Cost of renting in Spain fell slightly in Q2
The price of rental housing in Spain experienced a quarterly decrease of -0.2% in June, the first drop in rental prices after six years of increases. However, the year-on-year price has risen by 9.1% to put the average cost per square metre per month at €10.82.
“The price of rental housing in the second quarter shows that prices have remained almost unchanged compared to those registered in March 2020. However, on a year-on-year basis, the price of rental housing still increased by 9% and Although at the end of last year it seemed that rental prices were beginning to moderate, in the first six months of 2020 we are detecting year-on-year increases close to 10%. This is because there is currently a high demand for rental housing and the existing supply is not coping. As long as supply and demand are not more balanced we will continue registering increases in cost of rental property,” explains Anaïs López, Director of Communication at Fotocasa.
Renting in Autonomous Communities
76% of the autonomous communities presented positive quarterly data in June 2020. Murcia region with an increase of 7.4% showed the biggest increase in the period. They are followed by the communities of La Rioja (5.8%), Asturias (5.4%), Castilla y León (3.3%), Cantabria (2.9%), Castilla-La Mancha (2.8% ), Aragon (2.8%), Galicia (2.2%), Valencian Community (1%), Basque Country (0.8%), Madrid (0.7%), Navarra (0.5%) and Andalusia (0.1%). On the other hand, the Canary Islands (-3.9%), the Balearic Islands (-3.3%), Catalonia (-3.2%) and Extremadura (-0.9%), recorded decreases in rental costs in June.
As for the price ranking by communities, Madrid, which occupies the first place, is the only one that exceeds the barrier of 15.00 euros per square metre, specifically, the average there is 15.30 euros per square meter per month. They are followed by the communities of Catalonia (€14.63 p/m² per month), the Basque Country (€13.21 p/m² per month), the Balearic Islands (€12.55 p/m² per month), Navarra (€9.88 p/m²) per month), Canary Islands (€9.61 p/m² per month), Cantabria (€8.84 p/m² per month), Andalusia (€8.71 p/m² per month), Valencian Community (€8.67 p/m² per month), Aragon (€8.45 p/m² per month), Asturias (€7.66 p/m² per month), Region of Murcia (€7.27 p/m² per month), Castilla y León (€7.25 p/m² per month), Galicia (€7.09 p/m² per month), La Rioja (€6.80 p/m² per month), Castilla-La Mancha (€5.86 p/m² per month) and Extremadura (€5.27 p/m² per month).
Costs by Province
Data from Fotocasa also reveals that in the second quarter of 2020 the quarterly rental costs increased in 72% of the provinces of Spain, while, in the same period of 2019, it rose in 79%.
In June, only the province of Lugo saw an increase above 10%, while, of the 13 localized drops, only two exceeded -5%. The following ten provinces showed the highest quarterly increase: Lugo (10.8%), Jaén (8.1%), Toledo (7.9%), Murcia (7.4%), Cuenca (7%), Palencia (6.6%), Cáceres (5.9%), La Rioja (5.8%), Huelva (5.5%) and Asturias (5.4%).
On the other hand, the provinces with rental price falls are: Santa Cruz de Tenerife (-5.6%), Albacete (-5%), the Balearic Islands (-3.3%), Barcelona (-2.9%), Ourense ( -2.7%), Malaga (-2.3%), Girona (-2.3%), Badajoz (-2.2%), Las Palmas (-2.2%), Guadalajara (-2.2 %), Araba – Álava (-1.8%), Salamanca (-1%), Alicante (-0.9%).
In terms of rental housing prices by province, Barcelona, Madrid and Gipuzkoa are the only ones to exceed €15.00 p/m² per month. Barcelona stands at €15.80 p/m² per month, Madrid at €15.30 p/m² per month and Gipuzkoa at €15.22 p/m².
Following those provinces are Bizkaia with €12.70 p/m² per month, the Balearic Islands with €12.55 p/m² per month, Malaga with €10.09 p/m² per month, Araba – Álava with €9.97 p/m² per month and Las Palmas with €9.90 p/m² per month, among others.
The cheapest provinces for rental housing are Cáceres with €5.06 p/m² per month, Ciudad Real €5.26 p/m² per month, Badajoz €5.39 p/m² per month, Ourense €5.41 p/m² per month , Jaén €5.49 p/m², Zamora €5.56 p/m² per month, León €5.75 p/m² per month, Ávila €5.89 p/m² per month, Cuenca with €5.99 p/m² per month.
