Lorraine Williamson
Spain’s housing market has rarely felt more divided. In cities like Madrid and Barcelona, renting costs continue to climb, fuelled by tourism, tech jobs, and chronic shortages of available homes. Yet in smaller inland towns, tenants are paying a fraction of those prices — in some cases, less than a third.
The gulf between the most and least expensive places to rent now exceeds €800 a month, according to new data from Spain’s National Statistics Institute (INE).
However, the figures tell only part of the story. The Indicadores Urbanos 2025 report is based on income tax records from 2023 — meaning that, given Spain’s ongoing rental crisis and continued price hikes through 2024 and 2025, the real gap is almost certainly even greater today.
This widening divide highlights not just contrasting property markets but two very different Spains: one urban, globalised, and increasingly unaffordable; the other rural, affordable, yet steadily emptying.
Madrid, Barcelona, and the Balearics lead the price race
The INE report identifies Pozuelo de Alarcón, on the outskirts of Madrid, as Spain’s most expensive place to rent, with an average monthly cost of €1,131. It’s followed closely by Sant Cugat del Vallès near Barcelona (€1,086) and Majadahonda, another Madrid commuter hub (€1,027).
These high-rent enclaves share strong economies, high employment rates, and proximity to major business districts. Demand is driven by professionals, expatriates, and an influx of short-term tenants connected to international firms. Even further afield, locations like Ibiza Town and Sitges — magnets for both tourism and remote work — have average rents above €900, reflecting their appeal to higher-income tenants.
Across Spain’s main provincial capitals, the pattern continues. Madrid (€930) and Barcelona (€949) remain out of reach for many Spaniards, while even Málaga (€703), Seville (€699), and Valencia (€684) hover well above the national average of €649.
The Other Side of Spain: Affordable but Empty
Travel south or inland, however, and the picture changes dramatically. Cieza, a modest town in Murcia, records the country’s lowest average rent at €303 per month. In parts of Galicia, Andalucia, and inland Granada, rents remain below €320.
Towns such as Priego de Córdoba, Lalín, and Loja represent what Spain’s urban policymakers often overlook — communities where housing is cheap but economic opportunities are scarce. Andalucia stands out for its affordability: in Écija, Cabra, and Arcos de la Frontera, tenants pay under €340 a month. Yet these low prices come at a cost. Population decline, limited public investment, and few local jobs mean many of these towns face long-term stagnation.
Property prices mirror the rental divide
The disparity isn’t limited to rental housing. The INE’s new inclusion of sale price data shows that property ownership mirrors — and even magnifies — the same inequalities.
In Sant Josep de Sa Talaia on Ibiza, the average home now sells for €969,434. Meanwhile, in Calvià (Mallorca) and Pozuelo de Alarcón, prices sit around €860,000. Compare that with Mieres (Asturias) or Puertollano (Ciudad Real), where a typical property sells for under €60,000 — roughly sixteen times less.
Such figures illustrate the economic concentration around coastal and metropolitan areas, where tourism, second homes, and speculative investment continue to drive values far beyond the national average.
Spain´s inland property bargains
A fragmented market in a changing country
What emerges is a portrait of a fragmented housing landscape shaped by geography, lifestyle trends, and uneven economic growth. Spain’s wealthier regions — particularly Madrid, Catalonia, and the Balearic Islands — are caught in a spiral of high demand and limited supply, pushing rents to unsustainable levels. By contrast, rural and inland municipalities offer affordable housing but suffer from depopulation, ageing populations, and a lack of services.
This duality poses one of Spain’s toughest social challenges: how to make living costs manageable in major cities without letting rural areas decline further. Housing experts warn that without stronger rent regulation, public housing investment, and incentives to revive smaller towns, the divide will only grow wider.
Spain´s rental market
The road ahead for Spain’s renters
Spain’s rent price divide is more than a statistical curiosity — it’s a reflection of how uneven the country’s recovery and modernisation have been. For tenants in booming cities, the question is whether housing will remain within reach. For those in low-rent towns, the challenge lies in keeping their communities alive.
And with the INE’s figures based on 2023 data, there’s little doubt that the reality in 2025 is even more unequal — a stark reminder that Spain’s housing crisis continues to deepen, month by month.
Source: 20 Minutos