The percentage of household income needed to access a rental property stands at 38% of all income net of an average family in Spain, while in the case of purchase that rate is significantly lower: 26% without taking into account the savings needed to access financing, according to a study published by idealista based on data from the fourth quarter of 2025In the case of the province of Las Palmas formed by Lanzarote, Gran Canaria and Fuerteventura, 27% of family income is needed for the mortgage, while 38% is needed to rent a homeThe lack of supply and the consequent increase in prices is the cause of the effort to buy or rent being situated in such high environments, exceeding the limits recommended by experts in the case of renting
The province of Málaga is the one that demands the greatest effort to rent a home for locals, as it reaches 52% of family income.
Balearics (with 46% of income) follow, Barcelona (42%), Santa Cruz de Tenerife (40%), Community of Madrid (38%), Las Palmas (38%), Valencia (37%) and Alicante (37%). Teruel (17%) is the one that demands the least effort, followed by Jaén (20%), Palencia, Ciudad Real, Soria, Lugo and León (which share an effort rate of 21%)
Regarding buying, the provinces of Balearic Islands (46%) and Malaga (46%) are the ones that demand the greatest effort.
They are followed by Santa Cruz de Tenerife (36%), Alicante (31%), Community of Madrid (27%) and Las Palmas (27%). In the province of Barcelona it is located at 20%. With a rate of 10% is Ciudad Real, followed by Jaén, Burgos, Zamora and Cuenca (11% in all 4 cases).
The effort rate measures the weight of housing on the household's purchasing power. In particular, in the case of rent, from idealista/data we measure the effort rate as the annual net income share of the household that is allocated to paying the rent for a typical two-bedroom home. The rental values come directly from the idealista data source