Rental prices in Spain ended October up 5.6% year on year, standing at 15.1 euros/m2 for the third consecutive month, according to the latest idealista price report. Compared with the previous month, rents rose by 0.1%, while they fell by 1.1% over the quarter.
Provincial capitals
Of the Spanish provincial capitals analysed by idealista, 49 recorded year-on-year increases. The only exceptions were Lleida (-1.3%) and Bilbao (-1%). Huesca led the increases at 19.7%, followed by Huelva (13.1%), Palencia (12.7%), Pontevedra (12.5%), Castellón de la Plana (12%) and Ciudad Real (11.1%). Toledo (11%), Oviedo (10.9%), Soria (10.5%) and Cuenca (10.3%) also recorded double-digit increases.
Rents rose in the country’s main markets, except in Bilbao. Rental prices increased in Palma (7.6%), Alicante (5.6%), Málaga (5.4%), Madrid (4.5%), Valencia (4.2%), Seville (3.3%), San Sebastián (1%) and Barcelona (0.3%).
Madrid remains the most expensive provincial capital for renting, at 23.4 euros/m2, ahead of Barcelona (20.5 euros/m2) and Palma (19.6 euros/m2). These are followed by San Sebastián (18.6 euros/m2), Málaga (16.7 euros/m2), Valencia (16.5 euros/m2) and Bilbao (15.6 euros/m2). At the other end of the scale are Cáceres (8.2 euros/m2), Zamora (8.4 euros/m2) and Jaén (8.5 euros/m2), the provincial capitals with the lowest rents.
Provinces
Over the past year, rents rose in 48 of Spain’s 50 provinces. Huesca recorded the largest increase, at 12.1%, followed by Toledo (11.5%), Cuenca (10.8%), Castellón (10.2%), Girona (9.9%), Palencia (9.5%) and Ciudad Real (9.4%). Only Guipúzcoa (-1.4%) and Álava (-1.1%) ended October with year-on-year declines.
Madrid remains the most expensive province in Spain for renting a home, at 21.6 euros/m2, followed by the Balearic Islands (20.6 euros/m2). Next are Málaga (18.8 euros/m2), Barcelona (17.4 euros/m2), Guipúzcoa (16.1 euros/m2) and Santa Cruz de Tenerife (15.3 euros/m2). The most affordable provinces are Jaén (7 euros/m2), Ciudad Real, Cáceres and Badajoz (7.7 euros/m2 in all three cases).
Autonomous communities
Rents have risen in every region since October last year. Castilla-La Mancha leads the increases at 8.5%, followed by Aragón (8.4%), Asturias (8.1%), Cantabria (7%), Castilla y León (6.4%), Andalucía (6.3%) and the Valencian Community (6.1%). Below the national average are the Balearic Islands (5.4%), Extremadura (5.4%), the Community of Madrid (5.2%), La Rioja (4.7%), Galicia (4.6%), the Canary Islands (4.5%), the Region of Murcia (4.5%) and Catalonia (2.9%). The most modest increases were recorded in Navarra (1.9%) and the Basque Country (0.5%).
The Community of Madrid (21.6 euros/m2), the Balearic Islands (20.6 euros/m2) and Catalonia (16 euros/m2) have the highest prices among the autonomous communities. They are followed by the Canary Islands (15.2 euros/m2) and the Basque Country (15 euros/m2). By contrast, Extremadura (7.7 euros/m2) and Castilla-La Mancha (8.8 euros/m2) are the most affordable regions.
The idealista property price index
In July 2026, idealista updated the methodology of its housing price index to reflect changes in the market. The platform’s new filters make it possible to identify and exclude properties such as seasonal or holiday rentals from the calculation, as they do not represent the conventional residential market. The detection of anomalous values has also been enhanced using more robust statistical techniques. To ensure the data are comparable, the methodology has been applied retrospectively to the entire historical series.
The data were collected and analysed by idealista/data, idealista’s proptech company, which provides information to professionals to support strategic decisions in Spain, Italy and Portugal. For its valuation, investment, acquisition and market analysis services, it uses all the parameters in idealista’s database in each country, as well as other public and private sources.
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Source: idealista/news