Rent increase in Spain

In January, rental prices in Spain rose by 15% compared to the same month last year, the biggest increase since August 2018.

Rental prices have also increased by 2% in the last month, according to the latest data from the Fotocasa Property Index.

“The gravity of the situation is that the supply of long-term rental properties is experiencing the worst crisis of the 21st century due to the withdrawal of properties from the market, while demand remains very intense and stable,” commented Fotocasa research director and spokesperson Maria Matos, noting the record rental price of 1,080 euros per home.

Spain has thus moved from the 5.1% annual growth rate recorded in January last year to 15% in 2025, while over the past 12 months, the cost of housing has increased from €11.78 in January 2024 to €13.55 in January this year.

The report also says that in January, 16 autonomous communities of Spain recorded increases in rental prices of more than 10%. Among them, the following stand out: Castilla-La Mancha (19.9%), Madrid (18.4%), the Murcia region (15.0%), Navarre (14.7%), La Rioja (14.5%), Catalonia (14.1%), Aragon (13.3%), Asturias (12.7%), Galicia (11.6%), the Valencian Community (11.0%) and Andalusia (10.6%), the Basque Country (9.6%), Extremadura (9.0%), the Canary Islands (8.9%), the Balearic Islands (8.8%) and Castile and León (6.7%).

As for the regions with the most expensive rents, in Madrid (20.88 euros per m²), Catalonia (18.41 euros), the Balearic Islands (18.34 euros) and the Basque Country (16.79 euros) rents exceed 15 euros per square metre.

The next most expensive are the Canary Islands (€13.95), Navarre (€13.04), the Valencian Community (€12.95), Cantabria (€11.51), Andalusia (€11.17), Asturias (€10.72), Aragon (€10.56), La Rioja (€9.88), Galicia (€9.61), the Region of Murcia (€9.38), Castilla y León (€9.10), Castilla-La Mancha (€7.47) and Extremadura (€6.91).

By province, 45 of the 49 territories saw annual rental rates increase in January 2025, with the exception of Segovia, Araba (Alava), Cantabria and Huelva.

Thus, the provinces with the highest price increases (over 10%) are: Lugo (18.8%), Madrid (18.4%), Albacete (17.0%), Huesca (16.1%), Zamora (16.0%), Seville (15.7%), Murcia (15.0%), Navarre (14.7%), La Rioja (14.5%), Leon (14.2%), Las Palmas (14.2%), Barcelona (13.9%), Cáceres (13.9%), A Coruña (13.1%), Zaragoza (12.9%), Asturias (12.7%), Ciudad Real (12.5%), Cadiz (12.0%), Ourense (11.7%), Girona (11.0%), Lleida (10.9%), Valencia (10.8%), Toledo (10.5%), Almeria (10.4%), Vizcaya (10.1%), Palencia (10.1%) and Pontevedra (10.0%).

The six most expensive provinces are: Madrid (€20.88), Barcelona (€20.59), Gipuzkoa (€19.10), the Balearic Islands (€18.34), Biscay (€16.30) and Malaga (€14.96).

On the other hand, the cheapest provinces to rent are Jaén (€6.03), Ciudad Real (€6.39) and Badajoz (€6.80).

As for provincial capitals, 41 of them saw rental prices increase in January compared to last year. The largest increases were in Ciudad Real (38.3%), Castellón de La Plana (17.2%), Seville (16.3%), Lugo (16.2%), Madrid (15.3%), Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (15.2%) and Oviedo (13.9%).

The list also included: Girona (13.7%), Zaragoza (13.6%), Pamplona (13.3%), A Coruña (12.6%), Leon (12.6%), Valladolid (11.0%), Ourense (10.4%), Albacete (10.2%) and Alicante (10.0%).

The Fotocasa index showed that Ciudad Real, the city with the highest annual growth rate, has seen an increase of more than 25% over the last 12 months, and in April of this year the price per square metre increased by more than 40%.

In January, the most expensive cities in terms of cost per square metre were Barcelona (22.87 euros), Madrid (22.04 euros), Donostia-San Sebastian (20.76 euros), Palma de Mallorca (17.98 euros), Bilbao (16.97 euros), Girona (16 euros), Valencia (15.83 euros), Malaga (15.40 euros), Las Palmas (14.98 euros), Seville (14.27 euros), Pamplona (13.52 euros) and Alicante (13.50 euros).

The following are: Santa Cruz de Tenerife (12.27 euros), Cadiz (12.25 euros), Vitoria-Gasteiz (12.20 euros), Tarragona (11.95 euros), Santander (11.89 euros), A Coruña (11.50 euros), Zaragoza (11.48 euros), Segovia (11.28 euros), Oviedo (10.97 euros), Burgos (10.35 euros), Granada (10.20 euros) and Huesca (10.04 euros). At the same time, the only city with the cheapest rent is Jaen, where the rent is 6.73 euros per square meter.