Walter Finch
THE rental prices of housing in Spain have increased by 13.2% over the last 12 months, according to a report published by Idealista.
Prices have been rocketing by 5% every three months. As of the end of June 2024, the cost of renting a home in Spain was on average €13.4 per square metre.
The price rise translates to every provincial capital having higher rental prices than in June 2023, with Valencia and Caceres experiencing the highest increases at 19%.
The duo are followed by the usual suspects of Madrid (17.9%), Palma (17.8%) and Barcelona (17.8%).
On the costas, Malaga’s rental prices have jumped 16.5% in a year, Alicante 14.1% and San Sebastián 11.1%.
Among the major markets, sweltering Sevilla saw the smallest increase at 6.5%.
In cost per square metre, Barcelona is the most expensive capital to rent a home, with prices at €22.1. The Catalan capital is followed by Madrid (€19.8 m2) and San Sebastián (€17.6 m2).
Palma (€17 m2) and Malaga (€14.5 m2) round out the top five.
At the lower end of the scale, the cheapest cities for renting are the unfashionable locales of Zamora (€6.5 m2) and Ciudad Real (€6.7 m2).
With the notable expectation of Huelva, every Spanish province has seen rental price increases over the past year.
The largest increase was in Caceres and the Balearic Islands, where prices jumped by a staggering 21.6% and 21.5% respectively.
Significant increases were also noted in Lugo (19.4%), Girona (18.2%), Valencia (18%), Barcelona (17.7%), and Madrid (17.5%).
Francisco Iñareta, spokesperson for Idealista slammed the government’s housing policies for creating the price spiral.
“The data from this report show the failure of all the measures and policies that have been taken regarding rental housing, culminating a year ago with the Housing Law,” he said.
“All indicators, such as supply and demand pressure, show that the situation is continuing to worsen, with the year-on-year increase in prices this June being 4 points higher than that recorded in June 2023.”
“The situation of falling supply and sharp price increases is much more intense in high-pressure markets like Valencia, Madrid, Palma, and Barcelona, where rent increases are dangerously approaching 20% year-on-year.
“However, the consequences of these policies are now evident throughout the entire country,” the expert continued.
“Insisting on a regulation that has clearly failed or continuing to wait for the effects of the Housing Law will only significantly worsen the situation for thousands of vulnerable families.
“It is necessary to stop the deterioration of the rental market and take bold measures to restore the confidence of property owners,” concluded the Idealista spokesperson.
