Increased competition between international students and young professionals for available housing is being cited by HousingAnywhere as one of the main reasons for the upward trend in rental prices across their major European student destinations this past year.
According to the ‘HousingAnywhere European Rent Index’, which examines data across rented housing in Barcelona, Berlin, Brussels, Madrid, Milan, Rotterdam, and Vienna, all markets saw an upward trend in Q4 2018 for rental prices for single rooms, studios, and one-bedroom apartments alike.
“By developing more accommodation in central city areas, the rising demand can be met”
Madrid was revealed to be the strongest climber over the past year in rental prices – the city saw the rent for a private room climb 7.69% to €500.69, while the rent for a studio increased 6.97% to €759.06 and the rent for a one-bedroom apartment went up 6.27% to €1,072.71.
However, Spain’s capital still remains among the cheapest in Europe for student and young professionals to rent housing.
Meanwhile, popular study abroad city Barcelona saw the rent for a studio increase 6.23% to €830.02, while rent for a one-bedroom apartment went up by 8.7% to €1,139.65.
Milan also remains one of the most expensive city to find housing. Apartment rental went up by 4.37%, studio rental prices went up by 3.31% and private rooms went up by 3.49%.
And reflecting recent reports of a student housing shortage in the Netherlands, Rotterdam saw a significant increase of 8.56% in studio rental prices to €740.16 along with an increase of 7.32% in apartment rental prices to €1,228.40.
By comparison, Vienna showed relatively low rental prices as well as the lowest increase across Europe, experiencing an increase in studio rental prices of 0.41% to €701.55, in apartment prices by 0.68% to €891.95, and in private rooms prices by 0.76% to €451.93.
The reasons cited by the report for the increase in rent include a rising shortage of available rental properties, more competition between international students and young professionals and more premium apartments being offered at higher prices.
Commenting on the findings, CEO of HousingAnywhere, Djordy Seelmann, said it is important that cities take a long-term view of these market developments and act accordingly.
“Although some of the shortfalls will be met by new housing provided by property developers in the coming years, it’s very likely shortages will remain in those destinations that are particularly popular,” he added.
