This sharp increase in demand pressure, caused by the decrease in available supply, has led to rental prices rising by 9.8% in the last year.

According to Francisco Iñareta, spokesperson for idealista, “the number of families competing for each rental property continues to grow, which shows the effects of the destruction of supply caused by all the political measures adopted in the last six years. With hardly any housing on the market, the possibilities of accessing a rental are drastically reduced, being especially complicated for young people and vulnerable groups.”

“Furthermore,” adds the expert, “it is undeniable that this situation and the ‘castings’ that potential tenants have to go through, competing against dozens of families, generate situations of anxiety and frustration. Reversing this situation in a realistic way should be the focus of rental policies, through measures that increase supply instead of those that are being applied at the moment, which only manage to reduce it more and more.”

The phenomenon of very high demand and low supply has a different impact in the different capitals. Barcelona is the large market in which the number of people who aspire to rent each home is greater, with 63 contacts for each advertisement. It is followed by Palma, with 50 contacts; Madrid, with 43; Malaga, with 37 and Valencia, with 35. Behind, and still above the average, are San Sebastian (34 interested parties), Alicante and Seville (31 people in both cases). Bilbao is the large market with the lowest volume: 27 interested parties per rental home advertisement.

Among the major markets, Barcelona is the one that has registered the greatest increase in the number of interested parties in each advertisement, doubling the figures compared to a year ago. It is followed by increases in Bilbao (97%), Seville (70%), Madrid (60%), San Sebastian (49%), Alicante (48%), Palma (32%), Valencia (21%) and Malaga (20%).