The homes of the province of Las Palmas and of Holy Cross of Tenerife have required a family effort of 37 and 35 percent, respectively, in the fourth quarter of 2023 to rent a home, according to a study published by idealista.
Regarding the purchase of real estate, in the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife the effort to be made has grown nine points compared to the same period of the previous year. Thus, buying in that province requires dedicating 35 percent of the family income, while in Las Palmas it drops to 25 percent.
The percentage of household income necessary to access a home grew to 22 percent in the case of purchase and up to 33 percent in the case of rental in the fourth quarter of 2023, which represents four and three points more than in the same quarter of 2022.
The real estate portal attributes this increase in the financial effort of families to access a home to the lack of supply and the increase in prices, as well as the increase in the cost of financing.
However, for Francisco Iñareta, spokesperson for idealista, the reasons for the increase in effort in purchasing and renting are different. Thus, he explained that the rise in financing costs is the main reason in the case of homes for sale, while the rise in prices caused by the constant reduction in supply is responsible for the increase in rental effort.
Idealista warns that the prospects in the case of rental are “negative”, not only in relation to the price. If housing policies are maintained or tightened, as in the case of Catalonia, “it will not be possible to reverse the process of loss of supply, which will increase the difficulties for families in accessing rental housing, with special impact on the most vulnerable profiles,” the portal points out.
In the case of home purchases, idealista sees it possible that the announced rate reduction by the European Central Bank (ECB) in the third quarter of this year “will manage to slightly lower the cost of financing, which would mean a reduction in the effort if demand does not increase strongly and puts upward pressure on prices”.
BARCELONA AND PALMA, THOSE THAT REQUIRE THE MOST EFFORT FOR RENT
According to the study, the effort to rent a two-bedroom home exceeds the 30% recommended by experts in ten capitals.
Barcelona is the one that requires the highest percentage of household income, with 44%, followed by Palma (43%), Valencia (39%), Málaga (38%), Madrid (37%), Alicante (35%), San Sebastian (33%), The Gran Canarian palms (32%), Bilbao (30%) and Segovia (30%).
Below these figures are Seville (29%), Santa Cruz de Tenerife (29%), Girona (28%), Vitoria (28%), Cádiz (27%) and Granada (27%). On the contrary, the least effort is requested in Ciudad Real (16%), Teruel (17%), Palencia (18%), and Zamora, Jaén and Cáceres, with 19% in the three cases.
According to the real estate portal, Palma is the city in which the effort to rent has grown the most, with an increase of ten points. It is followed by Valencia (+8 points), Segovia (+7 points) and Las Palmas de Gran CanariaBarcelona and Madrid, with 6 more points each.
Idealista points out that no capital has reduced the level of rental requirements and only in Melilla, Ávila, Valladolid, León and Albacete has it remained the same as in 2022.
The province of Malaga is the one that requires the greatest effort to rent a home, with 53% of family income. They are followed by the Balearic Islands (48%), Barcelona (41%), Las Palmas (37%) and Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Alicante and Guipúzcoa, with 35% in all three cases.
In Madrid and Valencia the rate is 34%, while in Seville it is 31%. For its part, Teruel (16%), Palencia and Ciudad Real (18% in both) are the three provinces in which the least effort is required.
LESS EFFORT TO BUY THAN TO RENT
According to idealista, in most cases the effort to buy is less than to rent, with the exception of the markets of San Sebastián, Palma, Granada and A Coruña.
Furthermore, five capitals present effort rates higher than the 30% recommended by experts: Palma (46%), San Sebastián (39%), Barcelona (33%), Málaga (33%) and Madrid (31%).
They are followed by the cities of Granada (28%), Alicante (28%), Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (26%), Pamplona (26%) and Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Valencia, A Coruña and Cádiz, with 25% in the four locations. The lowest effort rates occur in Jaén (11%), Lleida (12%), Teruel (12%), Palencia (13%) and Ciudad Real (13%).
In purchasing, all markets require a greater effort than a year ago, with the cities of Palma (12 points more), Santa Cruz de Tenerife (+9 points), Málaga (+9 points) and Madrid (+9 points) where the more it has grown. At the other extreme, the smallest increase has occurred in Soria, Palencia, Toledo and Jaén, with an increase of 2% in all of them.
Among the provinces, the Balearic Islands is the one that requires the greatest effort, with 45% of family income. They are followed by Málaga (43%), Santa Cruz de Tenerife (35%), Alicante (28%), Las Palmas (25%), Madrid (25%) and Cádiz (23%). In the province of Barcelona it stands at 21%.
With a rate of 11% are the provinces of Lleida, Toledo and Ciudad Real, the least demanding for buying a home.
