The price of residential rents in Spain increased by 9.7% over the last 12 months, according to a report published by idealista, the southern European real estate marketplace, while the quarterly rate rose by 4.4%. At the end of June 2025, renting a home in our country cost 14.6 euros per square metre.
According to Francisco Iñareta, spokesperson for idealista, "despite all the warnings and calls to redirect the policies approved by the government in recent years, the disaster in the Spanish rental market is a reality. Years of persecution of landlords and harmful measures, culminating in the approval of the Housing Law, have only resulted in the disappearance of a large part of the available rental supply, with the consequent increase in prices due to the tensions between supply and demand shown in this report".
‘Furthermore, we must not forget that the reduction in supply has dramatically increased competition among potential tenants, which always favours those with greater purchasing power, who offer more security to landlords, thereby excluding more and more groups from renting and promoting a process of elitism,’ the spokesperson said.
Madrid (11%) leads the increases among the largest rental markets
All capitals have higher rental prices than in June 2024, except for Cuenca, where they have fallen by 2.2%. Segovia is the capital where rents have risen the most in a year: 21.4%.
Among the large markets, the highest increases have occurred in Madrid (11%), Valencia (9.9%), Palma (9.7%), Seville (9.4%), Alicante (8.4%) and Barcelona (8.2%). The lowest increases among these markets have occurred in Bilbao (5.6%), San Sebastián (6.4%) and Málaga (7.9%).
Barcelona is the most expensive capital city to rent a home, at 23.9 euros/m2, followed by Madrid (22 euros/m2) and San Sebastián (18.7 euros/m2). Palma ranks fourth (18.3 euros/m2) and Málaga fifth (15.6 euros/m2). At the bottom of the table are Ciudad Real (€7.6/m2), Zamora (€7.8/m2), Cáceres (€7.8/m2), Cuenca, Palencia and Jaén (€8/m2 in all three cases).
Thirty-three of the 50 Spanish capitals analysed have reached maximum prices this quarter.
The provinces of Castile and León and Castile-La Mancha lead the way in rent increases
All Spanish provinces have recorded higher rental prices than a year ago, with three exceptions: Lleida (-4.1%), Huelva (-0.8%) and Girona (-0.5%). The largest increase was recorded in Zamora, where prices rose by 18.7%. Significant increases were also recorded in Segovia (18.2%), Guadalajara (16.1%), Toledo (14.4%) and Ávila (14%). In Madrid, prices rose by 11.7%, while in Barcelona they remained at 9.9%.
The ranking of the most expensive provinces is headed by Barcelona (20.7 euros/m2 per month), the Balearic Islands (20.2 euros/m2), Madrid (20.1 euros/m2) and Guipúzcoa (16.8 euros/m2). Jaén is the cheapest province to rent a home, at 6.5 euros/m2, followed by Ciudad Real (6.8 euros/m2), Cáceres (7.2 euros/m2) and Zamora (7.2 euros/m2).
The Balearic Islands, the most expensive region, recorded the lowest price increase
Prices increased in all regions over the last 12 months. The highest increases were in Castilla-La Mancha (12.7%), La Rioja (12.4%), Madrid (11.7%), Andalusia (11.2%), Catalonia (10.7%), the Valencian Community (10.2%) and Castilla y León (10.1%). The Balearic Islands recorded the lowest increase, at 1.6%.
The Balearic Islands is the region with the most expensive rents, reaching 20.2 euros/m2, followed by Madrid (20.1 euros/m2), Catalonia (19.2 euros/m2) and the Canary Islands (15.1 euros/m2). At the opposite end of the table are Extremadura (€7.3/m2), Castile-La Mancha (€7.9/m2) and La Rioja (€9/m2), the most affordable regions.
Source: Idealista
David Marrero
1 July 2025, 9:15