The shortage of apartments drives rental prices in Spain up to 8.5% in 2025

The average price of housing rental in Spain it increased by 8.5% throughout 2025, up to 14.7 euros per square meteraccording to data provided this Friday by the Idealista real estate portal, which indicated that rent became more expensive by 1.7% in the fourth quarter.

The price increased in all communities during the last 12 months. The biggest increase occurred in Castilla-La Mancha (+11.7%), La Rioja (+10.6%), Madrid (+10.4%), Andalusia (+9.9%), Aragón (+9.9%), Valencian Community (+9.7%) and Castilla y León (+9.5%). Catalonia registered the smallest increase, with 3%.

Madrid is the community with the most expensive rents, reaching 20.8 euros per square meter, followed by the Balearic Islands (19.1 euros), Catalonia (18.6 euros) and the Canary Islands (15.3 euros). On the opposite side of the table is Extremadura (7.3 euros per square meter), Castilla-La Mancha (8.2 euros) and the Region of Murcia (nine euros), being the most economical communities.

All capitals have higher rental prices than in December 2024, with the exception of San Sebastián, where they were reduced by 0.5%, Ceuta being the capital in which rent grew the most in one year: 17.9%.

Among the large markets, the largest increases occurred in Madrid (+9.7%), Alicante (+8.3%), Seville (+7%), Valencia (+6.4%), Palma (+6.4%), Málaga (+4.7%), Bilbao (+3.1%) and Barcelona (+1.9%). Barcelona is the most expensive capital to rent a home, with 23.8 euros per square meter, followed by Madrid (22.7 euros) and Palma (18.3 euros). At the bottom of the table is Zamora (7.6 euros per square meter), Ciudad Real, Badajoz and Lugo (7.9 euros).

For the Idealista spokesperson, Francisco Inarretathe biggest problem facing the rental market now has to do with the lack of available supply. “The competition that people looking for housing are facing right now is terrible. The owners of the little available supply receive dozens and dozens of contacts for its homes and the range of profiles from which to choose is immense. And obviously they always opt for those that offer them greater security, even if they are overqualified profiles,” explained the Idealista spokesperson. Iñarreta added that this means that many families that could afford to pay these rents, already very high, are also systematically excluded by other families with even lower risk profiles.

Regarding prices, he indicated that it is “palpable” that they are softening in the areas where they have been hit, while they continue to rise in areas where no intervention has been made. “The cost of maintaining price control is paid by those looking for a home and they see that supply continues to fall and conditions continue to tighten. We are in a fight between tenants: those who benefit from coercive measures against owners versus those who cannot find a home as a result of said measures,” lamented Iñareta.