The rental price in the Community of Madrid reaches €21.45 per square metre per month in September, the highest figure in the country. Nationally, Fotocasa reports a quarterly drop of 4.7% and a year-on-year increase of 3%.
The rental price in the Community of Madrid stands at €21.45 per square metre per month in September 2026, making it the most expensive region in Spain to rent, according to the quarterly study published this Tuesday by Fotocasa. It is followed by Catalonia (€19.67/m2) and the Balearic Islands (€19.59/m2), while the most affordable regions are Galicia (€10.09/m2), Castilla-La Mancha (€9.04/m2) and Extremadura (€7.73/m2).
Across the country, the rental price has closed the third quarter with a decrease of 4.7% compared to the previous quarter and an increase of 3% compared to the same period in 2025, reaching €14.10 per square metre per month. The real estate portal notes that price drops occur in all third quarters over the last 20 years, and this is the third lowest year-on-year increase during this period since 2008.
By province, Madrid also leads the ranking with €21.45/m2, followed by Barcelona (€21.36/m2). The cheapest are Jaén (€6.64/m2), Badajoz (€7.65/m2) and Cáceres (€7.79/m2). In the breakdown by capitals, Madrid capital records €22.40 per square metre per month, one of six Spanish cities that exceed €20, along with Esplugues de Llobregat (€24.76/m2), Sant Josep de sa Talaia (€23.40/m2), Sitges (€23.20/m2), Barcelona capital (€23.15/m2) and Calvià (€22.99/m2).
The Fotocasa analysis shows quarterly declines in 12 autonomous communities and increases in five. The largest drops are in Cantabria (-6.0%), Galicia (-5.3%), Andalusia (-3.2%), Region of Murcia (-3.1%) and the Valencian Community (-3.0%), while Catalonia (9.1%), the Basque Country (2.9%), the Balearic Islands (1.9%), La Rioja (1.1%) and Asturias (0.6%) record increases. Year-on-year, 16 communities show increases.
The real estate portal points out that the underlying trend shows that rental prices "have stopped falling and are returning with slight increases," a behaviour that could be related to the rising cost of mortgages. Fotocasa also invites a "cautious" analysis of the effectiveness of the restrictive policies applied to rentals in Barcelona and Catalonia, where significant increases have occurred.
Of the 248 Spanish cities analysed with quarterly variation in September 2026, 56% have seen decreases in price per square metre. In 12 of them (5%), the drop exceeds 20%, with cases such as Adra (-39.3%), Laredo (-35.6%), Sanlúcar de Barrameda (-27.8%) and Tarifa (-27.7%). On the opposite side, Xirivella (Valencia) records the largest quarterly increase, at 27.8%.
The Fotocasa data corresponds to the end of the third quarter of 2026 and is based on the analysis of 248 Spanish municipalities. The next report from the portal, scheduled for December, will update the evolution of prices in the final stretch of the year.
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