The current situation in the real estate market remains unstable. The new Housing Law has revolutionized prices and with them rental prices, which have increased by 4.5% compared to the first quarter. The overdemand for rent and the current low supply in the market have been key factors for this upward trend, and more so after the arrival of the pandemic, where more citizens are looking for a home to be able to telework. Although accessing a house is still somewhat complicated for those who want to become independent, change flats or share, there are still some Spanish cities where prices and rents can be a great option.
According to data published by the real estate portal Fotocasa, during the second quarter of this year 2023, the increase in prices reached 0.5% compared to the first three months of the year. From inflation, to the rise in rates, the lack of land to build, and other aspects, are the reasons why these prices have gone up in recent months. The portal’s spokeswoman and director of studies, María Matos, explains that “legal uncertainty” is another of the points that have effectively caused this rise in prices by leaving “no housing stock.”
Matos also adds that the increase in June has caused the price of rental housing to stand at 11.61 euros per square meter per month. The same report details how the Spanish autonomous communities have experienced various variations on a quarterly and year-on-year basis, but not all at the same level, since once they have reached their maximum prices, reaching close to 20 euros per square meter. per month In the first place, among the most expensive areas is the Balearic Islands, closely followed by Madrid and finally Catalonia.
Where can I rent to telework?
According to the analysis carried out by the real estate portal, the prices by communities are as follows: Castilla-La Mancha is the cheapest at 6.17 euros per square meter per month. In second place is Extremadura (6.36 euros per square meter per month); and in third, La Rioja (8.30 euros per square meter per month). The list is completed by Castilla y León (8.33 euros per square meter per month); Galicia (8.47 euros per square meter); Asturias (8.66 euros per square meter); Region of Murcia (8.79); Aragon (8.93 euros per square meter) and Andalusia (9.79 euros per square meter).
Then the price begins to be more than ten euros per square meter: Navarra (10.80 euros); Valencian Community (11.53 euros); Canary Islands (12.85 euros); Cantabria (13.16 euros); Basque Country (14.64 euros); Catalonia (15.94 euros); Madrid (16.70 euros) and the first place goes to the Balearic Islands with 17.16 euros. However, Fotocasa explains that there are some communities that are being very profitable and sought after, which is why they came to have one of their largest quarterly price increases. This is the case of Cantabria (19.9%); the Region of Murcia (11.4%) and the Valencian Community (8.7%).
On the contrary, the provinces that reflect a decrease in their prices are Cuenca, Salamanca and Albacete with 3.2%, 1.9% and 1.5% respectively. Of all the Spanish provinces, in more than half of them, the rental price per square meter has reached its record during the last semester and year. There are other cases such as the cities of Orihuela and Benidorm that today cost 40% more than the previous year.
The most expensive neighborhoods in Madrid and Barcelona
Madrid and Barcelona are placed as the top seed in the increase in prices in this second quarter. In the capital, for example, one of the districts that increased the most was Puente de Vallecas with 9.3%. With maximum prices, Chamberí, Barrio de Salamanca or Retiro stand out as three neighborhoods with the highest price per square meter. In the case of Barcelona, practically the same thing happens when the price per square meter is above 20 euros in almost the entire city. One of the districts that reached the top of prices and marked a variation of 7.6% was Horta – Guinardó, followed by Nou Barris with 6.6%; Sarrià – Sant Gervasi with 5.4%, and Eixample with 2.3%.
In this sense, these increases also have an impact on room rentals in shared flats. According to information from the real estate portal iPisos.com, it is increasingly difficult to become independent and this is one of the solutions to make it more bearable. For this same reason, among the communities with the highest prices when it comes to renting a room, the two large Spanish cities, Barcelona and Madrid, stand out, with 631 euros and 477 euros per month and per room, respectively. “There are more and more people over 30 who are forced to share a flat due to economic difficulties and problems of access to housing,” says Ferrán Font, director of studies and web presenter.
In addition, from the portal they recommend three other provincial capitals where sharing is best sold. “It remains below 200 euros per month and they are Zamora (157 euros per month), Badajoz (175 euros per month) and Ciudad Real (176 euros per month)”, concludes the director of studies of the real estate portal. In this way, people who want – or can – telework have the option of looking for a house or room in some of the cities that maintain a normative rental price, outside of the big cities.
