Rent in Barcelona has grown over 50% in less than a decade

The Catalan capital is the most expensive Spanish city in terms of property – both for renting and for buying

It’s official - Barcelona has the most expensive property market in all of Spain for 2022. And as a city famous for its struggles to balance out its tourist appeal with providing and preserving communal life and decent living conditions for its local residents, this news should come as no surprise.

Last year, the city put a rent cap on the housing market, but even with it, rent prices have soared in 2022. In fact, in a single year, they have gone up by 14%, according to official data published by the Catalan authority Incasòl. And if we look back to 2014, which was just under a decade ago, we would find that rent prices have jumped by the eye-watering 51%.

Which municipality in the metropolis asks for the highest rent?

If you are looking to rent in the dynamic and vibrant Catalan capital, you should keep in mind that the average asking price there is 21.8 euros per square metre/ per month. This is way above even Madrid’s standards, where it’s only 17.3 euros per square metre.

In specific terms, this means that renting a flat in Barcelona cost 1,066.68 euros on average between July and September, significantly more than the 932.31 euros in the same period of 2021. The mind naturally goes to inflation as the culprit behind this, however, that kind of increase was actually higher than the inflation rate of 8.5-10.3% in the same period.

In fact, the upward trend of prices both on the rental and buyers markets have remained an unchanged phenomenon for a city that is appealing in many ways and draws in crowds.

You might be thinking that people planning a move to Barcelona should consider outlying and suburban areas. That depends though. In fact, the most expensive municipalities in the Barcelona Metropolitan Area (and in fact, in all of Catalonia) are suburban towns, with Sant Vicenç de Montalt taking the top spot. The coastal town, located to the northeast of the main city, has an average rental price of nearly 1560 euros.