Spain's rental market to lose 7,705 homes in 2026 as demand stays high

Supply keeps shrinking

The Observatorio del Alquiler, promoted by the Fundación Alquiler Seguro, expects Spain's rental market to close 2026 with 676,215 homes available, 7,705 fewer than a year earlier, a fall of 2.27%. The decline is smaller than the 4.7% drop recorded in 2025, but the study says availability has not yet reached a stable level. The study also notes that the contraction is slowing.

Looking at how rental homes have evolved, the data show the market has moved a little away from the downward trend seen in previous months.

Measured as homes currently on offer, the supply rose 3.46% on the second quarter to 683,920 homes, though it remains below the level of a year earlier, when the study counted about 10,000 more homes. Regional trends diverge. The Community of Madrid is holding roughly steady at around 151,000 homes, while Catalonia, where rent controls apply in 271 municipalities declared stressed, slipped from 94,947 to 93,489 homes, a fall of 1.5%.

Demand stays far above balance

Each home that reaches the market draws an average of 133 interested renters in its first ten days nationally. That is down from 143 in the second quarter but above the 135 recorded at the close of 2025, and the study treats 15 contacts as a balanced market. Barcelona leads with 401 interested renters per home, followed by Vizcaya (179), Baleares (159), Álava (157) and Guipúzcoa (142). Madrid registers 120 and Valencia fell to 97 from 138 in the previous quarter. Guadalajara (77) and Toledo (76) also declined, a trend the Observatorio links to relocation or the search for alternative housing.

Sergio Cardona, the Observatorio's head of studies, told ABC that the level remains high and should not be treated as normal.

It remains an extraordinarily high figure.

Decrees add uncertainty

The government approved two royal decrees about two weeks before publication, and one of them, covering indefinite leases, has not yet taken effect. The real-estate sector has repeatedly argued that measures like these could push some owners to withdraw their homes. The Observatorio calculates that about 4,290 homes left the market in just three days, from 28 to 30 September, after the first cabinet approval of the texts. The Diputación Permanente of Congress is set to vote on the decrees in November, and the Observatorio's forecast does not factor in their effects.

Rents keep climbing

Average rent in Spain reached 1,214 euros a month between July and September, 2.3% above the 1,187 euros recorded in the same period of 2025. Twelve provinces now exceed 1,000 euros a month. Baleares tops the ranking at 1,681 euros, followed by Barcelona (1,641), Madrid (1,639), Guipúzcoa (1,481), Málaga (1,316) and Vizcaya (1,308). Santa Cruz de Tenerife posted the steepest year-on-year increase at 13.8%, ahead of Ceuta (12.3%), Lugo (10.4%) and Palencia (10.2%), while Barcelona is among the few provinces where rents fell.

Galicia faces a steeper fall

Galicia is expected to end 2026 with about 29,366 rental homes, a reduction of 3,101 from 32,744 at the close of 2025. The average rent in the region is forecast to rise 3.26% from the close of 2025, reaching 791 euros from 766. Pontevedra is the most expensive Galician province at 880 euros, while A Coruña averages 785 euros with little change since the close of 2025.