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SearchIdealista counted 510,091 long-term rental listings in 2025, compared with 902,664 in 2018. Madrid and Catalonia recorded the largest absolute declines, although the drop varied across territories.
The advertised supply of long-term rentals in Spain fell by 44% between 2018 and 2025, according to Idealista data cited in news coverage. The platform counted 510,091 listings last year, compared with 902,664 in 2018—a difference of nearly 393,000 listings.
The figure describes long-term rental listings published on the platform, not a complete count of all homes rented or available in the country. Nor does it, on its own, show what happened to each property that stopped appearing in that supply.
The fall extended to 41 of the 50 provinces, but was particularly sharp in some of the largest markets. The Community of Madrid lost 137,411 listings between 2018 and 2025, falling from 252,442 to 115,031. Catalonia recorded the next-largest absolute reduction: 124,582 fewer listings, bringing the total to 50,412.
At the provincial level, Madrid and Barcelona led the declines, with 137,411 and 116,151 fewer listings, respectively. Supply also fell in Valencia (down 20,118) and Seville (down 17,368). By contrast, Alicante added 4,312 listings compared with 2018, the largest increase among the provinces cited in the data.
Figures for the provincial capitals show steep declines in Madrid and Barcelona. The Spanish capital fell from 202,484 listings to 84,926, while Barcelona dropped from 113,853 to 19,723. By contrast, the capitals where supply increased included Jaén, with 488 more listings, and Castellón de la Plana, with 328 more.
Some news coverage attributes part of the decline to regulation of habitual rentals and to property owners having shifted homes to options such as seasonal or room rentals, or put them up for sale. These explanations are presented as interpretations by industry sources: the Idealista listings series alone does not establish the causes of the decline or measure how many homes changed rental category.
The distinction matters for businesses, investors and planning officials: a decline in long-term rental listings indicates a contraction in the supply visible in that category and on that platform, but it does not necessarily mean an equivalent reduction in the total housing stock. The available data also do not support the conclusion that the trend was uniform: La Rioja was the only autonomous community cited with an increase, of 282 listings, while several provinces and capitals recorded increases.
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