Nine of the 10 most expensive places to rent a home in Andalucia are now in Malaga, new figures have shown.
The average asking rent across the province reached €16.45 per square metre per month in August, according to the latest Fotocasa Property Index.
That represents a 14.6% increase in just one year, compared with a 6.8% rise across Andalucia as a whole.
Marbella is the most expensive place to rent in Andalucia, at €19.29/m2 per month, closely followed by Estepona at €19.03.
Benahavis stands at €17.97, Mijas at €17.57, Benalmadena at €17.31 and Torremolinos at €17.04.
Nerja (€16.97), Fuengirola (€16.86) and Malaga city (€16.70) complete Malaga province’s domination of the top 10.
The only outsider is Sevilla city, in tenth place at €15.12/m2.
For comparison, the cheapest municipality analysed by Fotocasa was Baza in Granada province, at just €5.26/m2.
That means asking rents per square metre in Marbella are around 3.7 times those in Baza.
What does that mean for a typical apartment?
At Marbella’s €19.29/m2 average, an 80m2 property would work out at roughly €1,543 per month.
The same-sized home would cost approximately €1,522 in Estepona, €1,438 in Benahavis, €1,406 in Mijas and €1,385 in Benalmadena.
In Malaga city, 80m2 would translate to around €1,336 per month.
‘High demand pressure, combined with the lack of long-term rental supply in the main urban and coastal centres, is keeping rents at levels that are demanding for tenants’ pockets,’ Fotocasa research director Maria Matos said.
| Rank | Place | Rent €/m2 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marbella | €19.29 | +5.1% |
| 2 | Estepona | €19.03 | +8.6% |
| 3 | Benahavis | €17.97 | +1.0% |
| 4 | Mijas | €17.57 | +9.1% |
| 5 | Benalmadena | €17.31 | +1.5% |
| 6 | Torremolinos | €17.04 | -5.4% |
| 7 | Nerja | €16.97 | — |
| 8 | Fuengirola | €16.86 | +0.4% |
| 9 | Malaga city | €16.70 | +4.9% |
| 10 | Sevilla city | €15.12 | +5.1% |
| 11 | Tarifa | €14.66 | -19.5% |
| 12 | Rincon de la Victoria | €14.63 | +8.1% |
| 13 | Punta Umbria | €14.60 | +39.8% |
| 14 | Zahara de los Atunes | €14.55 | -5.5% |
| 15 | Rota | €13.88 | +11.0% |
| 16 | Manilva | €13.58 | +8.5% |
| 17 | Sotogrande | €13.49 | +3.1% |
| 18 | Cadiz city | €13.01 | +5.9% |
| 19 | El Puerto de Santa Maria | €13.00 | +14.1% |
| 20 | Islantilla | €12.74 | -9.0% |
| 21 | La Antilla | €12.58 | -8.6% |
| 22 | Chipiona | €12.55 | +4.8% |
| 23 | Velez-Malaga | €12.52 | +2.4% |
| 24 | El Rompido | €12.34 | — |
| 25 | Almonte | €12.28 | -10.0% |
| 26 | Sanlucar de Barrameda | €12.08 | +4.8% |
| 27 | Algarrobo | €12.06 | +4.4% |
| 28 | Torrox | €11.97 | +7.0% |
| 29 | Dos Hermanas | €11.96 | +20.2% |
| 30 | El Portil | €11.91 | +5.5% |
Rents rising across Andalucia
The problem is by no means confined to Malaga.
Fotocasa found year-on-year rent increases in 47 of the 53 Andalucian municipalities for which it had comparable data.
The most dramatic increase was recorded in Punta Umbria in Huelva, where asking rents jumped 39.8% in a year.
It was followed by Mojacar, up 29.2%; Ayamonte, 28.2%; Ronda, 22.5%; and Dos Hermanas, 20.2%.
Other significant increases were recorded in Albox (+15.5%), El Puerto de Santa Maria (+14.1%), Jerez de la Frontera (+13.6%), Puerto Real (+13.5%) and Motril (+12.9%).
There were some exceptions.
Rents fell by 9.3% in Andujar, 8.6% in La Antilla, 5.8% in Isla Cristina and 5.4% in Torremolinos, despite the Costa del Sol resort remaining among Andalucia’s most expensive places to rent.
Malaga far above Andalucian average
At provincial level, Malaga is comfortably the most expensive rental market in Andalucia at €16.45/m2.
Sevilla follows at €14.15, then Cadiz at €11.80, Huelva at €11.42 and Granada at €10.76.
Almeria stands at €9.34, Cordoba at €8.73 and Jaen at just €6.78.
The Andalucian average is €12.09/m2, meaning Malaga province is around 36% more expensive than the regional average.
Despite the surge, Andalucia as a whole remains substantially cheaper than Spain’s most expensive regions.
Madrid leads at €21.78/m2, followed by the Balearic Islands at €20.13 and Catalonia at €19.89.
