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Rental Costs Increased in Second Quarter

2016 Q2 Average rental cost is 7.41€ p/m², per month

Average rental cost is 7.41€ p/m², per month

According to the latest data from property portal fotocasa, the average price of rental housing in Spain increased by 2.4% in the second quarter of the year, placing the average at 7.41€ per square metre, per month.

“The rental market has experienced growing momentum in recent years and that is moving prices upwards. The rental market is growing widely in much of the country, with some very specific areas of large cities and major tourist destinations recording double-digit increases, larger than we’ve seen in the last eight years. High demand and high returns offered by this market are the main reasons for these price increases,” says Beatriz Toribio, from fotocasa Studies.

The increase seen in Q2 is the largest quarterly increase seen in the last eight years. Since 2007 there have been only falls in quarterly prices, with the exception of Q2 2011, 2014 and 2015.

Autonomous Communities

The second quarter increase was reflected in 15 communities, and on a year-on-year basis the increase was in 16 communities. The quarterly variation is 4.8%, the second sharpest rise in the real-estate index since 2006.

For the first time in recent years, Madrid has overtaken the Basque Country and Catalonia to become the most expensive community for rental property. The current average rental cost in Madrid stands at 10.36€ p/m², per month. Catalonia and the Basque Country are still in the top 3 with average costs of 10.24 and 10.16 euros per square metre, per month.

At the cheaper end of the scale we find Extremadura to be the most economical community with an average cost per square metre of 4.56 euros per month, followed by Castilla-La Mancha at 4.69€ p/m², per month.

Provinces/Municipalities

There were increases in rental costs in 39 provinces with costs going up between 7.2% and 0.2%. There were also price falls recorded in nine provinces with declines ranging from -0.1% in Huesca, to -3.3% in Cuenca. Both Navarra and Girona saw prices remain stable.

Of the 257 municipalities in Spain which were analysed by fotocasa, rental prices increases were seen in 178, while 79 saw prices fall. Coastal areas including Santa Pola, Cullera, Gandia and Estepona saw the greatest increases.

The town with the highest rental price is Barcelona with an average per square metre of 13.89 euros per month, followed by Castelldefels where the cost is 12.69 euros. Looking at the cheapest we find Lliria, in Valencia, as the most economical town to rent with an average cost of 3.44 euros p/m², per month.