Mortgage payments have risen this year more than rents in 98 of the 110 most populous cities in Spain, while rental prices have become more expensive in twelve, five of them in Catalonia, according to a study by the appraiser UVE Valoraciones. Of those 12 municipalities, five are in Catalonia.
These twelve municipalities are Barcelona, Tarragona, Santa Coloma de Gramenet (Barcelona), Manresa (Barcelona), Reus (Tarragona), Leganés (Madrid), Parla (Madrid), Alicante, Molina de Segura (Murcia), Paterna (Valencia), Badajoz and San Cristóbal de la Laguna (Santa Cruz de Tenerife).
Santa Coloma de Gramenet is the city where mortgage payments have fallen the most in relation to rents (-29.9%), followed by Molina de Segura (-24.1%), Leganés (-22.7%), Reus (-22.3%), Manresa (-17.7%), Tarragona (-14.9%), Badajoz (-12.5%) and Paterna -(10.8%).
The difference is smaller in Alicante (-3.8%), San Cristóbal de la Laguna (-3.8%), Barcelona (-1.2%), while in Parla the drop in the percentage of mortgage payment with respect to rent is -0.03%.
In addition, the study shows that in eleven of the 110 cities studied, mortgage payments exceed monthly rental payments (in 2021 there was only one), which means that in them it is better to rent than to buy: San Sebastián (124.3 % more expensive fees), Getxo, Vizcaya (115.7%), Alcobendas, Madrid (112.4%), Palma de Mallorca (112%), and Sant Cugat del Vallès, Barcelona (110.4%).
Next, Pozuelo de Alarcón, Madrid (106.7%), Marbella, Málaga (106.5%), Majadahonda, Madrid (105%), La Coruña (104.1%), Rivas-Vaciamadrid, Madrid (102.4 %) and Pamplona (102.2%).
According to this study, the cities with the most expensive rents are: Barcelona (18.7 euros per square meter), San Sebastián (16.4 euros), Madrid (16.2), Castelldefels, Barcelona (15.8), Marbella (15.1), Sant Cugat del Vall’es (14.6), Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona (14.1), Alcobendas (13.9) and Majadahonda (13.3).
To carry out its analysis, UVE Valoraciones has calculated the mortgage payment that corresponds to a loan of 80% of the value of the offer, with a duration of 25 years and an interest rate of 3.5%, taking as reference the data of Idealist on offer prices for sale and rent.
From the 2021 list of the highest rental prices, this year Barakaldo (Vizcaya), Getafe (Madrid), Vitoria-Gasteiz (Álava) and Mataró (Barcelona) have disappeared and Castelldefels (Barcelona), Arona (Tenerife), Estepona have entered. (Málaga), Torremolinos (Málaga), Benalmádena (Málaga), Málaga, Fuengirola (Málaga), Mijas (Málaga) and Girona.
The study also reflects that rents have skyrocketed in tourist areas and especially in the province of Malaga.