The average rental price is 7.36€/m² per month
The average price of rental housing in Spain increased by 1% in May, to stand at 7.36 Euros per square metre per month, according to the latest data released by online property portal, fotocasa.
This monthly increase continues the trend seen in 2015, during which time rental costs began to increase month after month following eight years of widespread falls. Furthermore, May’s average brings us back to the rates of October 2012 when the average rental price stood at 7.38 euros per square metre, per month.
Rental costs increased in 15 of Spain’s autonomous communities in May on the monthly rate and in all communities on the annual rate. In fact, the annual increase of 5% is the sharpest annual rise to be recorded by fotocasa’s Real Estate index since it began in January 2006.
Beatriz Toribio, from fotocasa Studies, said: “Rent is gaining ground slowly in Spain. According to our data, in 2015 23.5% of Spaniards lived in rented accommodation, eight percentage points more than in 2011. Despite the reopening of credit and the sharp drop in prices, there is still a very large segment of the population who cannot access home-buying and are forced to rent. Increased demand, coupled with high returns offered by this market is making prices rebound widely across the country, ”
Since prices peaked in May 2007, when the average rate was 10.12 €/m², per month, the price of renting has fallen 27.2%. In this regard, four regions recorded falls above 30% from the peak. They are Aragon where prices have fallen 40.2%, followed by Castilla-La Mancha (-35.3%), Cantabria (-34.9%) and Valencia (- 30.3%).
May saw increases in rental costs in 15 regions with price increases ranging from 3.9% in the Balearic Islands to 0.1% in Catalonia and La Rioja.
Price Ranking
In terms of the highest prices Madrid has overtaken Catalonia and the Basque Country to take the unenviable title as most expensive rental region with the average rent being 10.29 €/m², per month. In Catalonia the current average rental price is 10.23 €/m², per month, while the Basque Country average is currently 10.18 €/m², per month.
At the opposite end of the scale we find the cheapest rental costs are in Extremadura at 4.53 €/m², per month, and Castilla-La Mancha (4.69 €/m² per month).
By Province
When looking at Spain’s provinces, 39 of them recorded rental price increases in May, when compared to the previous month, with increases ranging from 3.9% in the Balearic Islands, to 0.1% in Ciudad Real and La Rioja. In contrast, nine provinces recorded falling rental costs ranging from -0.1% in Zaragoza and Zamora, to -1.1% in Ourense.
Of the 256 municipalities in Spain analysed by fotocasa, 145 saw rental cost increases in May. A further 101 municipalities saw prices fall, while 10 saw prices remain stable. Both Manilva and Malaga experienced the highest price rise with both seeing an increase of 19.4%, while, surprisingly, Ibiza Town recorded the largest fall with prices dropping 10.5% in May.
The highest rental price by town can be found in Eivissa where you will pay an average of 14.04 €/m², per month. They are followed by Barcelona where the current average rental price per month is 13.91 €/m²
The cheapest municipalities are Alzira, in Valencia, and Almendralejo, in Badajoz where the average rental cost in May was 3.60 €/m², per month.
The fotocasa study also looked at prices by district for Madrid and Barcelona. The most expensive district is in Ciutat Vella, in Barcelona, which has an average monthly rental cost of 16.14 €/m². In Madrid the most expensive district is Salamanca with an average rental cost of 15.01 €/m², per month.
