Now, the race to find a rental apartment is no longer confined to the centers of major cities. More and more people are looking to the suburbs, to those more affordable towns surrounding the capital. The reason is simple: families are looking for a place to live, but the supply of apartments has plummeted following recent policies, and prices in the city center have become prohibitive.
This has pushed many people to move elsewhere, and, of course, when everyone arrives in the same areas, competition to rent an apartment has skyrocketed. In many outlying towns, there's more competition for each apartment than in the capital itself. It's the classic "spillover" effect: the tension spreads and ends up devastating the surrounding areas as well.
At idealista, we've taken a close look at how things are going in the suburbs of Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, and Seville. Almost always, the pressure to rent is stronger in the surrounding areas than in the city itself, except in the most expensive and exclusive neighborhoods or towns, where prices deter almost everyone and demand is weak.
Madrid is under pressure. The city center is a battleground, but things get even tougher in the south. In Leganés and Móstoles, for example, the competition is double that of Madrid city. The same is true in Alcorcón, Getafe, Pinto, Valdemoro, and even Aranjuez. To the east, the tension also reaches the Henares Corridor, with Torrejón and Alcalá de Henares matching the pressure of the capital. In contrast, if you go west, to places like Boadilla, Pozuelo, Las Rozas, or Majadahonda, demand drops considerably compared to Madrid.
Barcelona follows the same pattern. The cheapest and closest municipalities, especially those along the Llobregat River, are experiencing a veritable avalanche of demand: in Cornellà, competition is 173% higher than in Barcelona, and in L'Hospitalet and Sant Boi, 141%. Further north, in Terrassa, Sabadell, Montcada i Reixac, and Santa Coloma de Gramenet, there is also much more competition for rental properties than in the city. But in towns with expensive rentals, such as Sant Cugat, Sitges, and Castelldefels, the pressure eases because prices are already quite high.
In Valencia, the situation is similar. There, the pressure to rent is much higher in inland municipalities, both those close to the city and those further away. In Torrent, Picassent, and Alfafar, competition is 75% higher than in Valencia city, and the same is true in Requena, Buñol, Alzira, and Xàtiva. Along the coast, however, places like Oliva, Cullera, and Puçol are more peaceful, with less demand than the capital.
Finally, in Seville, most towns experience less pressure than the city itself. Carmona, Écija, Osuna, and Morón de la Frontera have significantly lower demand. Only in places like La Algaba, Camas, San Juan de Aznalfarache, Los Palacios y Villafranca, Arahal, Lantejuela, and Algámitas does competition increase, exceeding 75% compared to Seville city. In the corridor between Aznalcázar and Seville, the pressure is also slightly higher than in the city.