Spain loses 393,000 rental listings in seven years: what is happening in Andalusia and on the Costa del Sol

Rental supply in Spain has almost halved in seven years: 510,091 long-term rental listings were published in 2025, compared with 902,664 in 2018, according to idealista/data. That is around 393,000 fewer homes (44%). Andalusia is holding up better than average, with a 25% drop, and on the Costa del Sol the shortage shows up mainly in prices.

The figure needs careful reading before drawing conclusions. It does not measure the stock of rented homes, but how many reach the market each year on the country's largest portal, excluding seasonal and room rentals. Fewer listings means fewer options for people looking for a flat, but not necessarily fewer households renting.

How many rental homes has each region lost?

The decline is concentrated in the two big urban markets. Madrid and Catalonia account for more than 260,000 fewer listings, two in every three of the national drop. Andalusia, the most populous region, lost 34,403, a high figure in absolute terms but a moderate one in proportion.

Source: idealista/data, long-term rental listings published over each year. La Rioja is the only region with more supply than in 2018.

In the regional capitals the adjustment is even sharper. Barcelona city went from 113,853 to 19,723 listings (83% fewer) and Madrid city from 202,484 to 84,926 (58% fewer). Valencia city lost almost half, although the province of Alicante gained 4,312 listings and softens the figure for the Valencia region.

What is happening to rental supply in Andalusia and Málaga?

Within Andalusia, Seville takes the hardest hit: the province lost half its supply (from 35,115 to 17,747 listings) and the city 51%. Granada city fell 48%. At the other end, Jaén is one of the few provinces where more rental flats are advertised than seven years ago. The report does not break out figures for the province of Malaga.

What we do know is how prices have reacted. Málaga is now the third most expensive province in Spain to rent, at €18.7/m² a month in August 2026, behind only Madrid and the Balearic Islands, as we showed when we calculated rental yields town by town. Scarce supply against demand that keeps growing, with 24% of searches coming from abroad, explains much of that rise.

Why are there fewer rental flats than in 2018?

The idealista report does not go into the causes, but the period coincides with several changes pushing in the same direction:

• Longer contracts. Since 2019 a residential tenancy runs for a minimum of five years (seven if the landlord is a company), so each flat comes onto the market less often.
• More price regulation. The 2023 Housing Law allows rents to be capped in stressed areas, and Catalonia, where it has been applied most, shows the biggest drop in listings.
• A shift to other formats. Some owners have moved to seasonal or holiday rentals, which the long-term figure does not capture.
• Selling instead of letting. With purchase prices at record highs, many landlords have chosen to sell.
• Little new construction. Spain builds fewer homes than new households need, and that lack of product ends up affecting rentals too.

Andalusia has not declared any stressed areas, and Málaga City Council has chosen to halt new holiday-let licences in the city. For now, this combination keeps more incentives to let long term than in Barcelona or Madrid, and could partly explain why the Andalusian drop is smaller.

Is letting a home on the Costa del Sol still profitable?

For the owner, less competition means letting faster and with less risk of empty months. The limit is the purchase price, which on the Costa del Sol has risen faster than rents. Combining idealista's August rent with the median price per square metre from our October Costa del Sol market report, the estimated gross yield looks like this:

Gross yield = annual rent divided by purchase price, before costs and taxes. Rent: idealista, August 2026. Price: EVS Property Group median asking prices, October 2026.

Estepona and Torremolinos are around 5%, while Fuengirola, with the most expensive square metre in the table after Marbella, stays below 4%. Scarce supply props up rents, but on its own it does not make up for overpaying: choosing the right area and type of home matters more than the national trend.

Conclusion

Spain now advertises almost half as many long-term rental flats as in 2018, and the adjustment is far harsher in Madrid and Barcelona than in Andalusia. On the Costa del Sol the lack of supply translates into high rents and quick lettings, good news for owners as long as the purchase price leaves some margin. If you are thinking of buying to let or want to know how much your home could earn, at EVS Property Group we work it out with you using real data for each area.

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