Spain’s new real estate boom: the rental market Monthly prices on new leases rose 20.9% on average over the last year, says industry leader Idealista

“The situation I found is depressing,” she explains, listing the horrors that she has seen during her search.

“We went to see a small apartment because we thought the price was good,” she recalls. The owner wanted €550 a month for all of 30 square meters in a seventh-floor walk-up in the Born neighborhood. “It was a converted dovecote [where pigeons were once kept]. The bathroom was a closet. Everything was old. And even so, there were 20 people in line waiting to view it.”

The months went by. The best-maintained, more spacious places all went for €900 and up. The couple eventually found a place in June.

“It’s in the Raval. It’s a sixth-floor walk-up. Some friends of ours who were staying there decided to move out, and they recommended us to the owner, who’s kept the rent at €560. But we’ve had to offer a bank guarantee, pay insurance and hand over one month’s deposit. And the landlord has warned us that he will not fix anything that gets broken,” says Alicia. “Even so, I think we got really lucky.”

“The situation I found is depressing,” she explains, listing the horrors that she has seen during her search. “We went to see a small apartment because we thought the price was good,” she recalls. The owner wanted €550 a month for all of 30 square meters in a seventh-floor walk-up in the Born neighborhood. “It was a converted dovecote [where pigeons were once kept]. The bathroom was a closet. Everything was old. And even so, there were 20 people in line waiting to view it.” The months went by. The best-maintained, more spacious places all went for €900 and up. The couple eventually found a place in June. “It’s in the Raval. It’s a sixth-floor walk-up. Some friends of ours who were staying there decided to move out, and they recommended us to the owner, who’s kept the rent at €560. But we’ve had to offer a bank guarantee, pay insurance and hand over one month’s deposit. And the landlord has warned us that he will not fix anything that gets broken,” says Alicia. “Even so, I think we got really lucky.”