New data shows how in the past year the availability of affordable rental properties in Spain lags far behind public need. For every rental home advertised in Spain, there’s an average of 27 families interested in it, ten more applicants than the 17 per property in the first quarter of 2023. This follows years of decline in the private rented sector.
Recent data from the Idealista real estate portal was provided to El Mundo, showing the pressure on rental housing increased throughout the country, most pronouncedly in large cities. In Vitoria in the Basque country, there are as many as 70 applicants for each rental property. In Madrid and Barcelona, there are 40 and 41 families respectively looking for housing per available rental, and in Guadalajara, a bedroom community of Madrid, the number jumps to 51. Similarweb reports about 9 million people visit the Idealista website every month.
Real estate experts attribute the situation to a combination of higher salaries increasing rental prices and the rebound in tourism cutting supply, as property owners opt for renting to tourists rather than residents. Spain is expected to receive more than 85 million international tourists this year.
Those most adversely affected are those looking to find stable housing in the medium and lower price ranges, experts advise.
Francisco Iñaret, spokesperson for Idealista, told El Mundo that the figures “show that the destruction of supply caused by rental policies worsens the possibilities of accessing housing, especially in the case of young people and vulnerable families,” adding that compared to a year ago there are the same number of people―or more―looking for a house, but there are notably fewer and fewer properties on the market. This has caused the increase in prices and subsequent difficulty in finding affordable properties across Spain. To date, according to data provided by Idealista, rental prices have increased by 12.6% in the last year.
The collapse of rental availability comes one year on from the new housing law which Spain’s government touted as the solution to the country’s serious lack of affordable housing. The policy―which included financial support for young people and rent control measures to be implemented in areas declared “in tension” due to rental price increases―clearly isn’t working.
