When considering purchasing a house, numerous factors come into play to find the one that covers our needs and financial possibilities.
For instance, it's common to prefer some neighborhoods over others. It's also usual to set priorities regarding the number of rooms, facilities, whether it has a terrace, garden or garage, or whether it fits our budget.
One of the factors that significantly influences the price of a house is its area. This information is crucial for giving us an idea of the living space and its potential, but most importantly, the investment we are going to make. Indeed, the price per square meter in a city or neighborhood is one of the main factors influencing the valuation of an apartment or house.
However, to understand the real economic value of a property, it's necessary to distinguish between its usable square meters and its constructed square meters, as both will determine its market price.
Usable Area or Usable Square Meters: all that you can step on within the house, including closets. The area occupied by furniture also counts as usable square meters. Therefore, the usable area is everything we can step on, everything you can use.
Constructed Area or Constructed Square Meters: includes the total meters of the house, encompassing all its perimeter walls (partitions, galleries, ventilation ducts, installations…).
Terraces and balconies count for 50%, although there are exceptions. Moreover, if the terrace is enclosed by 3 of its 4 walls, you will have to pay taxes as if that area counted for 100%. Another point regarding terraces and balconies is that if your home is state-subsidized (VPO), the computable percentage cannot exceed 10% of the total of the dwelling.
The difference between a usable and constructed area usually ranges around 15-25%.