Tecnocasa: Rental Prices Rose By 4.72% In 2016

21 February 2017 – El Mundo

The rental market is booming, in particular, rental prices. They are accelerating significantly in the cities of Madrid and Barcelona, above all, in the latter.

In 2016, the average price of second-hand rental homes in the Catalan capital soared by 11.84% in YoY terms, whilst in the Spanish capital, prices rose by the not insignificant amount of 6.26%. In this way, the average increase in rental prices across the country with respect to 2015 amounted to 4.72%, according to the III Report about the rental market 2016 prepared by Tecnocasa and the University Pompeu Fabra (UPF) in Barcelona.

Converting these percentages into absolute terms, the average monthly price per m2 rose to €12.09/m2 in Barcelona, to €11.20/m2 in Madrid and to €8.87/m2 across Spain as a whole. “The difference (between the two largest cities in the country) is growing”, say sources at Tecnocasa.

According to the real estate network, other indicators that provide further evidence of the boom in the rental market include: the average period of time required to market a home; the final price with respect to the asking price; and the number of visits needed for a property to be leased. In terms of the first of these factors, it currently takes only 30 days to lease a home, which is 11 days less than in 2013 and another indication of the high demand that exists nowadays.

In the same vein, the number of visits needed to lease a home decreased to 7.22 on average in 2016, a figure that is well below the number registered in 2012 (8.44). Finally, in light of these parameters, it is hardly surprising that the final agreed price is increasingly closer to the asking price. “Tenants’ bargaining power has decreased. The final rental price paid is just 3% below the asking price”, according to Tecnocasa. In 2012, that discount averaged 6%.

Finally, sources at the real estate firm and the university responsible for the study describe the profiles of typical landlords and tenants. On the supply side, there are increasingly more pensioners (32%). Moreover, 95% of landlords are Spanish and 65% are married.

In terms of the typical tenant, they are usually single (58%), with a permanent employment contract (68%) and aged between 25 and 44 years (73%). Like in the case of landlords, the majority are Spanish (73%).

Original story: El Mundo (by Jorge Salido Cobo)

Translation: Carmel Drake