It has been five years since the start of the coronavirus pandemic – a crisis that initially seemed poised to transform society and, naturally, the real estate market. The restrictions on movement led to a sharp rise in the supply of long-term rental properties, which doubled within months and peaked in December 2020. At that point, prices began to decline due to the impact of the housing supply law.
However, once the state of emergency was lifted, the government's policies did not prioritise increasing supply, despite clear evidence that greater availability helps to stabilise prices. Instead, successive punitive and coercive measures targeting landlords resulted in a dramatic reduction in supply. Since the December 2020 peak, the availability of long-term rentals in Spain has plummeted by 56%, while rental prices have surged by 30% over the same period.
Supply in Barcelona plummets, falling by 84%
Barcelona has seen the sharpest decline in available rental supply since the pandemic, with an 84% drop since December 2020. This was followed by significant decreases in Seville (-73%), Palma (-73%), Madrid (-71%), Granada (-71%) and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (-70%). Other major cities also experienced notable reductions, including San Sebastián (-65%), Málaga (-64%), Valencia (-63%) and Bilbao (-61%).
Despite this trend, seven capital cities have recorded an increase in rental availability since December 2020. The most substantial growth has been in Cuenca, where supply has surged by 149%, followed by Ceuta (81%), Segovia (48%), Soria (20%), Huesca (18%), Melilla (13%) and Badajoz (12%).
Rental prices have risen in all the cities analysed
Since December 2020, rental prices have risen across all the capital cities analysed, without exception. Valencia has experienced the sharpest increase, with rent soaring by 74%, followed by Barcelona at 62% and Alicante at 60%. Other notable rises include Málaga (55%), Segovia (54%), Palma (53%), Ávila (45%) and Madrid (44%).
The most modest increases were recorded in Lleida (15%), Melilla (17%), Bilbao (19%), Vitoria (19%) and Pamplona (20%). Meanwhile, San Sebastián, Badajoz and Salamanca all saw rental prices rise by 21%.
Due to the sharp reduction in rental supply, the sample size is now too small to determine the average rental price for February 2025 in Zamora, Teruel, Lugo, Huesca and Ceuta, where such data were still available in 2020.
