'Throw away money' or 'have more freedom'? Half of tenants rent because they have no other choice

Not too long ago, talking about renting a house aroused two types of reactions: on the one hand there were those who said that renting was “wasting money” and on the other hand there were those who defended that it was an option that gave you greater flexibility and freedom to change. whenever. Both of them would come together today at the same point: many tenants have no other option and rent because they have no other choice..

Leasing was for many people the only possible alternative to buying to leave their parents' nest.. The point is that there are more and more people in this situation, that is, there are more and more tenants who recognize resorting to renting due to the impossibility of accessing the property for economic reasons.. This is an impediment cited by 38% of those who have rented or tried to rent in the last year and is, therefore, the main reason why individuals choose to rent rather than buy, according to the conclusions of the Experience in rental in 2023 prepared by Fotocasa Research. In addition, there is another 19% who are waiting for the prices of housing for sale to drop so they can leave the rental market.. In other words, renting stops being an option and becomes almost mandatory for those who aspire to access a home..

“Although the feeling of ownership remains deeply rooted in our society, each year the hope of becoming a tenant owner decreases. In fact, almost 60% of tenants rent due to economic reasons, a percentage that has increased 7 points in the last year. Therefore, the idea that renting offers flexibility and freedom or that it favors labor mobility loses relevance among tenants who see how rents are becoming more expensive at the highest rate in the last decade and the price becomes the main obstacle and factor of inequality. that truncates its objectives,” explains María Matos, Director of Studies at Fotocasa.

Labor mobility is the argument used by 22% of those surveyed to explain their preference for leasing – four percentage points less than a year ago – while the idea that renting allows for greater flexibility and freedom is shared by 17%. , 6% less than in 2022. “It must also be noted that this argument had already been receding since 2021, when 26% claimed that they opted for renting for this reason,” they point out from Fotocasa.. 16% assure that their commitment to renting has to do with the increase in mortgage interest rates; another 12% because there is certainty of income in the medium term and 10% recognize that they prefer to rent rather than buy because their employment situation has worsened in recent months..

Greater effort to pay

In a general context marked by inflation and the slowdown of the economy, housing has become one of the biggest sources of concern for households, especially for those who had variable mortgages and have seen how their payments have become more expensive in last year due to the impact of the Euribor. But the rise in prices is also having a dent in the rental market, where rents are at historic highs.. The effort to meet the monthly payments in one scenario or another has increased and in many cities and municipalities in the country it far exceeds 35% of the recommended disposable income, with what this means for the affected people..

This is shown by another recent study prepared by Idealista, which reflects how in some places the rate required to pay the rent exceeds 70%, 80% and even 90% of the disposable income.. This is the case of Benahavís, in Málaga, where the registered families should allocate 91% of their income to monthly rent payments.. It is followed by the Ibizan municipalities of Ibiza (87%) and Sant Josep de Sa Talaia (78%); the Alicante Finestrat (77%), Santa Eulalia del Río (76%), in Ibiza, and Estepona, in Málaga, with 75%. They complete the list of the real estate portal Andratx (73%) in Mallorca, and Marbella (72%) also in Malaga. Adeje, in Tenerife, is the only Canarian municipality (71%), which concludes with Calvià, in Mallorca, also with (71%).

Up to five Balearic municipalities are among the 10 that require the most effort, in another example of the serious residential access problem they have on the islands..

If it is about buying a home, Sant Joan de Labritja is the Spanish town in which the effort of local families to purchase a house is greater, reaching 90% of the average income per household in the municipality. They are followed by Andratx (74%) and Formentera (74%), with rates very similar to that of the Malaga municipality of Ojén (73%).. Below are two other Balearic towns: Santa Eulalia del Río (71%) and Eivissa (70%), one from Alicante (Benitachell; 69%) and the Balearic Capdepera (68%) and Cadaqués, in Girona, (67%). .

The study also offers market data that requires more and less effort in each community, both for sale and rent.. The differences in this sense are very marked since the most demanding market for purchasing in the Balearic Islands (Sant Joan de Labritja) has 90%, while the most demanding in La Rioja (Logroño) only has 18%.. The differences with rent are similar: 91% in Benahavís, as the largest in Andalusia, compared to 22% in the largest in Extremadura (Badajoz).

As for the markets with a lower effort rate, the differences are smaller.. For sale Es Migjorn is the Balearic market with the lowest demand (23%), while in Tarragona Flix with only 4%.