The escalation of rental prices and salaries that grow at a much slower rate raise the effort needed to pay rents to maximums in a decade, according to a study by Fotocasa and Infojobs. In 2022, each tenant was forced to allocate an average of 43% of their annual income to cover the rent, a figure that skyrockets to 62% in Barcelona, the most affected.
"The effort is well above the 30% recommended for the payment of housing. It is evident that the problem of access to rent is getting worse and worse," warns María Matos, director of studies and spokesperson for Fotocasa. The figure is given by comparing the average annual salary, based on data from Infojobs, and the annual price of a rental of 80 m² in the region, with figures from Fotocasa.
After Barcelona with the aforementioned 62%, follow Gipuzkoa (59%), the Balearic Islands (58%), Madrid (57%) and Malaga (52%). "The rental price is at its maximum historical level, showing the largest increases since we have records," says Matos. Salary and income levels mean that a Barcelonan allocates 15,456 euros a year for an apartment of 80 m² on average.
At the regional level, only Extremadura (25%) and Castilla-La Mancha (24%) are below the recommended levels. And only a few provinces fall below the recommended effort, concentrated in the interior. They go with some margin Ciudad Real (21%), Jaén, Cáceres (23%) and Zamora (24%), while Cuenca (29%), Castellón, Palencia, Ávila (the three with 28%) remain at the limit. , Ourense, Badajoz, Toledo and León (27%), Teruel (26%) and Albacete (25%).
Thus, in almost 70% of the provinces the recommended figure is exceeded. Between 30% and 40% are found in A Coruña, Lleida, Guadalajara, Granada, Murcia, Asturias, Salamanca or Zaragoza, from one end of the Peninsula to the other. In Bizkaia, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Girona, Valencia or Cantabria, half or almost half of the salary goes to rent.
What can be done to fix it? With the rise in general prices there is less and less room for manoeuvre. The solutions are generic. In the case of rent, unlike a mortgage, you can choose to move to a home with a lower payment burden, but the higher down payment requirements can upset the plan. In addition, moving to the outskirts or towns adjacent to large cities no longer guarantees affordable prices.
The alternative is to increase income, but in a context of wage increases below inflation it becomes complicated. According to Infojobs, the gross monthly salary in 2022 fell by 0.7%, to 2,033 euros, and "salary increases have only occurred in certain professional sectors, more stressed by the lack of personnel," says Mónica Pérez, director of studies of the signature They occur in computing, telecommunications, construction, tourism or restoration.
Dead end in which the public impulse wants to have a say.
