75 applicants compete for one flat in first ten days of Malaga promotion

Finding a reasonably priced flat to rent in Malaga is almost impossible. The housing crisis that both the city and the province are going through due to the inability to meet the high demand for homes is proven by numerous public and private studies. One of the latest analyses was published by Fundación Alquiler Seguro - a national organisation, which has analysed the evolution of rentals in a dozen provinces, including Malaga, since the law on the right to housing was passed on 24 May 2023.

In general, the report concludes that this state regulation "has not only failed to improve access to housing", but has also "exacerbated the problem, weakening the residential rental market", "breaking all price records in practically all the provinces".

One of the parameters analysed by this study is the pressure of demand, which measures the average number of people who enquire or are interested in a property for rent during the first ten days after its publication on real estate portals and platforms. According to data, this figure has increased six-fold in Malaga province over the last five years. If there were 13 people who enquired about a flat during the first ten days in 2020, now this figure has grown to 75.

The pressure of demand in the province of Malaga is lower than the national average - 112 enquiries in ten days. However, it is higher than in other provinces, such as Madrid (40), Seville (63) or Alicante (55). Barcelona is far above, with 341 enquiries per flat.

The study also includes the evolution of the number of homes offered for rent in each of the ten provinces. This figure has decreased since the entry into force of the current state housing law. "In its aim to improve tenant protection, the housing law has created a divide with landlords, many of whom have exited the residential rental market," says the study. Following that, supply at national level has been reduced from 855,518 to 717,338 flats for rent.

However, the only province in which this decrease is not detected is Malaga. On the contrary, the number of houses offered for rent has grown from the 40,913 in 2022 to the 48,206 at the end of 2024. The report calculates that the number of rental flats offered in the first quarter of 2025 is around 51,300.

Why haven't long-term rentals decreased in Malaga as they have in other provinces? According to analyst Sergio Cardona, the trend in Malaga is "due to the high demand for rentals, which guarantees that owners have a large number of interested parties to rent out their flats". Cardona believes that it is possible that the fall in supply "has reached a plateau".

"In Malaga, there is a projection of the creation of new homes and a demand for housing that continues to rise," says Cardona.

The increase in supply of long-term rentals in Malaga is a phenomenon that could be attributed to recent measures adopted by public administrations to limit the proliferation of tourist rentals by imposing new conditions. This may have led many owners to stop renting out their flats to tourists and look for long-term tenants.