This is a website for buyers, owners, and sellers of property in Spain, offering reliable information and resources to help you get things done with confidence. It is run by Mark Stücklin, author of the Spanish Property Doctor Column in The Sunday Times (2005-2008), and the book ‘Need to Know: Buying Property in Spain’ published by Collins.
Average residential rental prices ended 2014 slightly up on the previous year, according to data from the Spanish property portal Idealista.com.
Rising rents are a positive sign for the Spanish housing market, implying that the value of housing is on the rise, and potentially attracting investors with higher yields.
As a national average, rental prices increased by 2.6 per cent to €7 a month per square metre, meaning that the average flat of 100 sqm rents for €700 per month.
During the last quarter of the year, the average rent was stable with a barely perceptible rise of 0.2 per cent.
“These figures show a stable scenario for rental prices, which despite being in recovery mode don’t look as if they’ll rise sharply,” explains Fernando Encinar from idealista.com.
However, national averages are starting to become meaningless as the Spanish housing market splits into two very different beasts.
“As in the case with property purchases, we have to talk about a rental market moving at two speeds,” says Encinar. Prime areas of Barcelona, Madrid, the Basque Country, and the coast, are recovering, whilst other areas are still in the doldrums.
By autonomous regions, the highest increase was registered in Catalonia, where landlords are asking 9.8 per cent more to rent their homes than a year ago. Next comes Extremadura (3.9 per cent) and the Balearics (2.4 per cent).
At the other end of the scale, rental prices fell 4 per cent in Murcia, and 3 per cent in Galicia.
The region of Madrid is still the most expensive at €10.2 per square metre, closely followed by the Basque Country at €10 per square metre and Catalonia at €9.2.
By province, Barcelona’s property consolidated its position as the most expensive Spanish provincial capital with an increase in rental prices of 11 per cent to €12.5 per square metre, followed by San Sebastián (€11.8 per square metre) and Madrid (€11.4 per square metre).
At the bottom end came Ourense and Lugo, with a rental price of €4.1 per square metre in both cities.
[recent_works_images_full title=”Potential Rental Investments in Barcelona” categories=”barcelona-homes”]
