During the second quarter of the year, five of the 10 most sought-after locations for renting were in the metropolitan area of Barcelona, including the Catalan capital. According to the idealista study, Hospitalet de Llobregat heads relative demand between April and June, followed by Badalona and Vitoria, the first provincial capital on the list. They are followed by Terrassa, Manresa and Sabadell, all of which are ahead of Barcelona (8). The Madrid town of Alcala de Henares and two towns in Tarragona, Salou and Reus, which stand out ahead of Tarragona, also appear in this 'top 10'.
Vitoria (3) and Barcelona (8) are the only provincial capitals that appear among the 10 most sought-after towns and cities for renting, although they practically do dominate the next tier of towns with the greatest demand pressure on the existing supply of rental properties, such as Palma (11), Tarragona (12), Madrid (15), Zaragoza (16), Santa Cruz de Tenerife (17), Malaga (18) and Lleida (20). Alongside these, the demand for housing in Vilanova i la Geltru (13), in Barcelona, and Torrent (14), in Valencia, are growing, ahead of the Valencian capital (22).
During this second quarter, there has been a notable increase in the pressure of demand on coastal locations or areas close to the sea. Reus and Salou are the main examples, after climbing more than 10 places from the first quarter's ranking, but they are not the only ones.
Other coastal areas such as Benidorm (25), Jerez de la Frontera (34), Guardamar del Segura (39), Altea (81) or Finestrat (82) have moved up around 20 positions after increasing relative rental demand over the last three months. But there are also provincial capitals with outstanding rises such as Castellon de la Plana (23rd), Girona (32nd), Huelva (38th) and Santander (52nd), up more than 20 places this quarter. Alongside these two phenomena of demand in coastal areas and provincial capitals, other cities stand out, such as Elche (19), Sant Cugat del Valles (37), Orihuela (47) or Santiago de Compostela (51), nearing their provincial capitals, but with a solid residential market.
There have also been falls in the general ranking due to the drop in the pressure of demand on the existing supply in these areas, with coastal areas, particularly Arona (27th), Adeje (43rd), Llucmajor (62nd), La Manga del Mar Menor (68th) and San Bartolome de Tirajana (95th). Las Palmas de Gran Canaria has also dropped to 36th place in the ranking, while it tends to be in the top 25.
Rent in half of the 30 towns with the highest rental demand is over €1,000 per month
In this list of the towns with the greatest pressure of demand on existing supply, we find that rent in half of the 30 most sought-after locations is over €1,000. Palma and Barcelona are particularly noteworthy, averaging over €1,800 per month. The leaders in the ranking, Hospitalet de Llobregat and Badalona, are similar in terms of prices, costing almost €1,100 and €1,160, respectively.
After these outstanding areas, rent in the remaining top 10 most sought-after towns falls below €1,000. Manresa is the most affordable, at around €690 per month, followed by Reus (€720/month), Salou (€865/month) and Terrassa (€890/month). Meanwhile, the highest prices are €920 in Alcala de Henares, €960 in Vitoria and €965 in Sabadell.
Madrid (€1,580/month) and San Sebastian (almost €1,490/month) accompany Palma and Barcelona with the highest total average rents of the top 30 cities. Valencia comes next (€1,320/month), but is overtaken by tourist areas such as Benidorm (€1,365/month) and Arona (€1,330/month).
Still above €1,200 are Torremolinos, Vilanova i la Geltru, Fuengirola, and Malaga. While between €1,000 and €1,100 are Torrent and Alicante.
Below €1,000, and still in the top 30 most sought-after locations, are Lleida (just over €700), Castellon de la Plana (€725), and Zaragoza (€750). Gandia (€766) and Elche (€796) are slightly more expensive. Tarragona (€895), Seville (€900) and Santa Cruz de Tenerife (€940) are closer to €1,000 per month in rent.
In the overall ranking of the most sought-after cities for rent, the highest prices are in the main luxury housing areas, which also have a stable rental market. Benahavis (€3,700/month) remains by far the most expensive, ahead of Marbella (€3,280), Calvia (€3,100) or Sotogrande (€2,830).
Behind them, and still above €2,500, are Estepona (€2,680), Castelldefels (€2,640) and Sant Cugat del Valles (€2,610). Another four towns among the most sought-after cost over €2,000 per month. They are Finestrat (€2,400), Sitges (€2,380), Castell-Platja d'Aro (€2,140) or Llucmajor (€2,120).
On the other hand, towns with a high rental demand and more affordable prices are Ciudad Real, costing just over €511/month; Palencia (€555), Ourense (almost €600) and Caceres (close to €610).
Data compiled and analysed by idealista/data, idealista's proptech, which provides information for a professional audience to facilitate strategic decision-making in Spain, Italy and Portugal. It uses all the idealista database parameters in each country and other public and private data sources to offer valuation, investment, recruitment and market analysis services.