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How much does it cost to rent a room in Spain in 2021?

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How much does it cost to rent a room in Spain in 2021?
How much does it cost ro rent a room in Spain? Photo: Ina FASSBENDER / AFP

Renting your own place can be expensive in Spain compared with average salaries, so many people cut costs by renting a room in a shared apartment. How much does it actually cost and where is sharing a flat cheapest in Spain?

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The average price for renting a room in a shared flat in Spain at the end of 2020 was €269.49 per month, according to Pisos.com. 

During the Covid-19 pandemic, however, rental prices have decreased rapidly. A study by Spanish property portal Idealista revealed that between May and November last year, Barcelona saw the sharpest fall in rents with prices per square metre slumping by 13 percent. 

READ ALSO: Where in Spain have rental prices dropped the most in coronavirus crisis?

According to the Rentger blog by Idealista, rental prices continued to fall in the first quarter of 2021 by 1.9 percent. 

But, it seems it's not just the pandemic which has caused rents to decrease. In 2019, the average price for a room per month was €287.45 and in 2018 it was at €292.18, so it seems that prices were already on a downward trend. 

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Where are the most expensive places to rent a room in Spain?

Unsurprisingly, Barcelona and Madrid are the two most expensive cities to rent a room in Spain. Pisos.com revealed that the average price for a room in Barcelona is €453.91 per month, while in Madrid it will set you back €426.88 per month on average.

This is mainly due to the fact that property is more expensive in these cities and the salaries are also higher. In fact, 43.78 percent of the demand for rooms in shared flats is in the provinces of Madrid and Barcelona.

READ ALSO - RANKED: Where are workers’ salaries highest and lowest in Spain?

READ ALSO: What you should know about renting an apartment in Barcelona

Other expensive cities to rent a room in Spain include places in the north of the country, particularly in the Basque Country, the Balearic Islands and Catalonia. Rooms in San Sebastián are the third most expensive at an average of €423.02 per month, while in Palma de Mallorca a room will cost you an average of €403.52 per month.

Where are the most expensive places to rent a room in Spain? Image: Pisos.com
 

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Bilbao, Girona, Vitoria-Gasteiz and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria also all feature in the top 10 most expensive places to rent a room in Spain.

In Andalusia, the two most expensive cities to rent a room are Malaga and Cádiz at €316.74 and €305 respectively.

Where are the cheapest places to rent a room in Spain? 

On the other side of the scale, the cheapest places to rent a room in Spain can be found in the regions of Castilla-La Mancha, Galicia and Extremadura.

Ciudad Real in Castilla-La Mancha is the cheapest place to rent a room at an average of €157.24, followed by Lugo in Galicia at €167.95. Badajoz, Palencia, Cuenca and Ourense also all feature in the top 10 cheapest cities to rent a room in Spain.

Jaén is the cheapest city to rent a room in Andalusia at €201 per month.

Cheapest places to rent a room in Spain. Image: Pisos.com
 

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Which places have the highest amount of shared flats available?

Barcelona and Madrid may be the most expensive places to rent a room in a shared flat, but they also have the highest amount of shared apartments available. In Barcelona, 14.45 percent of the apartments are shared, while in Madrid 13.94 percent of the apartments are shared. 

READ ALSO: Moving to Barcelona: A guide to the best neighbourhoods to live in

Valencia, Seville and Granada also have more flatshares available than other Spanish cities at 4.60 percent, 4.35 percent and 3.45 percent respectively. This is likely to be due to the fact that these cities have big student populations and are popular with foreigners coming to live in Spain for a few months to learn the language or experience living in another country. 

READ ALSO - Moving to Valencia: A guide to the best neighbourhoods to live in

Where is the greatest demand for room rentals in Spain? Image: Piso Compartido

Who is living in flatshares in Spain?

Also unsurprisingly, renting a room in a flatshare is more in demand among Spain's younger population. 51.24 percent of those aged 18-25 are looking to rent a room, while 29.22 percent of those aged 26-35 want to rent one. There are also slightly more females looking for flatshares than males in Spain. 54.90 percent of those are female and 45.10 percent are male. 

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