Rental prices shoot up in Spain's most 'touristy' cities
Thursday, April 20, 2017 @ 11:22 PM
RENTAL properties have been described as 'the new golden egg' with prices rising between 10% and 20% in major cities such as Valencia, Palma de Mallorca, Madrid, Barcelona and San Sebastián in the last year.
Part of this is because of a new surge in tourism apartments – in fact, in Barcelona, it is harder to find a hotel room for a short break than to rent an apartment, which often works out cheaper even for small groups.
And young adults seeking to leave the parental nest are still struggling to get onto the house-buying ladder – not because prices are too high, but because mortgage lenders expect at least a 20% and often a 40% deposit, plus fees on top of this are in region of 12.5% of the market value.
This means Spaniards in their 20s and early 30s are more inclined to rent than buy, which translates to an increasing market and higher demand for property owners seeking to earn an income from their investment.
Rising demand and rental prices, combined with a short-term view that tourist lets for a few weeks of the year earn more than permanent tenants, mean city councils are keeping a close eye on the industry to ensure ethics are not compromised by desire for profit – in fact, the mayoresses of Barcelona and Madrid, Ada Colau and Manuela Carmena respectively, are putting measures in place to stop landlords from throwing out long-term year-round tenants so they can let their properties to holidaymakers.
Read more at thinkSPAIN.com