The presence of in cities clearly influences the increase in the price of long-term rentals. , but until now there are few works carried out in this regard that demonstrate it based on a detailed analysis. That is why a study promoted by the University of Malaga, in collaboration with two research institutes, is relevant, which reflects in its first conclusions that in areas where there are many holiday apartments, rental prices grow 33% more than if these accommodations did not exist. . The document highlights how these properties have become another “manifestation of the commodifying capacity of capitalism” and highlights the need for “regulatory mechanisms in the short term.”
The work was presented a few days ago at a conference held at the Faculty of Law directed by Professor Manuel Moreno Linde based on the research project The impact of housing for tourist purposes in the Province of Malaga: analysis and proposals from Public Law. Researchers have collected information from mapping services, various databases and price variables in a period between 2016 and 2023.
All based on four main locations. , cities where the number of holiday apartments is high, their growth in recent years has been rapid and the symptoms of touristification are many. On the other, Jaén and Teruel, where the weight of all these tourist factors is much less. Interviews were also carried out with residents of the historic center of the capital of Malaga, the main focus area, between November 2023 and February 2024. Based on all this, .
The main one is that when neighborhoods have more than 10% of their housing stock dedicated to tourism, long-term rental prices suffer a considerable increase. The study highlights that in Malaga this increase has been 31% and in Seville, 33%. And, although in Jaén and Teruel there are no areas with so much tourist pressure, if there were, prices would grow by 44% and 46% respectively, according to calculated estimates.
“and that not only tourism influences; In fact, it would not automatically decrease if all tourist homes disappeared. But this study does demonstrate the great relationship between its presence and the increase in income,” says Enrique Navarro, director of the Malaga headquarters of the Andalusian Institute for Research and Innovation in Tourism (IATUR) which, together with the Research Institute Legal Department in Government and Territory (I-INGOT) has been in charge of carrying out the study.
“Worrying” situation
The clearest example is in the Malaga neighborhood of La Merced: there the cost per square meter has gone from 8.8 euros in 2016, when the area only had 5% of tourist apartments, to 18 euros in 2024. , year in which it exceeds 40%. More than double. In exchange, the price in those eight years has gone from 10.4 to 11.4 euros in places like Ciudad Jardín or Parque del Sur, where there are barely 0.6% of tourist homes.
The situation “is worrying for urban destinations with high tourist intensity such as Malaga and Seville,” the study concedes, which understands that this will “increase social protests.” It is no coincidence that both Andalusian cities are those with the largest number of people who have gathered in their streets to demand access to housing and denounce the consequences of mass tourism, such as the expulsion of residents from their neighborhoods. For these reasons,
“We can affirm that there is a significant spatial correlation between the rental price and the concentration of tourist housing in Malaga,” the study insists, which points out that the impact is very significant, and that it is even more so Now, at least, . First, limiting the new licenses to those apartments that have an independent entrance and, second, just those that exceed 8% of tourist homes compared to their total housing stock.
To find out what they were, the municipality commissioned an analysis of the situation, which also concluded that where there are more tourist apartments, there are also higher rents and more expulsion of neighbors, in addition to a lower quality of life for those who stay for reasons such as noise or the disappearance of traditional commerce. .
In the same conference held at the Faculty of Law, Fátima Santos, IATUR researcher, showed data that reflected how all the indicators related to tourism—from the number of tourists to overnight stays or accommodation places—have not stopped growing. since the pandemic in the city of Malaga.
with the growth of all types of businesses related to the sector, “an expansion that no longer only affects the center, but has also spread to the surrounding neighborhoods,” said Santos, where it is expanding like an oil spill, just as it happens with the tourist flats. “; Its exclusive consideration as a market good, at the expense of everything else, is a questionable choice that is beginning to be contested by society,” the study concludes.
Prices at “historic highs” in Malaga
The latest figures of Idealistic reflect that the price of the. Thus, the average price per square meter is 3,215 euros, more than double that of a decade ago, when it was 1,535 euros. Rent is also higher than ever. Today the square meter costs 15 euros on average, an amount that is 12.5% more than a year ago and doubles that of 10 years ago, when it reached 6.8 euros, according to data from the real estate portal.
