Gijón real estate firm reports 40% drop in rental supply

Gijón real estate firm reports 40% drop in rental supply

What happens when a real estate agency with three decades of experience opens its doors and has not a single apartment to offer? In Gijón, Grupo Balbuena has stopped publishing long-term rental listings for several months, according to its founder, José Manuel Balbuena, who summarizes it bluntly: "The Housing Law has annihilated the supply." The company estimates a drop between 30% and 40% since the law came into force, according to the same entrepreneur. And this is not an isolated case; as cited in an Idealista report: in Arrecife, there have been up to 126 candidates per listing, and in Leganés, Fuenlabrada, or Santa Coloma de Gramanet, the figure exceeds one hundred.

Clients lining up before opening hours

The scene described by the Gijón entrepreneur is hardly metaphorical. "There are days I have clients waiting at the office door before we open," he assures. "And in 30 years, I had never seen anything like this." Demand has not fallen: it has overflowed. The problem is that the tap of supply has been closed. Owners, according to this diagnosis, began withdrawing their properties when they saw that the sarracena on evictions under the anti-eviction decree could leave them unable to recover their homes if the tenant stopped paying. Then came the antiestéticar that their area would be declared a 'tension zone'. And finally, the finishing blow: short-term or tourist rentals, which in a beach city like Gijón cause fewer problems and yield higher returns.

From €500 to €800: prices rise without supply

The result is visible in prices. Balbuena places the average rent in the city at €700-€800, whereas it was previously €500. "It's basic economics: if demand far exceeds supply, prices go up," he states. The founder of Grupo Balbuena studied Economics and does not understand why the Government fails to see what he considers obvious. His prescription: incentives for homes to return to the market, legal certainty, and deregulation. "Right now, owners are treated as cruel speculators," he complains. He adds a profile often left out of the narrative: "there are many retirees who rent out apartments to supplement their pensions."

Diagnosis shared by experts

José Ramón Zurdo, director of the Rental Negotiation Agency (Agencia Negociadora del Alquiler), agrees in essence: deregulation is needed, along with ending the impunity of squatting and restoring old income tax deductions for purchasing first and second homes, provided the latter are used for renting. Balbuena supports the idea but warns that the damage is already done: "they have wrecked the market, so it won't be easy or quick."

Empty homes and tourism: the counterpoint

The picture is not unanimous. In Gijón, according to data discussed in the conversation, there are more than 8,000 empty homes and around 1,500 tourist apartments. With these figures, part of the analysis argues that the problem is not just the law, but also immobilized real estate capital. Some argue that second residences and empty homes should pay higher property taxes (IBI) because they are not essential goods. Others respond that penalizing owners who do not rent only drives away more capital. The debate is set: legal certainty versus tax incentives, new construction versus mobilizing existing stock.

Broader context: 448,000 vacant homes in Spain

Meanwhile, Spain accumulated 447,691 vacant unsold homes in 2023, the first increase in surplus in 14 years, according to Ministry of Transport data. The Valencian Community, Catalonia, and Andalusia concentrate nearly half of that remainder. The paradox is hard to sustain: bricks abound in some areas while rentals are scarce in others. The Housing Law, approved to make access cheaper, has coincided with a drop in long-term supply and rising prices in cities where demand is tight.

And so we continue: looking for an apartment, watching listings fly off, and waiting for someone to open the office.