Individuals living in the capital of the Costa del Sol need to earn 32,000 euros a year in order to rent a studio flat

A single person wanting to rent a studio apartment in Malaga city needs a net annual income of 32,000 euros, according to the latest report by the Spanish real estate portal Idealista. The statistics, which do not specify the square meterage of the property, only classify a studio apartment as one that has no room divisions, meaning that it is completely open-plan, possibly because there is not enough space to erect partition walls. The average monthly rent for such a studio in Malaga city is 800 euros - a figure that is in line with the national average in Spain. To calculate the net salary required to afford the rental property, Idealista makes it a condition that the rent does not swallow up more than 30% of the income, meaning that the effort rate does not exceed this percentage.

If we expand the picture to the whole province, the average rent for a studio apartment is 789 euros, which requires a net salary of 31,560 euros to cover it. This is because we are still working to the requirement that the rent does not take up more than 30% of the income, which is what most well-known organisations in the trade recommend so that paying for housing does not stretch household budgets too far (known as 'overexertion').

According to the latest data available (2023) from Andalucía's institute of statistics and cartography (Ieca), the average gross salary in Malaga province did not reach 19,500 euros, although that of male workers was somewhat higher, at 21,270 euros, while that of women was below 17,500 euros.

Spain's most expensive provincial city for renting a studio apartment is Barcelona (1,175 euros is the monthly average paid), which requires a net salary of 47,000 euros, according to Idealista's report. The real estate website uses its own database of advertised properties as a reference. Next come Madrid and Valencia, with average rents for a studio of around 1,000 euros and a net income requirement of around 40,000 euros.

More pressing real estate markets than Malaga's include Palma de Mallorca (950 euros rent and a 38k-euro net salary requirement), San Sebastian (900 euros rent and 35,960 euros salary requirement) and also Bilbao and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.

At the other end of the scale sits Ciudad Real, where renting a studio apartment costs 410 euros per month, requiring a net salary of 16,400 euros. In Andalucía, the cheapest provincial capital is Jaen (500 euros rent and a 20,000-euro salary required).

The Idealista report also looks into how much it costs to buy a studio, what savings are needed to cover the downpayment (calculated at 20% of property purchase price) plus taxes and other homebuying expenses (an additional 10% of property value) and then what income is needed to cover monthly mortgage payments. According to the report, the average price of a studio apartment in Malaga is 180,000 euros, which implies that you need to have a previous saving of 54,000 euros, in addition to setting aside another 600 euros to pay the monthly mortgage instalment. This, according to Idealista's calculations, means that you need to have a net income of 24,160 euros.

Buying is clearly cheaper than renting month to month. However, the obstacle that single people face in taking that step onto the property ladder is that they need to have a significant amount of savings beforehand.

In the wider province of Malaga the average price of a studio apartment is less than 135,000 euros, which implies a prior saving of around 40,500 euros to cover the downpayment and the costs associated with purchasing that property. The mortgage, meanwhile, is around 450 euros per month.

The most expensive studios in Spain are those located in Madrid where, on average, they are close to 240,000 euros to buy. That would require having around 72,000 euros in savings and then paying 800 euros per month. This, in turn, implies having a net annual salary of 32,160 euros so the mortgage does not take up more than 30% of the income.

Studios for sale in Palma, San Sebastián and Valencia also exceed the 200,000-euro mark. Similarly, those in Granada, Barcelona, Segovia and Pamplona are close to that figure. This means that those who want to buy a property like this need to have around 60,000 euros saved up and a minimum annual income of around 25,000 euros to cover the mortgage payment.