Rental property prices hit record high in Spain this April and this where they are highest

This means a year-on-year average increase of 10%, with the price per square metre now at over 14 euros and even higher in a few major cities, according to property specialists Idealista ·

Claudia T. Ferrero

Madrid

Tuesday, 6 May 2025, 14:33

The cost of renting housing in Spain has experienced a year-on-year average increase of 10% in April, standing at 14.30 euros per square metre, a figure that represents an "all-time high" for rental income in Spain, according to the latest price report published by property portal Idealista. The trend is still upwards as, in the last three months, the price has grown by 3.1%, while in the last month the rise was 1.7%.

It should be noted that the statistics used by the real estate portal to compile its price index eliminate atypical listings and those with off-market prices, as well as properties that, in its opinion, have been in its databases for a long time without generating user interest, and including single-family homes and detached properties.

The data show that the rise in rental prices continues from the increases that began just after the pandemic. As the real estate portal states, the behaviour of rents in the main markets in Spain has been "totally bullish."

Hardly surprising then that, on the first Saturday of last month, thousands of people took to the streets in 40 Spanish cities to demonstrate against "the housing business."

All Spanish regions are raising their prices

The task of finding a property to rent at a 'reasonable' price is becoming increasingly difficult, and the fact that rents have risen in all Spanish regions since April last year does not make the search any easier.

By region, La Rioja leads the increases (13.2%) followed by Asturias (12.6%), the regions of Madrid (12.3%) and of Valencia (11.9%), Aragón (11.8%), Catalonia (11%), Castilla-La Mancha (11%) and Andalucía (10.6%). Below the national average are the increases in Castilla y León (9.7%), Murcia (9.4%), Extremadura (7.8%), the Balearics (7.4%), Galicia and Canarias (7.2% in both cases), Navarra (3.5%), Cantabria (6.2%) and the Basque Country (7.1%).

Madrid and the Balearic Islands are the regions with the highest price per square metre at 19.50 euros and 19.10 euros respectively. They are closely followed by Catalonia (18.70 euros/m2), the Canary Islands (14.60 euros/m2) and the Basque Country (14.50 euros/m2). In contrast, the cheapest regions are Extremadura (seven euros/m2) and Castilla-La Mancha (7.70 euros/m2).

49 Spanish provinces on the rise

Rental prices have risen in 49 of Spain's 50 provinces in the last year, with the sole exception of Lleida, where they have fallen by 1.8%. The largest increases were seen in Segovia (14.4%), Teruel (14.3%), Valencia (13.3%), La Rioja (13.2%) and Ávila (12.9%). Guipúzcoa (1.4%), Pontevedra (3.4%) and Navarra (3.5%), on the other hand, are the provinces with the lowest increases.

The price paid per square metre is now 20.30 euros in the most expensive province in Spain for renting a property, which is Barcelona. The Catalan capital beats Madrid (19.50 euros per square metre), the Balearic Islands (19.10 euros/m2) and Guipúzcoa (16 euros/m2). They are followed by Malaga at 15.90 euros/m2 and then Las Palmas and Santa Cruz de Tenerife, both at 14.60 euros. The cheapest provinces are Jaen (6.20 euros/m2), Ciudad Real (6.70 euros/m2) and Zamora (6.80 euros/m2).

Barcelona, the most expensive provincial capital

Despite the 6.4% drop in the average rental price in Barcelona recorded during the fourth quarter of 2024 compared to the first quarter of the same year, the Catalan city is once again the provincial (and regional) capital with the highest rents, with a price of 23.80 euros per square metre.

Next are Madrid and San Sebastián, costing 21.40 and 18 euros per square metre respectively. Behind them are Palma de Mallorca (17.30 euros), Valencia (15.50 euros), Malaga (15.40 euros) and Bilbao (15 euros). At the other extreme are Zamora and Ourense (7.10 and 7.40 euros per square metre respectively) as the provincial capitals with the cheapest rents.

Furthermore, over 50 Spanish capitals have reported higher rents than those recorded in April 2024, except for Lleida, where they decreased by 2.3% year-on-year. The data compiled for Idealista's latest price report shows the sharpest increase in Castellón de la Plana, where landlords' expectations rose by 16.2%, followed by increases in Santa Cruz de Tenerife (15.2%), Ávila (14.9%), Ciudad Real and Segovia (both up by 13.8%).

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