Rental Costs fell by 1% in July
The average price of renting a house in Spain fell by 1% in July, to stand at an average cost per square metre of 8.37 euros per month. On a monthly basis, the variation showed a small increase in only Madrid (+1.4%) and Murcia (+0.9%), according to data from fotocasa.
The current average price returns us to the same level as that seen in May 2010, when the average cost per square metre was 8.36 euros per month. Since reaching the maximum average in May 2007 (€10.12/m² per month), the price of rental housing has accumulated a fall of -17.3%.
“Since the beginning of this year, the increase in rental costs has been moderating and is only seen to be increasing intensively in certain areas of the country. This is because in many cities and some provinces we are already at maximum levels similar to those not seen since the boom years as in some areas the costs have risen continually for two years,” explained Beatriz Toribio, director of studies at fotocasa.
Year-on-Year
Looking at year-on-year variations, the average monthly price of rental housing increased by 3.6% in July and increased in 10 autonomous communities. Madrid saw the biggest increase with prices rising 8.7%. This was followed by increases in Valencia (4.7%), the Canary Islands (4.2%) and Cantabria (2.2%). In Andalucia, the cost of renting increased by 0.6%,
In terms of price ranking, Madrid is the most expensive community in Spain for rental property, with the average cost per square metre reaching 12.56 euros per month. This is followed by Catalonia (12.21 €/m2 per month), the Balearic Islands (10.03 €/m2 per month) and the Basque Country (9.96 €/m2 per month).
On the cheaper end of the table we see Extremadura (4.63 €/m2 per month) and Castilla-La Mancha (4.99 €/m2 per month) are the two communities with the most affordable rental housing prices.
Looking quickly at the provinces, nine saw a monthly increase in rental costs when compared to June. The increases ranged from 1.6% in Soria to 0.1% in Pontevedra. Meanwhile, rental prices fell in 41 provinces with drops ranging from -9.6% in Cuenca to the -0.1% drop in Castellón.
