A perfect storm is closing in on the prices of housing for rent in Barcelona . And about the rest of Spain. A set of political and economic factors have plummeted the rental price in Barcelona by 13.2% in November, well above the national average and the drop registered in Madrid , of 8.3%.
According to data from idealista, the month of November closed with a 1.3% drop in the rental price in Spain to 11.2 euros / m2, representing a quarterly drop of 2.3%.
Impact of the income limitation law
Barcelona has been the capital most affected. Marta Vilana , responsible for the residential area of Forcadell, assures that one of the reasons is of a political nature: the Income Limitation Law approved in Catalonia and that “generated a lot of uncertainty” about whether or not the Constitutional law was finally resorted to.
This brought the market to a standstill for practically two months, and once it reactivates, law enforcement also pushes down, although not in the same way in all areas.
The question is whether the same will happen in the rest of Spain. “It will depend on when it is done. Here in Catalonia it was done during the measures taken by the health crisis which caused a greater impact ”, explains Vilana.
It is expected that between now and February the Council of Ministers will approve the State Housing Law that will include the regulation of rental prices, which in the words of Pablo Iglesias will mean “the highest degree of public intervention in the rental market in Europe.”
Collapse of tourist housing
Another factor, in this case economic, also explains the collapse in prices. The offer has increased as a result of restrictions on economic activity, especially tourism.
This has led to the departure of tourist flats to the conventional rental housing market, which means increasing the total housing stock by 20%. On the other hand, demand is still weak, they explain from Fotocasa , since many student or shared flats are not being occupied, which also pushes down the price.
Thus, according to a report on housing by the Catalan real estate consultancy Forcadell, new rental income, between January 2020 and December 2021, will register a fall of 18%. And Barcelona and Madrid will fall above the national average.
Deepest economic crisis in Barcelona
Another factor that is influencing the steepest fall in housing in Barcelona is the evolution of the economy, as a result of more restrictive measures than, for example, in Madrid. Thus, the Catalan GDP fell above the Spanish average in the third quarter, 9.1% compared to 8.7%.
This makes tenants with a more precarious economic situation look for cheaper apartments as a result of this decrease in income, which also puts downward pressure on rents. It is also possible, highlights Marta Vilena, that the owners demand more requirements from the tenants and operations are postponed.
The owners give up selling the house
The third and last economic factor that is putting downward pressure on rental prices is that, given the possibility that the price of homes for sale will contract by 10%, many owners are delaying the decision to put them on the market and choose to put them on the market. for rent, they explain in Fotocasa.
