PAU 5 is the district of Alicante where asking prices are highest and where most of the city's recent new-build blocks stand. In October 2026 the Fotocasa index puts the average asking price in PAU 5 at €5,051 per m², up 6.7% on October 2025. The city of Alicante as a whole averages €2,702/m², so a flat here costs close to twice the city average, and a 100 m² three-bedroom apartment is a €500,000 purchase, not the €300,000 that was typical when this article was first written in 2024.
This guide covers what the district actually is, how far the beach and the tram are, what the price looks like next to the neighbouring zones, and where to find the homes for sale in Playa de San Juan.
What PAU 5 is: PAU stands for Programa de Actuación Urbanística, a planned development sector in the city's master plan. PAU 5 is the fifth of these sectors, laid out from the 2000s on the flat land between the Alicante golf course and Playa de San Juan. It is built on a grid of wide avenues with blocks of up to ten floors, most of them gated residentials with communal pools, gardens and underground parking. Because the whole sector was planned at once, there is no old housing stock: everything dates from roughly 2005 onwards.
Prices in October 2026
Fotocasa publishes a separate price for the PAU 5 zone and for the areas around it. The figures below are average asking prices for all homes advertised, resale and new build together, with the change on a year earlier.
| Zone | Asking price, October 2026 | Change in 12 months |
|---|---|---|
| PAU 5 | €5,051/m² | +6.7% |
| Playa de San Juan (beachfront zone) | €4,169/m² | +12.9% |
| Playa de San Juan – El Cabo de las Huertas (district) | €3,762/m² | — |
| Alicante city average | €2,702/m² | — |
Source: Fotocasa sale price index, October 2026.
Key point: PAU 5 is priced above the beachfront itself. The beachfront zone has a large stock of 1970s–1990s apartments; PAU 5 has none, and buyers pay for the newer buildings, the parking and the pools rather than for the sea view. The gap has narrowed in the last year, because the beachfront rose faster (+12.9% against +6.7%), but it is still about €900 per m².
Beach, tram, airport
The district sits 600 metres to one kilometre from the sand, depending on the block. Playa de San Juan is close to three kilometres long and continues north as Muchavista beach towards El Campello; the seafront promenade along Avenida de Niza and the beach restaurants are all within a walk.
Alicante's TRAM serves the district on its western edge: the Campo de Golf and Carrabiners stops are on line L3 (Luceros – El Campello), which runs into the city centre at Luceros in about twenty minutes; the L1 to Benidorm can be joined at Lucentum or El Campello. The Alicante golf course, which gives the first stop its name, borders the district directly.
By car, the A-70 ring road is a few minutes away and Alicante-Elche airport is about 20 kilometres, roughly 25 minutes door to door. Alicante city centre and the port are 15 to 20 minutes by car outside rush hour.
What is for sale
Most homes for sale in PAU 5 are apartments in gated residentials, from two-bedroom flats to penthouses, mostly resale and ready to move into. Detached houses are found on the edges of the district and in neighbouring Cabo de las Huertas, where plots are older and larger. Prices follow the zone average above, with upper floors and penthouses in the newest blocks above it.
The current listings are in our Playa de San Juan catalogue. If you are weighing a flat against a house in this part of Alicante, we compare the two formats in PAU 5: apartment or villa.
What this means for a buyer
1. Who the district suits
PAU 5 is a year-round district, not a holiday resort. Shops, pharmacies, cafés and gyms are on the ground floors of the blocks, and the tram makes it practical to live here and work or study in the city. Alicante is not issuing new tourist-let licences until January 2027, so the buyers here are owner-occupiers and long-term landlords, which keeps the rental market steady and the buildings quiet.
2. What the price buys
At €5,051/m² a two-bedroom flat of 80 m² is about €400,000 and a three-bedroom of 100 m² about €500,000. Purchase costs on a resale in the Valencian Community add about 11% (transfer tax of 9% since 1 June 2026, notary, registry and legal fees); our guide to buying costs has the full breakdown.
3. How it compares
For the same money the beachfront zone offers older apartments with sea views; El Campello and Muchavista to the north are cheaper per square metre and quieter in winter; the city centre is about a quarter cheaper per square metre but without the pools and parking. Buyers who want new-build quality inside the city with the beach on foot have few alternatives, which is why PAU 5 holds its premium.
You can see the current stock on the Alicante – Playa de San Juan area page, or tell us what you are looking for and we will send what matches.
