According to data from pisos.com, the average rental price in Spain was 9.81 euros per sq. m in September, representing a 1.87% quarterly increase and an annualized adjustment of -1.38%. In the same period, the price of one square meter of rented space in San Sebastian reached 16.69 euros.
Which cities are the most expensive to rent real estate?
San Sebastian is in the first place. The rental price rose by about 7% quarterly in Basque city, while the year-on-year difference was a 0.22% drop.
The rent in Barcelona also exceeds € 16 per sq. m. (16.44 euros). Barcelona recorded 5% growth this quarter, according to pisos.com, although the annual rate indicates a price decline of 8.79%.
The third most expensive city to rent is Madrid - an increase of 1.03% compared to June 2021. The rental price is 15.17 euros per sq. m. It is followed by Bilbao and Palma de Mallorca with 13.36 and 11.69 euros per sq. m. m., respectively.
According to Ferran Font, director of research at pisos.com, “although rental housing is starting to gain traction, it is still cheaper to be a tenant today than it was a year ago.” The Executive Director notes that the behaviour of rental prices is highly location-driven, which has remained essentially unchanged due to the healthcare crisis and the proliferation of teleworking.
“The pandemic has forced many workers to leave big cities, and while remote work is still taking place, most offices have returned to face-to-face work, which has reactivated rents in major capitals,” says Font.
On the other side of the scale is Zamora, which turned out to be the cheapest provincial town to rent at 5.45 € / sq. m., having experienced the most significant quarterly drop in rental prices (7.96%). Other cheapest cities remain Ciudad Real (5.91 euros per sq. M.), Palencia (5.93 euros per sq. M.), Teruel (5.96 euros per sq. M.) And Cáceres (6 euros per sq. m.).
Lleida experienced the highest quarterly growth in the country, reaching 10.55%, bringing the rental price in the Catalan city to 8.26 euros per sq. m.