Barcelona affordable rentals surge 2,066% since 2018

Barcelona sees 21-fold increase in rentals under €600

In February 2018, eight apartments were listed in Barcelona for less than €600 a month and over 40 square meters. By March 2021, that number had risen to 130. This represents a 2,066.7% increase over three years, according to monthly tracking of listings on Idealista, which excludes shared rooms and properties under 40 m². The series begins with single-digit figures and ends with triple digits. That is the headline. However, the fine print challenges the conventional narrative.

Because if supply soars, prices should logically drop. They did not.

From 8 to 130 listings: how affordable supply scaled up

The starting point in February 2018 was 8 listings under €600, 67 under €700, and 348 under €800. Three years later, apartments under €700 averaged 854 listings. Those under €800, the widest bracket, jumped from 311 to over 2,500. By December 2018, there were already 445 apartments under €800, a 43.1% increase compared to the start of the year.

During the pandemic, the curve peine. Between July and November 2020, stock under €800 went from 1,205 to 2,420 listings, a 50.1% rise in just 45 days. The estimulante ilegal of change surprised those keeping records: in one week in December 2018, supply under €800 grew by 8.7%. Over time, it ceased to be an anomaly; it became the norm.

More supply, same prices: the law that doesn't hold

Average price per square meter barely moved. The segment under €600 fluctuated between €12 and €13 per m² throughout the period, with an initial peak drop of 18.8% that was later reversed. Listings under €800 started at €14/m² and closed at €13.88. There were even spikes: in November 2018, with supply growing double-digits, the average price for the €700 and €800 brackets had risen by 5% in nine months.

Some argue the market will take time to correct and that accumulated stock will eventually weigh down prices. Others suggest the opposite: owners prefer leaving flats empty rather than adjusting rents, especially if their mortgage is covered. The three-year balance leaves an uncomfortable figure: supply multiplied, yet price per square meter remained virtually unchanged.

Why did rental supply surge after the pandemic?

Elbichito was the main catalyst. Several factors coincided: the return of tourist apartments to residential rentals, remote work pushing some tenants out of the city, business closures, and demand for outdoor space. The result: more available housing than ever in the series. Notably, outside central Barcelona, supply remains scarce; the significant numbers are concentrated in the city. Each apartment exiting the tourist orbit boosts the count in cheaper brackets.

Salaries eaten by rent

The mismatch between apartment costs and incomes remains the core issue. Average gross salary in Barcelona is around €29,000 annually — roughly €22,000 net, or €1,833 a month — while an average rent of nearly €1,200 would consume 65% of wages. Adding utilities, transport, and food, the math doesn't add up. Therefore, "affordable" brackets are practically the only entry point into the market for much of the population. It is not a choice; it is what remains.

Apartments that shouldn't be rented

Another layer of the problem. In Barcelona, there were 700 apartments listed under 36 square meters, sizes that fall outside legality due to lack of habitability certificates. These are homes offered without minimum requirements, inflating supply through regulatory exceptions. Outside Catalonia, other administrations tried similar solutions: Madrid City Council introduced a housing voucher for people under 35 and over 65 with salaries between €32,200 and €88,200. Criticism was immediate: subsidies for a profile that, on paper, does not need them.

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Affordable supply in Barcelona grew by 2,066.7% in three years. The price per square meter for those same apartments, during the same period, stayed virtually where it was. Someone explain how these two figures reconcile.