The supply of long-term rental properties in Spain has dropped significantly over the past seven years. According to an analysis by the real estate portal Idealista, nearly 400,000 fewer rental listings were recorded nationwide in 2025 compared to 2018. Major cities such as Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, and Seville have been particularly hard hit.
Spain Expat Press Editorial Team
by Marlon Gallego Bosbach
Significantly fewer apartments for long-term rent
In 2018, 902,664 apartments were still being offered for long-term rent on Idealista. Seven years later, that figure had dropped to just 510,091. This represents a decrease of 392,573 listings, or approximately 44 percent.
The decline is heavily concentrated in Spain’s largest urban markets. Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, and Seville account for around 60 percent of the total decline.
Madrid recorded the largest absolute decline. In the capital, there were around 117,500 fewer rental listings available in 2025 than in 2018. Barcelona also lost a significant portion of its supply; the number of listings there dropped particularly sharply, falling by around 94,000.
Barcelona loses more than 80 percent
The trend in Barcelona is particularly striking. In 2018, 113,853 apartments were listed for long-term rent there; by 2025, that figure had dropped to just 19,723. This represents a decline of around 83 percent. Consequently, only a small fraction of the original inventory remains available on the platform.
Madrid also saw a significant slump. The number of rental listings there fell from 202,484 in 2018 to 84,926 in 2025. This represents a decline of around 58 percent.
In Valencia, the supply did not quite halve, but it also dropped significantly. The number of listings fell from 39,086 in 2018 to 20,621. Seville recorded a decline from 23,960 to 11,695 listings.
Decline in 41 out of 50 provinces
This trend is not limited to the four major cities. According to the data analyzed, the supply of long-term rental housing declined in 41 of Spain’s 50 provinces.
The decline was particularly pronounced in the major real estate markets of Madrid and Barcelona. At the same time, there are individual regions bucking the general trend. La Rioja was the only autonomous community where more rental listings were recorded in 2025 than in 2018.
There were also exceptions at the provincial level, including Alicante, Castellón, Jaén, and Cáceres.
400,000 apartments have not disappeared
However, these figures do not mean that nearly 400,000 apartments have physically disappeared from the Spanish housing market. The data tracks the number of apartments listed on Idealista for long-term rental. Apartments may, for instance, have been sold, put to other uses, or withdrawn from the traditional long-term rental market. Short-term rentals are also playing an increasingly significant role.
Particularly in Spain’s strained housing markets, the supply of temporary rental properties has increased significantly in recent years. This allows a property to remain on the rental market without appearing in statistics as a conventional long-term rental offering.
Government disputes the interpretation
The figures have also sparked a political debate. Housing Minister Isabel Rodríguez disputes the claim that Spain is fundamentally seeing a decline in the total number of rental properties available. According to her, the primary change has been a drop in turnover within the rental market; rental contracts are lasting longer, meaning properties are listed for rent again less frequently. The minister points, among other factors, to the longer statutory contract terms.
The government thus interprets the decline in listings differently than Idealista. While the real estate portal notes a significant tightening of the available long-term rental supply, Rodríguez primarily sees greater stability in existing tenancies.
Housing market remains tight
Regardless of how the figures are interpreted, finding housing in major Spanish cities remains difficult. It is precisely there that high demand clashes with a limited supply of long-term rental properties.
The sharp decline in listings illustrates just how much the Spanish rental market has changed since 2018. Barcelona and Madrid, in particular, face the challenge of providing sufficient affordable housing for the population.
The development of the long-term rental market is therefore likely to continue playing a central role in the political debate surrounding the Spanish housing crisis.
