In 2021, one out of every three new rental contracts closed in Barcelona city ---specifically 35% of the total--- was formalized by a resident foreigner, of a medium-high professional level, according to data from the real estate agency Amat. This is one of the impacts that Barcelona's international openness has on the housing market, since, until five years ago, this percentage was only 15%.
The latest housing market report from Amat Inmobiliaria determines that, in general, the tenant's profile is a person between 30 and 50 years old, looking for a three-bedroom home ---from 65 to 95 square meters---. It also warns that the regulation for the containment of rental rents and the reduction of supply is straining the market, so the most vulnerable profiles run the risk of being excluded given that the landlord usually prioritizes tenants who offer more economic guarantees.
"The gradual disappearance of housing supply for rent due, in large part, to the regulation that has been applied in the market with rent containment and the pandemic situation that was still experienced during much of 2021 has affected rental prices, which have stabilized," said Guifré Homedes, general director of Amat Inmobiliaria. For the whole of last year, the average price of rents remained at 14.54 euros per square meter per month. Above the average, only the district of Sarrià-Sant Gervasi (15.65 euros) was located, while Sants-Montjuïc registered prices of 14.56 euros and Eixample of 14.61 euros. In the low range of rents, we find Nou Barris where 7.55 euros per square meter per month have been paid. As for the rest of the city's areas, prices have been paid from 12.10 euros in Ciutat Vella, to 12.90 euros in Horta-Guinardó.
The small private investor has withdrawn their flats from the rental market to put them up for saleThe Amat consultancy report also reflects that last year there was a gradual withdrawal of homes from the rental regime, in favor of second-hand sales. In this sense, Homedes insisted on lthe harmful effects of the regulation approved in Catalonia, which has discouraged private investors, "a very stigmatized owner", which has stopped listing properties for rent to tend towards divestment. "The rental market is basically made up of small owners who have decided that this is their way of saving for the future," in exchange for more or less stable and monthly rents. "Thanks to this figure," adds the general director of Amat, "there has been sufficient supply in the rental market in recent decades," given the lack of a public rental and social housing policy. "It was a recurring fact, for example, that in new construction developments some homes were marketed to private investors who later put them up for rent, but this formula has absolutely disappeared in 2021," he specified.
This circumstance is also evident when it is observed that many of the homes that enter the second-hand sales market come precisely from small owners who want to disinvest. In fact, during the past year, the sale of second-hand homes has grown significantly, while the sale of new construction has been clearly lower than in 2020.
In Barcelona, specifically, the price of second-hand homes was above 4,000 euros per square meter, although there are many differences between neighborhoods of the city, with minimums of 3,600 euros and maximums of 7,100 euros.