Cristina Hodgson
MALAGA City and Torremolinos lead the way in the annual drop in the price of housing rent in the whole of the province.
Renting a property in Malaga city and Torremolinos is, on average, noticeably cheaper than a year ago.
Based on a report published by property portal Idealista, the annual decrease in Malaga city has been 5.6%, setting the value at €9.8 per square metre.
Meanwhile, in Torremolinos, the decrease is 5%, seeing a new, lower value of €10.1 per square metre.
According to Idealista, the drop in prices in more cosmopolitan such areas of Malaga City is because people are looking to move into less populated districts, such as Churriana, Campanillas and Puerto de la Torre, where properties in general are larger with more open spaces, bigger gardens or swimming pools.
These districts on the outskirts of Malaga city have seen an increase in rental property prices.
Before COVID-19 long term rent in Malaga city was almost impossible as most property owners preferred renting short term to tourists.
With the pandemic and loss of tourism, properties that were hired out within hours of becoming available now take weeks to rent.
Experts suggest that post COVID-19, with the return of tourism, rents will once again increase.
Meanwhile, renting a home in the province is now 1.8% cheaper than in December 2019.
Despite the increase in supply, the sector has managed to keep the price from collapsing totally and even remains close to historical highs.
The average cost in the province is €9.5 per square metre, very similar to the €9.9 set in June 2020, which was the historical record.
The average price has been above €9 per square metre since April 2018 and is considerably higher than the €6.5 per square metre paid over eight years ago in December 2012.
The provincial price remains high because there are places that continue to attract a lot of interest, such as Marbella—the most expensive in the province—despite the pandemic.
The average price for renting a property in the tourist hotspot of Marbella is €11 per square metre, 1% more than a year ago.
Neighbouring Benahavis, Casares or Manilva have also seen an increase in rental price.
