The operation of the residential rental market in Malaga is transformed as a consequence of Covid. The health crisis and its overwhelming impact on tourism have forced thousands of owners to reformulate the way they operate their properties, returning, in many cases, to a formula that seemed out of date: long-term leases. In the absence of good tourists, it is the workers or students who need longer stays.
A second derivative also related to the pandemic is that the supply of flats in the market has skyrocketed. And, as an immediate effect, prices that during the months prior to the arrival of the coronavirus they rose an average of 10%, decrease. The latest data published by the Idealista portal confirm this point. As of last March, the average rental value in the capital of the Costa del Sol was 9.4 euros per square meter, 5.3% less than the same month last year.
De facto, the interval between the two periods collected corresponds to the full year of the pandemic, because although it was at the end of February when the first positives in the province, it was not until March when it was really present.
The price drop in the capital being notable, the performance is significantly better than that of other large Spanish cities in which there are much more severe declines. As an example, in Barcelona, according to Idealista, at the end of March the price was 14.5 euros per square meter, 14.3% less than a year earlier; the fall in Madrid was 10.7%; 6.1% in Seville and 6.3% in Valencia. Of the main capitals, only in Zaragoza rose slightly, with 0.5%.
The effect that the Covid has on rental prices is extendable to all districts of Malaga. Bailén-Miraflores is the one with the largest drop, 13.3%, followed by Cruz de Humilladero, with 8.6%. The highest prices are located in the East district, with 10.3 euros per meter. In this area the decrease is much less pronounced, being 1.9%. In the Center, on the other hand, the reduction reaches 8.3%, with the average value now being set at 10 euros.
For him director of the South area of Idealista, Carlos Rueda, the variation in prices is justified by the pandemic. “The upward trend that had been taking place stopped short,” he explains, emphasizing that, unlike what can happen in other Andalusian provinces, in Malaga “vacation rentals and all those homes have completely disappeared. they have switched to long term rental. “
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Another circumstance observed from Idealista is that during the current health crisis, searches for rental housing exceed the traditional border of the Center to go to the suburbs and even neighboring municipalities with the capital. A decision-making also facilitated by the commitment of many companies to teleworking. And this phenomenon, according to Ruda, could be sustained over time.
To this detail he adds another no less peculiar. Many of the clients who were handling the rental idea are opting for the purchase. Why? As he explains why they are now conducting property searches in cheaper areas of the province, which allows them to have sufficient funds to meet entry and financing costs.
The values managed by another of the large real estate portals, Tecnocasa, vary somewhat with respect to those of Idealista, but they coincide in the existence of a decline in rental prices in the capital of the Costa del Sol. Specifically, Lázaro Cubero, Director of Analysis of the Tecnocasa Group, this decrease in the last years figures at 3.6%, which places the current values ”in the same as they were at the end of 2020″.
“The city of Malaga holds up better the prices compared to other large capitals in the country, such as Valencia, where the variation is -4.1%; Seville, with -5.12%; Barcelona, with -4.77%, or Madrid, with -4.68% “, says Cubero.
According to the data of this company, 40% of the rents in the capital have an income of less than 600 euros; other 48.3% ranges between 600 and 800 euros, and only 10% exceed 1,000 euros of the monthly value. The average price managed by Tecnocasa is 9.23 euros per square meter.
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