HE rental of tourist apartments Valencian Community Increased by 20 percent in six monthsAccording to data from the National Institute of Statistics (INE), the situation has worsened crisis rent. Due to the lack of free rental houses, apartment prices in the three provinces of Valencia closed 2023 at an all-time high. The Official College of Real Estate Agents of Valencia (API) warned that high rental costs in Valencia and the metropolitan area “have led to the proliferation of renting rooms, which is not very desirable for families.”
The tourism sector is one of the main economic drivers of Spain and the Valencian Community, contributing close to 12% to the national GDP.. The exponential growth of tourism after the pandemic and the lack of hotel beds (due to administrative obstacles in cities such as Valencia) have led to a significant part of the houses that were traditionally rented until a few months ago being rented for tourist purposes.
Growth
According to data from INE, the number of tourist apartments in the Valencian Community increased from 49,950 in February 2023 to 58,337 in August (16.8% increase). In the province of Castellón, the number of tourist apartments increased by 27% to 7,020; It increased by 18.1% (13,355) in Valencia and 14.1% (37,962) in Alicante. Across Spain as a whole, tourist residences have increased by 11.5% in just six months and there are currently 340,000 residences.
In parallel, The cost of traditional rentals has increased strongly. According to the latest price report of the Idealista platform, the average price per square meter in the Valencian Community increased by 15.5% last year, reaching 10.1 euros per month (more than a thousand euros for a 100-meter house). . This data assumes highest price in historical series Leases in the Valencian Community.
21% increase
The average rental price in the capital Túria increased by 21% in 2023. This increase in price per square meter of 13.3 euros per month also represents a historical record. Rents are so tense in Valencia because housing supply has fallen (31% since the law giving tenants more rights came into force in May) and demand is very high (twelve interested parties are fighting for every apartment that comes on the market). In fact, València leads the way in price growth in Spain’s major cities, with an increase of 42% since 2019 (compared to 24.6% in Barcelona and 11% in Madrid). There was also a price increase of 16.8% in the province of Valencia, with rent per square meter rising to 10.8 euros per month.
Alicante and Castellón
In the province of Alicante, prices have increased by 15.1% in the last twelve months, reaching 9.9 euros per square meter per month. In the capital Alicante, property owners are demanding 16 percent more to rent their homes than a year ago; This figure is an average of 10.8 euros per square meter. Due to the records of the Idealista platform, maximum prices were reached in both the province and the capital. The province of Castellón recorded a 6.9% growth in rental house prices. Currently the average cost of a square meter in Castellón reaches 7.3 euros per square meter per month. The average income in Castelló de la Plana is 7.5 euros per month, which is an increase of 7.4% compared to December last year.
API Valencia College regrets that “the new housing law (which should make renting easier) has not yielded an effective result. The administration must promote more public social rental housing, otherwise prices will continue to rise. Solutions must be found in the medium and long term.” .