Rental prices in Spain have shown an alarming trend since 2021: they have increased almost four times faster than wages. While average salaries grew by 7.4% from 2021 to 2024, rental prices skyrocketed by a staggering 29.4% over the same period. This worrying discrepancy, highlighted in a recent study by the Fotocasa Real Estate Index and the InfoJobs platform, is increasingly burdening households in Spain.
Dramatic Development in the Annual Comparison
In 2024 alone, the price per square meter for rental properties rose by 14%, while advertised wages increased by only 3.1%. Specifically, the average annual salary of Spanish workers rose from 26,245 euros in 2023 to 27,060 euros in 2024. In contrast, the average rental price per square meter per month climbed from 11.66 euros in 2023 to 13.29 euros in 2024. For a typical 80-square-meter apartment, the annual rent thus amounted to 12,758 euros last year – a significant portion of income.
Households at Their Limit: Nearly Half of Income for Rent
María Matos, head of the study and spokesperson for Fotocasa, sharply criticizes this imbalanced development: “This imbalanced development harms the economic capacity of households.” She points out that tenants in Spain now spend an average of 47% of their income on rent payments. This figure is well above the generally recommended limit, which states that no more than one-third of income should be spent on housing costs.
Supply Shortage and Precarious Job Market Drive Prices
The “strong and rapid” escalation of rental prices is attributed to a combination of factors, according to the study. On the one hand, high demand meets a historically low supply of rental properties. On the other hand, the Spanish labor market continues to be “characterized by precariousness, temporality, and instability,” which further exacerbates the income situation of many workers and significantly limits their ability to keep pace with rising housing costs.
Regional Differences: Wages Decline, Rents Rise
The regional analysis of the study reveals another alarming picture: In the annual comparison (2024 vs. 2023), the average salary decreased in five of Spain’s autonomous communities, while rental prices rose in 16 regions. Particularly severe is that rental prices increased by over 10% in eight regions, whereas wage increases of over 5% were only recorded in two communities. This underscores the growing gap and the increasing housing cost crisis in Spain.
