Rental yields in Barcelona’s most popular districts range between 4% and 5%, reveals new research by the Spanish property portal Fotocasa.
The most popular districts based on rental searches were Eixample, Santi Martí, Ciutat Vella Old Town, and Gracia, say Fotocasa, after studying search traffic at the portal.
Fotocasa used their database of sale and rental listings to calculate gross rental yields by district. Being based on asking prices the results have to be taken with a pinch of salt, but it does give one an idea of what investors can expect from yields in Barcelona.
Of Barcelona’s most popular districts, gross yields are lowest in the Eixample (4.1%), and highest in Sant Martí (4.7%), with the Old town (4.6%) and Gracia (also 4.6%) in between.
Given the savage property bust Spain has lived through in the last eight years, you could be forgiven for expecting higher rental yields in a city like Barcelona. It’s a bit of a mystery why yields are not higher, but one reason is because local incomes make rental demand very price sensitive.
Wim for Iris Costa says:
Mark,
I don’t really see why average rental yields would have to be much higher than the 4-5 percent you are mentioning, especially in the current context of extremely low interest levels for other types of investment. Also, in some areas, including Barcelona, property prices have already significantly rebounded from the crisis levels of 2012-2013, to a large extent because of foreign demand. I agree that local income levels area also a moderating element. My guess is therefore that higher yields are possible for certain market segments, in particular those focused on holiday letting.
Best regards,
Wim Blommaert