In 2017 the real estate market has experienced an interesting upswing, reaching an average increase of 18%, with 9.7 € per square meter according to the report of Idealista. The main reason for this increase is the rise in demand and the drop in supply. Many landlords ad to rent out their properties during the real estate crisis, now started to put them on sale with a consequent price increase. Furthermore, we need to take into account the new short-term tourists rentals of the last years which represents more profitable opportunities than long-term rents.
Vacation rentals represent an important part of the equation. According to the study led by the city of Barcelona, these properties constitute 7.7% of the whole city rental housing supply. Some other groups claim that the real reason for the increase is due to a massive number of empty houses which reduce the housing supply. According to the report, prices faced a slight reduction, increasing just only by 3.3% in last part of 2017. On the other hand, in the 2 Canarian capitals properties to rent has faced a massive increase in prices, exceeding 22%. Besides this slowdown of the last quarter of the year, we need to take into account that every market is different and has increased not all in the same way. Surprisingly, Madrid and Barcelona are not leading this rank, but the Andalusian capitals of Malaga and Sevilla, along with Canary islands and Balearic archipelagos, and Girona.
Autonomous communities have registered higher prices for rent, compared to last year prices. Houses for rents have reportedly higher rents requests from landlords, especially in the Canary islands, reaching 27.8% more than last year. Madrid and Barcelona remain the most expensive autonomous cities, with 14.4 euros / m2 on average. On the opposite side, the most economical communities remain Extremadura and Castilla de la Mancha.
Rent increases by city in Spain, only 3 provinces have faced a decrease in prices: Cáceres (-5%), Cuenca (-2%) and Burgos (-0.2%). On the other hand, the ranking of the most expensive cities in terms of rent has as first city Barcelona (15.8 euros / m2 per month) followed by Madrid (14.4 euros / m2) and Guipúzcoa (12.9 euros / m2).
