Property for rent in Spain: 15% of homes on the market for less than 24 hours in October

According to a study published by idealista, the southern European real estate marketplace, 15% of the properties that were rented through idealista in October had not even been on the market for 24 hours. These figures vary according to the price ranges of the properties, with 17% rented in less than 24 hours for properties under 750 euros per month, 15% for those between 750 euros and 1,000 euros, 11% between 1,000 and 1,500 euros and 9% of those over 1,500 euros. Let's have a closer look at the rental market in Spain and property for rent in Spain in 2022, including further details and statistics. 

Among the 10 Spanish cities with the highest number of rental transactions closed in October, Valencia is where express rentals had the greatest specific weight, reaching 19% of the total number of transactions. It is followed by Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (18%), Zaragoza (17%), Palma, Granada and Alicante (16% in all 3 cases). In Malaga, express rentals reached 15%, while in Madrid and Barcelona they stood at 14%. Seville was the major city (of the 10 analysed) where the impact was lowest: 13%.

Affordable rentals in Spain, those with prices below 750 euros per month, concentrate much of the tension in the market and mark higher rates of express rentals. In Palma, 36% of homes under 750 euros rented in October spent less than a day in the idealista database, while in Barcelona it reached 32% and in Madrid 29%. Valencia (28%), Alicante (25%), Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (24%) and Malaga (21%) had rates above 20%. Seville stood at 20%, Zaragoza at 19% and Granada at 16%.

As property rental prices rise, the percentage of express rentals decreases, but in some markets it is still very significant. For properties priced between 750 and 1,000 euros, Palma is still the leader, with 28% of express rentals, followed by Barcelona (21%) and Valencia (20%). On the other hand, in Seville only 9% of closed rentals are in this price bracket, and 10% in Alicante and Zaragoza.

In the price brackets that can no longer be considered 'affordable', this phenomenon also occurs, although to a lesser extent. Rents between 1,000 and 1,500 euros had an express rate of 15% in the city of Valencia, 14% in Barcelona and 11% in Madrid and Granada. Granada is also the city where express rentals are most frequent among rentals over 1,500 euros, with a percentage of 17%. It is followed by Alicante and Palma (with 11% in both cases), Valencia (10%), Madrid (9%) and Barcelona (8%).

According to Francisco Iñareta, spokesperson for idealista, "these figures show the enormous tension in the rental market in the main cities, where the lack of supply is becoming increasingly noticeable and affordable rents have become a highly sought-after commodity. Furthermore, express rentals only take into account properties that have already been withdrawn from the market, where the owner is convinced that he has found a tenant and has removed the listing, but not those that, despite having received hundreds of contacts, stop receiving new applications until all the details of the transaction have been confirmed, so the percentage of properties that are no longer available to potential tenants could be even higher".

• Find long-term rentals in Spain on idealista