Every property search converges on the same number. Divide the asking price by the size, compare, decide. It is genuinely the best single comparison tool you have — and on its own it will mislead you at least once.
What the number is good at
Comparing like with like inside one street. Two similar apartments in the same block, same era, similar condition: the €/m² gap between them is close to real signal, and worth asking about.
It is also the honest way to compare a large property against a small one. Headline prices make a 45 m² studio look cheap next to a 140 m² maisonette; per square metre, the studio is very often the more expensive of the two.
Where it quietly lies
- Which square metres are counted. Balconies, storage, a semi-basement and shared space are treated differently by different listers. A property can gain 15% of “size” without gaining a room.
- Floor. In a building without a lift, the top floor and the first floor are not the same product at the same €/m².
- Condition. A number derived from asking price does not know that one of the two flats needs a new bathroom, wiring and windows.
- Energy class. Two identical-looking apartments with different classes have different running costs for as long as you own them.
- Direction of travel. A high €/m² in an area with new infrastructure arriving reads differently from the same figure in one where nothing is changing.
A better three-minute method
- Compare €/m² only within one area and one property type. Across areas it is a conversation starter, not a verdict.
- Ask what is included in the stated size, and get the answer in writing before it matters.
- Add a rough renovation figure to the asking price of anything that needs work, then recompute. That is the number to compare against a finished property.
- Check the spread. If one listing is 20% below its neighbours, the explanation exists — find it before you decide it is a bargain.
- Look at what has actually sold nearby, not only what is currently asking. Asking prices are an opinion; the market is what closed.
Price per square metre tells you which questions to ask. It does not answer any of them.
Put this to work
Every listing on Lagoniko is deduplicated and document-checked, and every area is one click from the map.
