Renting in Spain increased 5.11% in 2022
The average cost of property to rent in Spain ended 2022 at 10.49 euros per square meter. This marks a monthly increase of 1.06%, a quarterly increase of 2.48% and an annual increase of 5.11%.
The rise in rental costs seems to be unstoppable. According to Ferran Font, spokesman at pisos.com, “the pressure that this market is experiencing is very important, given that a lot the supply of rental property is falling, while the demand is increasing. The measures to contain prices discourage homeowners and become counterproductive, just at a time when purchase decisions are being postponed, a trend that is the result of inflation and a less attractive mortgage scenario compared to a few months ago.”
Font also suggests that “the expansive nature of the monthly rental payments has made it impossible for many tenants to save in order to buy a property or, at least, rent a better home. In the most extreme cases, they have even been pushed from the market.”
The possibility now is that tenants will start looking outside cities into smaller and more rural areas as prices increase and those looking to rent find themselves priced out of the market. “People will not be able to pay the prices that certain cities demand, so they will seek to establish their residence further and further away. This could have consequences in the labour market“, suggest Font.
The Balearic Islands Have Highest Rents
The most expensive autonomous comunity to rent in December 2022 were the Balearic Islands (€13.85 p/m²), Madrid (€13.76 p/m²) and Catalonia (€12.18 p/m² ), while the cheapest property to rent was in Castilla y León (€4.71 p/m²), Castilla-La Mancha (€5.32 p/m²) and Extremadura (€5.36 p/m²). Compared to November, the most striking increase took place in Extremadura (2.68%). The greatest fall was seen in Murcia (-2.42%). Compared to 2021, the Balearic Islands (18.27%) saw the biggest increase in the cost of renting a home. The biggest fall was in Navarra (-14.03%).
Looking at prices by province, in December 2022 the highest rents were in Barcelona, with 14.17 euros per square meter. It was followed by the Balearic Islands (€13.85 p/m²) and Madrid (€13.761 p/m²). On the opposite side, Cuenca closed the ranking with 3.16 euros per square meter. Other economic provinces were Ávila (€3.32 p/m²) and Ciudad Real (€3.34 p/m²). The province that saw the biggest rise in December was Albacete (2.95%), while the one that saw the largest fall was Pontevedra (-2.73%). From one year to the next, the greatest rise was that of Burgos (21.19%). The income that adjusted the most was that of Navarra (-14.03%).
Regarding provincial capitals, Barcelona was the most expensive for tenants with an average price of 20.32 euros per square meter. It was followed by Madrid (€17.66 p/m²) and Donostia-San Sebastián (€17.50 p/m²). Zamora was the cheapest with 6.09 euros per square meter. Other cheaper provincial capitals were Jaén (€6.17 p/m²) and Cuenca (€6.23 p/m²). Huesca (3.04%) led the monthly increases, while Tarragona (-2.91%) was the capital that devalued the most in this period. Compared to December 2021, Girona (23.61%) led the increases. The most striking cut was thrown by Seville (-1.81%).
