The price of housing rents in Spain increased by 2.2% in May compared to the same month in 2023, marking the highest increase since October 2009, according to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) published by the National Statistics Institute (INE). This increase represents the most significant year-on-year rise since the recovery of the real estate market after the economic crisis of 2008.
In monthly terms, residential rents rose 0.2% in May, a one-day slowdown from the increase recorded in April. Since July 2016, rent prices have not experienced any decline and have maintained at least 2% growth throughout 2023 and so far in 2024, a phenomenon that has not been observed since 2008.
At the regional level, several autonomous communities have registered growth in the cost of rent above or close to the national average. The Balearic Islands lead with an increase of 2.7%, followed by Andalucía and the Comunidad de Madrid with 2.6% each. Extremadura (2.5%), Comunidad Valencianaand País Vasco (2.4% both), Canarias, Castilla-La Mancha (2.2% each) and Región de Murcia (2.1%) also showed significant increases.
On the other hand, communities such as Cantabria and La Rioja with 1.9%, Aragón and Asturias with 1.8%, and Castilla y León, Cataluóa and Galicia with 1.7% experienced lower growth. Navarra (1.3%), Melilla (1%) and Ceuta (0.7%) recorded the lowest increases in the cost of housing rental. This picture reflects a variability in the residential rental market across Spain, highlighting regional differences in the dynamics of the real estate sector.