These three municipalities in the Vallès and Barcelonès regions topped the portal's ranking with data from the second quarter of this year. The main conclusion is that Barcelona's extremely high prices have inevitably caused housing searches to shift towards the surrounding cities.
The ranking does not analyze municipalities with the highest prices but rather the relative demand in the rental market. Terrassa leads the classification with a price of 12 euros per square meter, almost half of Barcelona's 23 euros. L'Hospitalet de Llobregat ranks second with intermediate prices, while Sabadell, with good transport links, is third with prices similar to Terrassa's (12.4 euros per square meter).
Badalona ranks as the seventh city with the most demand in Spain, following Getafe (4th), Vitoria (5th), and Alcalá de Henares (6th). Rounding out the top 10 are Lleida (8th), Pamplona (9th), and Barcelona itself (10th), which despite its high prices, maintains significant demand.
Renting in Sabadell costs an average of 12.4 euros per square meter per month. This translates to approximately 1,240 euros monthly for a 100-square-meter apartment, 620 euros for a 50-square-meter one, and 930 euros for a 75-square-meter unit. These prices are lower than L'Hospitalet's 17.7 euros per meter and significantly less than Barcelona's 23 euros.
According to the report, municipalities well-connected by commuter rail (Rodalies) and FGC have become the only viable alternative for those who cannot afford the prohibitive prices of the city. This situation is creating a "real estate domino effect," where pressure pushed out of Barcelona inevitably spills over to the outer rings.
A current search on Idealista shows 29 rental properties in Sabadell, with prices ranging from 865 euros per month for a 50-square-meter apartment on Carrer dels Sentmenat to 7,000 euros for a well-known modernist tower of 500 square meters in the city center.
The demand pressure is also extending to municipalities near these second-ring cities, such as Castellar, Sentmenat, or Palau-Solità i Plegamans, where many Sabadell residents are seeking housing at lower prices.
