Renting a house in Spain is not an easy task. Because of the prices and conditions, but also because of the simple matter of the offer. Following the housing boom during the pandemic, the stock is set to reach historical lows as tourist apartments are transferred to the residential rental market. This is also reflected in the latest report by UVE Valuations, which leaves an eye-opening fact on the table: the supply of flats and houses for rent has fallen by almost 30% in four years.

However, the situation varies from region to region.

A drop of almost 30 percent. His percentage resonates. And it affects everyone looking for an apartment to rent. The supply of rental homes in Spain has shrunk by almost 30% in four years, according to the latest research from UVE Valuations, prepared with data from the property portal Idealista. To be more precise, it has fallen 27.5% since 2020, settling at the lowest levels in the historical series. While there were 81,980 offers for tenants in April 2020, there are only 59,419 offers today.

far from epidemic. This figure is far below the supply reached during the pandemic, when the sector was intensively transferring tourist houses to the residential rental market. This strange scenario, dictated by lockdowns and other COVID-19 restrictions, has caused the stock of homes available to renters to nearly double in a matter of months. There were 81,980 bids in April 2020. There were already 145,116 in December.

up to minimum. Today the situation is completely different. In April 2022, there were already 64,596 offers on the market, and its volume remained between 60,000 and 80,000 until the valuation company fixed the minimum number of the series at 59,419. The data coincides with the increase in housing prices at the state level, which according to the Idealista portal stands at 12.7 €/m2; That’s up from 10.5 two years ago, or 10.7 in 2020. This is the biggest record since at least. 2006.

Map is important. The fact that the overall supply of rental housing has fallen to a minimum does not mean that this is the case in all regions of Spain. The research warns that there are provinces where very low stocks are recorded, although they do not reach record levels. In fact, the authors warn that in most cases these are not historical minimums. One of the most important factors is the predominance of the provinces of Madrid and Barcelona, ​​where 26.54% of the entire rental supply is concentrated. Together with Alicante, Malaga and Valencia they make up 48.75%.

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Balances are changing. If we are talking about homes for sale, the balance is quite different. In this case, offers from the provinces of Madrid and Barcelona account for only 15.08%. The study’s authors also analyzed some cities’ rental offerings and their weight in their respective real estate markets. Their results lead to interesting conclusions. While supply represents 0.47% of the total housing stock in Madrid; In Barcelona, ​​this rate reaches 0.57%, so the relative rental supply is greater there.

27 candidates on each floor. UVE Valuations’ research is not the only new study exploring how real estate rental supply and demand is evolving. World Yesterday he published an analysis, again based on Idealista, showing to what extent and how fast the pressure to buy an apartment is increasing.

While at the beginning of last year there were an average of 17 candidates for each rental housing advertisement, today this figure is much higher and is currently 27. The competition is even greater in large metropolises. In Vitoria there are 70 applications per proposal, in Madrid and Barcelona there are approximately 40 applications.

reflection on prices. This complex equation between limited stocks and high demand, combined with difficulties in regulating the market (this is clearly evident in Barcelona, ​​despite the new reference price index) is reflected in a decisive indicator: prices.

This is stated by Germán Pérez Barrio, president of UVE Valuations, who warns that the lack of supply is increasing rental prices. To prevent this, he specifically advocates building affordable rental housing. At least in the medium and long term. In short, it points to the possibility of encouraging owners of vacant homes to put them on the market.

Image | Samuel Ryde (Unsplash)

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