Central banks are raising interest rates to contain inflation. Last Thursday, February 2, the US Federal Reserve increased the price of money to 4.65%, the Bank of England increased the interest rate to 4% and the European Central Bank raised rates to 3% .
In the Old Continent, interest rates had been at 0% for six years until in July 2022 the ECB decided to increase them by 0.5%. Now they are at 3%, and the main consequence of this increase is the increase in the cost of mortgage loans, which makes it difficult to acquire a home and pushes many people to rent. This also increases the price of leases, which further stresses the rental market.
The rent, at all-time highs. According to the latest price report by Idealista, last January ended with a monthly increase in the rental price in the Spanish market of 1.5%, reaching 11.6 euros/m². This is the maximum historical price registered by the company since it was founded in the year 2000.
In addition, the price increase in the last quarter was 3.9%, and the annual increase was 9.1%.
Increase in most of the country. The rental price has risen in 13 autonomous communities during the month of January, with Catalonia, Cantabria and the Community of Madrid being the regions where rents have increased the most by 2.4%; 2.2% and 1.8% respectively. The next three are Galicia, the Valencian Community and the Balearic Islands, with 1.5%; 1.4% and 1.3% each. In addition, with increases of less than 1%, we find Asturias (0.7%), Euskadi (0.6%), Castilla y León (0.5%), Region of Murcia (0.4%), Castilla-La Mancha (0.4%), Extremadura and Andalusia (0.1%).
Communities where the price has dropped. However, there are four autonomous communities in which the rental price has decreased during the first month of the year. These are the Canary Islands, La Rioja, Navarra and Aragón, with decreases of -0.6%; -0.3%; -0.2% and -0.1% respectively.
Most expensive and cheapest regions. On the other hand, the communities with the most expensive rents are Catalonia (16 euros/m²), Comunidad de Madrid (15.1 euros/m²), the Balearic Islands (14 euros/m²) and Euskadi (12.8 euros/m²) . On the other hand, Castilla-La Mancha and Extremadura are the cheapest regions, with 6.2 euros/m² and 5.8 euros/m² respectively.
Increase in more than thirty provinces. Additionally, Idealista has detected that the rent has increased in 31 provinces during the month of January, a ranking led by Pontevedra (3.2%), Jaén (3.1%), Huelva (2.8%), Álava (2.5%), %), Tarragona (2.4%) and Granada (2.4%). In this sense, Barcelona, Madrid and Guipúzcoa are the most expensive provinces to rent, with 16.9 euros/m²; 15.1 euros/m² and 14.8 euros/m² respectively.
Decrease in four provinces. On the other hand, the provinces that experienced reductions in the rental price were Córdoba (-2.7%), Lugo (-2.3%), Huesca (-2%) and León (-0.9%). In this sense, the cheapest provinces are Zamora and Jaén, with a price of 5.4 euros/m².
The most expensive: Barcelona, Madrid and San Sebastián. Idealista has detected an increase in the rental price in the month of January in forty provincial capitals. This increase has been higher in Soria (3.8%), Granada (3.2%), Palma (3.1%), Lleida (3%), Vitoria (2.3%) and Barcelona (2.2%). %). Furthermore, Barcelona is the capital with the most expensive lease, with a cost of 19.8 euros/m², followed by Madrid (16.5 euros/m²), San Sebastián (16.3 euros/m²), Bilbao (13.3 euros/m²), Palma (13.3 euros/m²) and Malaga (12.1 euros/m²).
Zamora, the cheapest. It should be noted that all the mentioned provincial capitals, except Madrid and San Sebastián, have recorded all-time highs in Idealista’s records. On the other hand, Lugo, Ciudad Real, Ávila, Cáceres with a price of 6.2 euros/m², and Zamora with a price of 5.6 euros/m² are the cheapest provincial capitals.
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