maintains 50% of an apartment owned in the Somosaguas area of Pozuelo de Alarcón, together with his wife, Begoña Gómez, where they lived before moving to La Moncloa Palace in 2018 , after the motion of censure against Mariano Rajoy.
Currently, the average price of housing in Somosaguas reaches 3,695 euros/m2 at the end of the second quarter of 2023. Prices in this neighborhood of the richest municipality in Spain have risen 10.8% in the last year, placing it in prices highs of the historical series of idealista. Compared to 2019, prices have increased by more than 25%. Meanwhile, rents in the area have skyrocketed by 33.5% in the last year to 13.9 euros/m2 per month.
Sánchez also has an apartment in Madrid, which he kept for rent, although in the last declaration of assets and income of the deputies published in Congress, he has not declared rental income. In November 2019, at the beginning of the XIV Legislature, Sánchez declared that he still owed 86,242 euros on a loan of 159,300 euros granted in 2008.
The Vox candidate acquired a villa he owned with his partner in 2020 in the Madrid district of Hortaleza, where they already lived for rent. It has 185 m2 built divided into two floors, with terraces, garden plus garage.
The exact price of the house is unknown, but Abascal renewed his declaration of assets in November 2020 with 50% of a loan granted by Sabadell of 736,000 euros.
Housing prices in the Hortaleza district are on average at 3,984 euros/m2, reaching maximums in the historical series in the area, despite the fact that they have barely risen 1% compared to June 2022. The most expensive neighborhood of this district to the north of the capital is Conde Orgaz-Piovera with 4,624 euros/m2, after increasing 2% year-on-year, and still below its ceiling. While the most affordable is in Pinar del Rey, with 3,127 euros/m2, after seeing an increase of 6% year-on-year.
Of the new candidates, the president and candidate of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, starts as a favorite in the media polls. Feijóo has moved to rent a villa in the El Viso area of Madrid, one of the most expensive neighborhoods in the capital (6,982 euros/m2), only surpassed by its neighbors in Recoletos (9,204 euros/m2), Castellana (8,367 euros/m2) and Almagro (7,326 euros/m2). Vice President Nadia Calviño or Minister Raquel Sánchez, of Transport, Mobility, Urban Agenda, also reside there in state-owned homes (although the former, for example, has a house in the Mirasierra neighborhood).
In 2022, Feijóo, after being named the new leader of the popular after the departure of Pablo Casado, left the presidency of the Xunta de Galicia after 13 years of government and moved to Madrid to lead his candidacy for the presidency of the Government with a position in the Senate.
However, despite having a home in Madrid since 2001 without a mortgage, as stated in his declaration of assets in the Upper House, the popular leader decided to rent a house in this neighborhood of the Chamartín district (5,701 euros/ m2). The average rental price in this area is 18.5 euros/m2 per month, with a price increase of 6.1% year-on-year.
Feijóo also has another home in Vigo and a rustic farm in the town of Ames (A Coruña). He has declared income for the rental of real estate of almost 5,200 euros per year, when he entered as a senator by regional designation in May 2022.
Finally, the candidate for the Sumar coalition, Yolanda Díaz, currently resides in a house owned by State Heritage, as Minister of Labor and Social Economy. It is a 443 m2 penthouse in the Retiro district of Madrid. It is a common case that government ministers occupy state residences for security and operability of the ministries. Up to 14 of the 22 ministers reside in official residences.
The information available on the Transparency Portal does not specify the specific neighborhood of Yolanda Díaz’s home, or whether the minister covers some of the expenses, such as consumption or taxes.
The price of housing for sale in Retiro is 5,061 euros/m2, reaching maximums in the historical series, after increasing by 3.7% year-on-year in June. Some of the neighborhoods in this district in the center of Madrid exceed 5,000 euros/m2, such as Jerónimos (6,833 euros/m2), Ibiza (6,377 euros/m2) or Niño Jesús (5,227 euros/m2). But, while in Ibiza prices rose by 13.4%, in Jerónimos they fell by 7.8% year-on-year.
The rental price in the Retiro district also reached maximums with 17.7 euros/m2 per month, 12.4% more year-on-year, reaching 19.7 euros/m2 in Ibiza, the most expensive in the area.