Rents in Spain closed 2016 with an average increase of 6.7% year-on-year, the highest increase of the last 10 years, in a further sample of the uneven recovery of the housing market.
The average price of the square meter in homes for rent stood at 7.49 euros per month, according to the annual report of the real estate portal.
"Spain is and will continue to be a country of owners, but the rent has taken a lot of strength in recent years and that is moving to prices."
"There is a strong demand because many Spaniards take refuge in the rent for economic reasons: labor instability, low salaries, impossibility to access financing or fear of being unable to meet the costs of buying a home."
The rent increased last year in all the autonomous communities except in La Rioja. The regions that experienced the greatest increases were the Balearics (18.5%), Catalonia (14.6%) and Madrid (11.1%).
"In the autonomous communities where the greatest economic and industrial activity is concentrated and in the main tourist destinations in the country, we recorded double-digit increases that we did not see in the last eight years," added Toribio.
The report also highlights that the rental price grew in 2016 in all districts of the two main Spanish cities, Madrid and Barcelona. In addition, in the case of the capital, Chamberí surpasses for the first time the district of Salamanca as the most expensive to rent a house.
The Spanish real estate market has begun to recover in recent years, after the bursting of the real estate bubble in 2008.
However, numerous studies have demonstrated the consolidation of an uneven market, with increases in large cities, islands and certain tourist spots and falls in smaller towns and regions with large stock of housing or low economic activity.