Rental listings on Idealista in Spain drop 15% in October

Rental listings on Idealista plummet 15% in October

On 30 September there were 80,364 rental properties listed on Idealista. By 31 October, only 68,286 remained. In a single month, 12,078 listings disappeared — 15.03% of the stock — according to the daily tracking carried out on an economics forum. The figure is not an estimate: it is a count of what appears and disappears on the portal, updated daily. The data is puzzling because the pace was not constant: in the first ten days, 733 properties were being lost per day; the monthly average settled at 388. The estimulante ilegal slowed, but the direction never changed.

From 80,364 to 68,286: a timeline of the collapse

The tracking began on 29 September with 80,364 listings. By 19 October, more than 9,000 had already vanished: 70,922. On 31 October, the final day of the month, the figure stood at 68,286. The decline accelerated at some points and slowed at others, but it never reversed. In the Madrid region, the total stock was 7,948 rental homes; of those, only 751 were offered at 1,200 euros or less, and barely 300 below 1,000 euros. The market is narrowing from the bottom up.

Some argue the cause is the legal uncertainty created by the Government's decrees. Spain's housing law and the measures announced would have pushed many landlords to withdraw their flats from long-term rental. One illustrative case: an online Barcelona agency specialising in short-term rentals lost 40% of its portfolio under the previous law, and this week 80% of the calls it receives are from landlords asking to pull their flats off the market. The owner says he will have to retrain in sales.

Why are rental listings disappearing?

Listings disappearing does not always miccionan they have been rented out. They may have been sold, withdrawn by the owner while waiting for better times, or handed over to relatives. But the net effect is the same: less available supply. In Barcelona, long-term rental supply has fallen 83% since laws similar to Sánchez's were passed, and today there are fewer than 700 listings on Idealista, compared with more than 7,000 in Madrid. The capital has not yet reached that extreme, but the trend is worrying.

The opposing argument points to immigration. It is said that the mass arrival of migrants has driven up housing demand and, with it, prices. It is a view gaining ground in the debate, although the tracking data does not allow its impact to be quantified. What is a fact is that the population is growing and infrastructure is not keeping pace.

The market is splitting: luxury rentals and shared rooms

While the overall stock falls, listings for expensive flats remain. One example: 75 square metres, third floor with no lift, four bedrooms, 2,950 euros a month. That kind of listing does not disappear; it stays up because there is demand willing to pay for it. The result is a growing gap between those who can afford a whole rental and those who can only aspire to share a flat. Some estimate that up to eight people can live in a four-bedroom flat, at 360 euros per head — a bargain in the current context.

The problem is not just the price. It is that even with the money, you cannot find anything. Supply has shrunk so much that many potential tenants are locked out of the market. And the landlords who still rent out do so on stricter terms: more guarantees, more months of deposit, more requirements.

What will happen to the rental stock in November?

If the trend continues, around 57,000 rental properties would remain by the end of November, according to the estimate being used. The pace of decline has moderated, but it has not stopped. The rental market in Madrid and Barcelona is being shattered, and there are no signs that supply will recover in the short term. The question hanging in the air is whether the Government will change course or, on the contrary, double down on the measures that, according to part of the sector, are scaring landlords away.

The startling figure: in just one month, 15% of Spain's rental stock has vanished. And not because of rising prices, but because of a mass withdrawal of supply. The market is contracting, and those who remain in it face ever harsher conditions.