Auction value and court valuation: what it is and what it doesn't say

In the notice for every auction there is a big figure, the "valor de subasta" (auction value), and almost everyone reads it as if it were the price of the flat. It isn't. It is the number on which the deposit, the 70% threshold and the percentages for an auction with no bids are calculated, and it comes from a valuation made years ago or from a valuer who hasn't visited the property. Understanding where it comes from is what lets you bid for what the home is worth and not for what the paperwork says.

Where the auction value comes from

• Mortgage enforcement (ejecución hipotecaria): it is the value that the debtor and the bank agreed in the mortgage deed "for auction purposes", which by law cannot be less than 75% of the valuation carried out to grant the loan. If the mortgage was signed in 2007, the auction value reflects the 2007 market.
• Ordinary enforcement (ejecución ordinaria, for other debts): there is no deed that sets it, so the court appoints an expert (perito) who carries out an appraisal (avalúo) of the property. This is the "tasación judicial" (court valuation) or expert valuation. The expert values the property using registry and market data, often without going inside the flat.
• Deduction of prior charges: in ordinary enforcement, the charges that are going to survive (an earlier mortgage, for example) are deducted from the appraisal. The auction value can end up well below the appraisal, and that isn't a bargain: it means those charges become yours.

Why it doesn't match the market price

Because it measures something else, at a different time. A home valued at 300,000 euros in 2008 may be worth 180,000 today in a town that never recovered, or 450,000 in a neighbourhood that has gone up. An expert appraisal from two years ago, done without a visit, doesn't know whether there's a renovation or a disaster inside. And the auction value doesn't include what the flat will cost you afterwards either: renovation, debts to the owners' association, recovering possession if it is occupied, taxes.

So what is it for?

For everything procedural. The auction value is the basis for calculating:

• The deposit required to bid: 20%, with a minimum of 1,000 euros, in proceedings started since April 2025 (5% in earlier ones).
• The 70% threshold: above it, the winning bid is approved directly; below it, the debtor has ten days to put forward someone who improves on the bid.
• The percentages for an auction with no bids: in proceedings started since April 2025, the creditor can no longer be awarded the asset if nobody bid, but the person the debtor designates can take it from 50% of the value (or for what the creditor is owed, never less than 40%).

That is why it matters even though it doesn't tell you what the flat is worth: it defines how much money you need to take part and when your bid is firm.

How to calculate your maximum bid

1. Market value today: completed sales of comparable flats in the same area in recent months. Not listings: sales.
2. Subtract the renovation it is likely to need (without a viewing, budget for a full one).
3. Subtract the prior charges that survive, according to the certificación registral (the registry certificate) in the case file.
4. Subtract the debts to the owners' association you will be liable for (the current year and the previous three) and any outstanding IBI (the local property tax).
5. Subtract the cost of recovering possession if it is occupied: lawyer, procurador (the court representative), time.
6. Subtract taxes and costs: ITP (the property transfer tax) on the award price (or on the reference value if that is higher), registration, and the margin you want to make.

What's left is your maximum bid. Compare it with the auction value only to know whether it exceeds 70% (the winning bid is approved directly) or not (weeks of uncertainty). If your maximum is below 50% of the auction value (below that figure the winning bid is no longer approved as a matter of course), the auction probably isn't for you; a cesión de remate (the assignment of the winning bid to a third party) or buying from the bank afterwards probably is.

The typical mistake

Seeing "auction value: 250,000, minimum bid: 0" and thinking you can buy a flat worth 250,000 for 100,000. What normally happens is that the flat is worth something different today, that the prior charges change the number and that, below 70%, the winning bid takes weeks to be confirmed, or isn't confirmed at all. The figure that matters isn't in the notice: it's in the market on that street.

Read on: how to read prior charges, the complete guide to court auctions with the 2025 rules and, so you don't have to work out market value by hand, the BOE (Spain's Official State Gazette) auctions on RadarPro, each with its estimated value and discount.