Walter Finch
THE cost of renting in Spain has finally started to trend downwards after nearly three years of steep rises.
The average price is now €13 per square metre across the country, down from a peak of €13.35 three months ago.
A nationwide reduction of 2.62% since June might not be enough to start popping the champagne for the 24% of the country who rent (2022 figures).
But it could mark the start of a return to sanity for a rental market that span out of control after Covid-induced trough of €10.35 sqm in October 2021
The summer months saw a sudden and significant drop off in rental price increases, with the rate going down by 26% between June and August.
Nonetheless, €13 sqm still represents a year-on-year increase of 10.2% – and even an increase of 0.1% on last month.
And there is little respite for where it matters, with rental prices in Madrid surging by 15.9% and Barcelona 13.5%.
Barcelona remains Spain’s most expensive capital to rent, with rates at €23.1 sqm, followed by Madrid (€20.6 sqm) and San Sebastián (€17.9 sqm).
All fifty provincial capitals registered rental price increases apart from Lleida, curiously, which was the only exception at a 0.9% decrease.
Tourist-heavy regions such as Alicante and Malaga saw rises 13.9% and 13.8% respectively, with renting in the Costa del Sol now costing €14.8 sqm.
Barcelona is also the priciest province for rentals, averaging €19.8 sqm, surpassing Madrid (€18.8 sqm), the Balearic Islands (€17.6 sqm), and Guipúzcoa (€16 sqm).
In contrast, Jaén (€5.8 sqm), Ciudad Real (€6.1 sqm), and Zamora (€6.2 sqm) are the most affordable.
Rent prices rose in every region, led by the Community of Madrid with a 16.3% increase.
Notably, several regions suffering from ‘oversaturation’ reported smaller rises, including the Balearic Islands (9.3%), the Canary Islands (8.8%) and Andalucia (8.7%).
Even Catalunya rose by only 10.8%.
