Spain among Bidders for Lisbon's Web Summit
This year, Lisbon expects to welcome around 70,000 visitors from some 170 countries to its international Web Summit - rich pickings for the local economy, for organisers estimate that their event will generate around 300 million euros for the Portuguese city in November 2018.
Naturally, other cities are vying to bring one of the world's largest tech events to their shores. Among the bidders for next year's event are Bilbao, Madrid and Valencia in Spain, as well as challengers from London, Hamburg, Munich, Berlin, Paris and Dubai.
With around 345,000 permanent residents, Bilbao is one of the smaller contenders. Located in the north of Spain, in the Basque Country, Bilbao already gets its fair share of tourism. Among the cultural attractions the city has to offer are the futuristic-looking Guggenhaim Museum Bilbao, which opened in 1997 and has since attracted thousands of art lovers. The city also boasts the Bilbao Exhibition Centre and the Euskalduna Conference Centre, both of which attract business tourists with major exhibitions and conferences.
Located some 16 kilometres (10 miles) south of the Bay of Biscay, Bilbao was named "Best European City 2018" at the Urbanism Awards last year by The Academy of Urbanism. There is plenty to like for investors, too.
According to property portal Kyero.com, international buyers make up just 3.1% of the local real estate market. The market is still some 32% below its 2007 peak, which means prices are far more affordable than in Madrid for example. Kyero's own data showed just 2,691 property transactions were completed in the first quarter of 2018.
Rental yields are fairly good. The World Bank reported for July 2018 that the average price for an apartment in the city centre stood at 4,663.98 euros, providing a gross rental yield on average of 3.31%. Outside the city centre the average square metre cost 3,193.00 euros, with a gross rental yield of 3.69%.
Rentals for 1-bed apartments in the city centre range from 600.00 to 900.00 euros, with the average rent costing 745.45 euros. Rentals for 3-bed apartments in central Bilbao ange from 900.00 to 1,500.00 euros, with the average rental costing 1,186.36 euros. Outside the city prices range from 500.00 to 700.00 for a 1-bed apartment (average rental 577.27 euros). A 3-bed apartment in the suburbs costs tenants on average 888.89, with a range of 700.00 to 1,000.00 euros across the market.
