Average rent prices in tense housing areas fall 5% in second quarter

Average rent prices in towns deemed 'tense housing areas' fell by 5% between April and June in Catalonia to €865.56, compared to the first three months of the year.

Earlier this year, the Spanish government introduced a new national price index to cap rents. The new system sets maximum and minimum price ranges for properties based on their location and characteristics. The cap will be applied in 'tense housing areas', those where average rents or mortgages are more than 30% of average household income or have risen at least three percentage points above the CPI over the past five years. 

New figures from the Department of Territory, Housing, and Ecological Transition presented on Tuesday show the shift in the market covering the first full quarter with the new regulation in application in 140 municipalities deemed stressed housing areas. 

When the regulation was first applied, the Spanish government had listed 140 municipalities in Catalonia where the rent caps would be in force, before the Catalan government then added a further 131 municipalities in mid-April, bringing the total to 271, and in areas where more than 90% of the population of the region lives.  

Compared to the same period in 2023, prices in the initial 140 municipalities increased by 0.1%.

Despite the quarterly drop in rental prices, the number of new housing contracts signed fell by 17.2%, down to 24,543, compared to the 1.6% drop in towns not deemed stressed housing areas.

Catalonia's Territory Minister, Sílvia Paneque, explained on Tuesday that these data lead authorities to suspect that there has been a shift in the market toward temporary rentals, where the rental caps do not apply. Paneque insisted on the need for regulation of this type of rental contract to close the loophole.

Offer down 14.5% in Barcelona

In Barcelona, ​​the average rental price lowered in the second quarter by 5.2% to €1,131.75. During the first quarter, a new historical high was reached, with figures close to €1,200 on average.

On the other hand, if compared with the second quarter of 2023, an increase of 0.7% has still been registered.

A total of 7,939 new contracts were signed between April and June in the Catalan capital, 14.5% less than in the previous quarter.

When analized by districts, the average rent does not surpass €1,000 in four neighborhoods: Nou Barris, the cheapest one at €798.10, followed by Horta-Guinardó (€971.35), Sant Andreu (€941.64), and Sants-Montjuïc (€971.35).

The most expensive districts in Barcelona were Sarrià-Sant Gervasi (€1,572.24) and Les Corts (€1,339.98).

Rent increased in areas not declared tense housing

In the other Catalan municipalities that are not tense housing areas, the price of rent has increased by 1.7% compared to the same period last year, up to €603.83. 

The number of contracts signed in those areas decreased by 1.6% compared to the first quarter of 2024, to a total of 4,770.

In general, the price of rent in all of Catalonia has decreased 5.3% compared to the first quarter of the year down to €822.97.