How The Shared Apartment Market Has Changed In The Last Decade

The location of the supply or the profile of the demand for shared housing has barely changed in the last decade , however, an evolution has been observed with respect to aspects such as the equipment of the rooms or the preferences of those who rent them to a third party. These are some of the conclusions that are drawn from the study by piso.com on the market for rooms for rent since the publication of the first study carried out in 2011.

Madrid and Barcelona continue to be the epicenters of this market. However, while in 2011 Barcelona (12%) was behind the Spanish capital (19%) in volume compared to the total in Spain, today Barcelona (19%) has more apartments for shared rent, although it is very even with Madrid (16%).

“This formula for access to housing will always have the first-line capitals as the main stage. Although in other cities there are high-level universities and reasonable business activity, the largest training and labor catalog is located in Madrid and Barcelona,” he says Ferran Font, director of Estudios de piso.com. The manager adds that “most young people go where opportunities are concentrated.”

In fact, the predominant age group in the demand for this type of housing now and ten years ago is the same: from 18 to 25 years old, although in 2021 (51%) it lost a bit of relevance compared to 2011 (55% ) .

The offer has increased in terms of renting rooms for couples, with 11% being openly in favor of renting a room to them compared to 4% a decade ago. The pet friendly phenomenon has also spread : 10% of the flats accept pets, seven points more than in 2011, according to data from the real estate portal. With which the landlords have closed in band is with the tobacco, since smokers are banned from entering 41% of the homes, a percentage that a decade ago was 18%.

Importance to furniture
Ten years ago it was more common for rooms to lack furniture. In fact, only 53% of the sample analyzed by the portal had it, while now it is 95% . The prominence of exterior rooms has also increased (from 46% to 64%) and suites (from 2% to 14%).

Connected homes have also gained importance, if before half of the flats had Internet, today they are 69% . On the other hand, the fixed telephone in the room has fallen into complete disuse from the 9% reached ten years ago, like the own television that has gone from 37% to 1%.

According to Font, the expansive phenomenon of smartphones and streaming has a lot to do with it: “The weight loss of landlines and television is related to the penetration of mobile devices in Spain and the habits of young people. mobile phone and access to audiovisual content, so while a shared flat with the Internet may be attractive to save megabytes, it is not decisive “.