Holiday rental owners on the Spanish coast are having a good summer with rental rates on the rise, most of all in Ibiza, claims a new study.The average weekly rental rate for a front-line beach apartment in Spain is now 595 €/week, 7% more than the same time last year, according to a study by the valuations company TecniTasa.

The overall trend in holiday rental prices is upwards, lead by Barcelona, Alicante and Almeria provinces, where prices have risen the most.

In Torrevieja, which had the distinction of being the cheapest place to rent a holiday property in 2014, rents have risen 23% around the Playa de Los Locos (Beach of the Insane).

It’s not just the Mediterranean coast and islands commanding higher prices. In the North of Spain, in places like Tapia de Casariego (Asturias), rental prices have gone up 27%.

At the other end of the scale, holiday rental prices fell the most in Castellón province, home to the Costa Azahar, down 20% in beach resorts like Alcossebre, Oropesa del Mar (where the macro-development Marina D’Or is located), and Moncófar, where an apartment of 60m2 can now be rented for 300 €/week (5€/m2/week), down from 400 €/week, a decline of 25% in a year, according to the research done by TecniTasa.

The Costa Azahar is the Spanish coast taking longest to show any signs of recovery, with property prices, sales, and rental prices all still declining.

That said, prices also declined in some traditionally smart locations of the north coast, like Hondarribia (Guipúzcoa, Basque Country), or el Sardinero (Santander, Asturias), where summer holiday rents have fallen to 11.20 €/m2/week.

IBIZA TOPS PRICE CHARTS

The most expensive spot to rent a beachfront apartment this year is Ibiza’s Playa d’en Bossa (pictured above), where a 70m2 flat rents for 1,680 €/week, or 24 €/m2/week, reflecting a recovery in the Ibiza property market. Rents are also high in the upmarket resort of Sotogrande (Cadiz province), generally above 1,500 €/week.

Those looking for something cheap and cheerful, but without reliable sunshine, can head for Galicia’s Lucense Coast, where a 60m2 flat will cost you just €200 for a week, the cheapest holiday rentals in all Spain.

ORDINARY RENTALS CONTINUE FALLING

Holiday rental prices may be going up, if the data from TecniTasa is to be believed, but prices in the overall rental market where locals rent the homes they live in are still going down, according to the latest cost of living data from the National Institute of Statistics (INE).

Spanish rental prices (not including short-term holiday lettings) have fallen for 26 consecutive months, down 0.5% in May compared to the same time last year. Rental prices declined in all regions except Catalonia and the Balearics, where they rose 0.3% and 0.1% respectively. They fell the most in Murcia, down 1.6%.