Average rental prices in Spain just keep going up. In August, they went up by 10% in the year. This was the third consecutive month of double-digit rises and the 30th month in a row of increases, according to the Spanish property portal Fotocasa.
August’s price hike is the third highest after the 10.5% rise in May and 10.2% in April. Average rent rates in Spain went down by 0.1% from July to August.
But despite the year-on-year hikes, rental costs are still far below their peak in 2007, according to Fotocasa. The average monthly national rate currently stands at €8.08 per square metre. In May 2007, it stood at €10.12 a square metre, making today’s prices still 20.3% cheaper.
“Rental rate prices are happening all over Spain,” said Beatriz Toribio, head of research at Fotocasa, “although they’re higher in Catalonia, the Balearic and Canary Islands, and in Madrid.”
Average regional rental rates
In August, month-on-month rental rates went up in 10 regions of Spain and year-on-year rates rose in 16. The highest rates were in Catalonia (18.2%), the Canaries (11.3%), Madrid (11.2%) and the Balearics (10.4%).
The regions with the lowest rent rises were Extremadura (2.6%), Aragon (2.7%), La Rioja (2.9%), Asturias (3%), Castilla y León (3.3%) and Murcia (3.5%). In the middle were Cantabria (5%), Navarra (5.1%), Castilla-La Mancha (5.4%), Andalusia (5.6%), the Basque Country (5.7%) and the Comunidad Valenciana (6.6%).
Highest rents in Catalonia
Catalonia is the most expensive region to rent a resale property with a square metre price of €12.13 a month. Next is Madrid (€11.66) and the Basque Country (€10.8). At the other end of the scale, two of the most affordable regions for rent are Extremadura (€4.78) and Castilla-La Mancha (€5.03).