Finding well-priced and decent accommodation in Madrid is no mean feat.
In 2013, the average cost of renting a room in a shared flat in the Spanish capital was €328 a month.
That figure is now somewhere between €415 and €429 according to different property studies, some of which put Madrid first and others second behind Barcelona in the room rental cost rankings for Spanish cities.
International students who were hoping to bag a room in one of Madrid universities’ halls of residence will be disappointed to hear that the average monthly price is an eye-watering €800, added to the fact that there only 18,000 campus beds for 300,000 university alumni who live in Madrid.
If you thought renting an apartment for yourself would be more cost-effective overall, think again: a 76sqm apartment now costs an average €1,231 a month in Madrid.
Graph showing the price increase for renting a room in different Madrid neighbourhoods between 2018 and 2019. Source:Uniplaces
That means that renting a room in a shared flat – regardless of whether you’re a cash-strapped student or a worker on a budget – is still the cheapest option available for anyone renting in the Spanish capital.
So where in Madrid is it “barato” to rent a room?
1. South of the river
The southern Madrid districts of Latina (€369/month for a room), Carabanchel (€355/month) and Usera (€357/month) offer some of the most competitive prices in the city of Madrid.
They’re traditionally working class neighbourhoods with good transport connections to the city centre (only 15 minutes by metro from Puerta del Ángel to Sol) and ‘cercanías’ trains to the airport and other parts of the region.
Admittedly they’re not as lively as the central Madrid neighbourhoods (don’t confuse Latina with the bar-ridden neighbourhood of La Latina in the centre) but the enormous Casa de Campo park is easily reachable and other green spaces are plentiful.
Photo: Javier Lastras/Flickr
2. Slap bang in the centre
Technically Sol isn’t one of the cheapest neighbourhoods in the whole of Madrid in which to rent a room, but by comparison with other central districts, it's possible to find good deals.
For example, renting a room in neighbouring Huertas - Madrid's elegant literary quarter - will cost you an incredible €800, compared to less than €600 in Sol. Rents in other central areas such as Palacio have also risen exponentially in 2019.
The advantages (and disadvantages) of living right in the centre of a capital city are fairly obvious: everything within walking distance, and plenty of events and noise to go with it.
Photo: Kirk K/Flickr
3. Dormitory cities
Móstoles (€317/month for a room) and Getafe (€349/month) are two cities within their own right in La Comunidad de Madrid, each with a population around 200,000.
That means that even though there’s not as much going on as in the capital, both dormitory cities are equipped with everything one needs for daily living, and they’re less than half an hour away from Madrid by train.
Móstoles and Getafe (pictured below) also homes to university campuses for Carlos III and Rey Juan Carlos Universities, so some international students could find good deals close to their faculties.
Photo: Wikimedia
The district of Villaverde (closer to Madrid) also has well priced rooms according to property search engine Idealista (€319/month).
Getafe is a city in the Community of Madrid, Spain. As of 2018, it has a population of 180,747, the region's sixth most populated municipality.
4. Central but cheaper than most other areas
A ten-minute walk south from Sol lies the district of Arganzuela, an area which encompasses lively and traditional Madrid neighbourhoods such as Atocha (where the city’s main train station is), Legazpi and Delicias.
Rooms are being rented out for an average €462/month, although this rate varies greatly depending on your proximity to the city centre.
Las Acacias for example, which is next to the revamped Madrid Río park that runs along the Manzanares river, will cost renters less on average, whilst offering them the best of both worlds: a huge green residential space that’s still within walking distance from all the happenings of central Madrid.
Photo: Nicolas Vigier/Flickr
.
Comments