Catalan residents use 58% of gross salary to pay rent, highest figure in Spain

Catalan residents use on average 58% of their gross salary to pay rent, according to a report released by real estate platform Fotocasa and job listing site Infojobs.

The figure for the Barcelona region is even higher, 62%, well above the Spanish average of 43%.

In some Spanish regions, only a quarter of residents' salary is needed to meet the rent, and indeed, the price of a flat in the Catalan capital is double that of 40 Spanish provincial capitals.

EU authorities recommend that residents do not spend more than 30% of their salary on rent.

"A €624 rent would only allow us to pay for a 29m2 home in Barcelona, and the same amount would grant access to an 80m2 in 18 other provincial capitals," said Ferran Font, an official at Pisos.com.

Infojobs believes that salaries are only going up in specific sectors that are lacking personnel, such as IT, telecommunications, construction and tourism.

8.6 years' worth of gross salary for a purchase

According to Fotocasa and Infojobs, based on 2022 figures an average of 8.6 years' worth of gross salary is needed to purchase a home in Catalonia.

This is the highest amount required in a decade, the findings indicate, as housing prices went up by 3.9% year-on-year in 2022 while salaries did not increase at the same rate.

In 2020, an average of 7.9 years' worth of gross salary was required, in 2021 it was 8.2.