The high rent is driving people with lower salaries out of the market, especially young people, and has triggered interest in renting rooms in large capitals, such as Madrid and Barcelona, where it has doubled, according to data presented yesterday by the Fotocasa portal.
The report "X-ray of the Housing Market" prepared by the portal and the consultancy "The Cocktail Analysis" indicates that among those who have signed a rental in recent months, one in four declared that it was a room. This proportion is even higher in the community of Madrid, where more than half of the requests for accommodation have gone to share (2.7% of individuals surveyed by the firm compared to 5% who have rented an entire apartment).
According to Fotocasa, it is no longer just young people who share a flat: 1.6% of people between 35 and 44 years old rented a room in the first quarter, a percentage that was 0.9% among those between 45 and 54 years and 0.2% among people between 55 and 75 years of age. For the youngest, from 18 to 24 years old, this percentage was 6.4%.
The increase in rental income “reduces demand, by driving out the lowest incomes from the market,” says María Matos, director of studies at Fotocasa. According to the portal, not only are fewer people renting, but many are no longer looking. "Among young people, participation in the real estate market has fallen by ten percentage points," says Matos.
"We expected that the rise in rates would boost the demand for rent and we have been surprised that this has not been the case, due to the abandonment of young people, who in many cases choose to delay the age of emancipation even further." All in all, prices are still at maximums, with an average rent of 1,300 euros/month in the city of Barcelona and 1,200 in Madrid (which is larger and comparable to the Barcelona Metropolitan Area). “There is still a lot of demand willing to pay those prices,” he acknowledged.
Matos pointed out that the buying and selling market has also maintained prices, despite the fact that the rise in interest rates has meant that 25% of those looking for a home had to give up because they could not afford the increase in the mortgage payment. Those looking to buy are now 10% of the population, 23% less than a year earlier.
"Demand has dropped but it is still much greater than the supply of housing," says Matos, who recalls that in Spain 200,000 new homes are created a year, while there are only 100,000 visas to build new homes.
Matos points out that purchases have been maintained "because the buyer profile has changed: there are more people who are replacing part of the bank financing with financial help from their relatives, and also many others, generally investors, who buy without a mortgage" . In his opinion, the strength of the demand will support prices, although "it is a good time to negotiate, because owners who are in a hurry to sell can accept discounts."
Matos points out that the percentage of the population that wants to buy "in the medium and long term" is maintained, that is, between two and five years. The study highlights that they choose to wait because they do not have enough money saved for the down payment, because of their economic or work situation, because they give priority to other expenses in the short term and because they want to wait for a drop in interest rates or house prices.
The data from the portal indicate that Catalonia is the community in which the real estate market has deteriorated the most, with a 20% drop among those seeking to buy a home (down to only 9% of individuals) and nearly a third in rent applicants. "Catalonia has the lowest participation in the real estate market of all the communities," said Matos. In Madrid, demand for purchases also fell sharply (28%). "The figures for both communities are highly conditioned by the large and stressed urban areas of their respective capitals," Matos said.
