2 minute read
Rental increase
Anna Ellis
THE price of housing rental in Spain increased by 9.2 per cent over the last 12 months, according to a report published by the property management company, idealista. At the end of June 2023, renting a property in our country had a cost of €11.8 per square metre.
Francisco Inareta, spokesperson for idealista, confirmed: “As long as the available supply does not increase, there will be no way to contain prices.
“Neither the limits established in the Housing Law nor the promises of future developments seem to be able to contain the escalation of rents, which is getting worse for Spanish fami
To speak or not to speakthat was the question!
AFTER five years in Spain, my Spanish is much better than the few words I could tentatively utter upon landing with four suitcases and no clue what we were doing.
Looking back, those first weeks of fumbling our way through the simplest of tasks is cringeworthy. We were a curiosity in our building, and our neighbours, thankfully, barely acknowledged the odd American newcomers. They thought we were holidaymakers renting the apartment during Valencia’s biggest party of the year, Fallas. But the month of March came and went, and we were still there. We tried not to stand out, whispering in hushed tones to avoid drawing attention to ourselvesridiculous in one of the loudest countries in the world, where everyone speaks at volume. Our incessant muttering marked us strangers more than if we shouted at each other in the lobby. Avoiding eye contact so as not to invite conversations we knew we couldn’t hold, convinced it made us invisible. After a few months, there were terse chin nods directed our way. Upon entering and exiting our elevator, we might receive a Buenos dias. Jeff and I celebrated these moments with high fives and more whispers.
“Did you hear that?”
It called for a celebratory glass of wine at the local café. We ordered the same thing every day. The owner stopped coming to the table to ask she just brought it out. After a few months, the accompanying snack went from potato chips to empanadas. We learned the better the customer, the better the snack.
Today, I can carry on conversations in español. And I know what people are saying in every context. Yes, we are still strange. That will never change. But I wouldn’t go back to those fumbling early days for all the empanadas in the world.
Kelli Field is an American expat writer/blogger living in rural Galicia, and a volunteer for Age in Spain. Some of her other writing about moving to and living in Spain can be found at www.vivaespanamovingtospain.com.
If you’d like to get in touch with Age In Spain, we can be reached at info@ageinspain.org (+34 932 209 741) lies every day.”
Prices reached record highs in 25 capitals, including Alicante, Palma, Valencia, Madrid and Barcelona.
The price increased in all regions over the last 12 months.
The largest increases were in the Balearic Islands (27.3 per cent), Valencia (15.7 per cent), the Canary Islands (14.6 per cent), Andalucia (12.4 per cent) and Cantabria (12.4 per cent).
In Catalonia they rose by 10.8 per cent, while in Madrid they grew by 9.2 per cent. The Basque Country recorded the lowest increase (4.1 per cent), followed by Aragon (4.2 per cent) and Navarre (4.3 per cent).
