Madrid – most expensive community for renting
The average price of rental housing in Spain fell by 1.7% year-on-year in February, the first fall following almost six years of increases.
When compared to January, the fall in the cost of rental housing was -0.9%. This brings the average cost per square metre per month to €10.48, according to data from fotocasa. The fall in February is the first since July 2015 (-1.8%).
“The price of rental housing changed trend in February with the first year-on-year drop after more than five years of chain increases, with the exception of January 2021 when the price remained stable compared to January 2020. This change in trend is the result of the situation we are experiencing, such as the growth in the supply of rental housing and the lower demand from Spaniards. This has meant that in recent months the price began to moderate and little by little it has been increasing with less force until finally turning into a negative variation, as we have been seeing for months in cities like Madrid and Barcelona where it has fallen more than -10%,” explained Anaïs López, Fotocasa’s Director of Communication.
Autonomous Communities
In Spain, nine autonomous communities presented negative monthly data in February 2021. La Rioja, with a decrease of -1.8%, showed the largest fall. Others include the Basque Country (-1.1%), Madrid (-0.8%), the Balearic Islands (-0.6%), Catalonia (-0.3%), Extremadura (-0.2%), Asturias (-0.1%), Andalusia (-0.1%) and Navarra (-0.1%).
Meanwhile, the price of Spanish rental housing increased slightly in the communities of Castilla y León (1.8%), Galicia (1.4%), Cantabria (1.2%), the Canary Islands (0.9%), Castilla- La Mancha (0.3%), Region of Murcia (0.1%), Valencian Community (0.1%), Basque Country (1.0%), the Balearic Islands (0.4%), and Aragon (0.0%).
Looking at the average rental prices in the Autonomous Communities, the most expensive rental housing prices are seen in Madrid and Catalonia, with prices of €13.92 p/m² per month and €13.87 p/m² per month, respectively. They are followed by the Basque Country with €13.16 p/m² per month, the Balearic Islands with €11.23 p/m² per month, Navarra with €9.92 p/m² per month, the Canary Islands with €9.47 p/m² per month, Cantabria €8.71 p/m² per month, Andalusia €8.55 p/m² per month, Aragon with €8.35 p/m² per month, Valencian Community with €8.28 p/m² per month, Asturias with €7.78 p/m² per month, Castilla y León with €7.23 p/m² per month, Galicia with €7.18 p/m² per month, La Rioja with €6.93 p/m² per month, Region of Murcia with €6.83 p/m² per month, Castilla-La Mancha with €5.91 p/m² per month and Extremadura with €5.24 p/m² per month.
Provinces
Rental prices increased in 25 provinces. The most pronounced monthly increase was recorded by Huelva (7.4%), followed by Palencia (3.8%), Jaén (3.4%), Cáceres (3.2%), Lugo (2.9%), Salamanca (2.8%), Ourense (2.6%), Pontevedra (2.3%) and Ávila (2.2%), among others.
On the other hand, the top ten decreases were in Zamora (-3.9%), Toledo (-1.9%), Badajoz (-1.8%), La Rioja (-1.8%), Lleida (-1.8%), Gipuzkoa (-1.7%), Girona (-0.9%), Madrid (-0.8%), Araba – Álava (-0.7%) and the Balearic Islands (- 0.6%).
Regarding prices, six provinces exceed 10.00 euros per square meter per month. The most expensive province is Gipuzkoa with €14.82 p/m² per month, followed by Barcelona (€14.67 p/m² per month), Madrid (€13.92 p/m² per month), Bizkaia (€12.50 p/m² per month), Araba – Álava (€11.51 p/m² per month) and the Balearic Islands (€11.23 p/m² per month. The lowest rental price was seen in Cáceres with €5.13 p/m² a month.
