Renting a home in the city of Alicante now takes 38% of an average household's net income, while buying one takes 27%. The figures come from idealista's affordability study published on 18 August 2026, based on second-quarter data — and the 11-point gap between the two is the part worth reading twice.
Across Spain the same study puts the rental effort at 39% of net household income against 29% for purchase, a gap of 10 points. Nine provincial capitals are now above the 30% line that housing economists treat as the reasonable ceiling for rent. Alicante is one of them, level with Madrid and behind only Palma (45%), Málaga (40%) and Valencia (39%).
What the effort rate measures: the share of a household's annual net income absorbed by housing — rent for a typical two-bedroom apartment, or the mortgage payment on a purchase at current rates. Income comes from INE household statistics, rents and prices from idealista listings, and mortgage costs are updated with ECB rate data. The purchase figure covers the monthly loan only: it excludes the down payment and the 10–13% in taxes and fees a Spanish purchase carries.
How the capitals compare
The ranking below is the rental side of the study — the share of net household income a two-bedroom rental absorbs in each capital.
| Capital | Rent, % of net income |
|---|---|
| Palma | 45% |
| Málaga | 40% |
| Valencia | 39% |
| Madrid | 38% |
| Alicante | 38% |
| Barcelona | 34% |
| Segovia | 34% |
| Santa Cruz de Tenerife | 31% |
| Las Palmas de Gran Canaria | 31% |
| Sevilla | 30% |
| Bilbao | 30% |
| Ciudad Real / Teruel (lowest) | 19% |
On the purchase side only five capitals pass 30%: Palma (48%), Madrid (39%), San Sebastián (36%), Málaga (35%) and Barcelona (32%). Alicante, at 27%, is not among them. Province-wide the pattern repeats — renting absorbs 37% of income in Alicante province, against 58% in Málaga province and 48% in the Balearics.
The comparison that matters: nothing here got cheaper. In idealista's previous edition, published in June on first-quarter data, the national rental effort was 35% and the purchase effort 25%. Both climbed four points in a single quarter. What survived the move is the gap — renting still costs about ten points more of a household's income than owning the same kind of home.
Why the gap is widest on the coast
The mechanism behind these numbers is the one we covered when BBVA rewrote its 2026 forecast: Spain is not building at the pace its households form. BBVA expects 153,000 housing starts in a year when 223,000 new households appear, and puts the accumulated shortfall at roughly 885,000 homes by 2027. A shortage of homes shows up in rents before it shows up in anything else, because a tenant cannot postpone the way a buyer can.
On the Costa Blanca a second force pushes the same way. Holiday demand competes for the same stock: rentals on the Alicante coast ran at 92.2% occupancy this August, the highest share on mainland Spain's coast. Where a landlord can let by the week in summer, long-term supply thins and the annual rent that remains is priced accordingly.
Where this number stops being useful
Three limits, and they matter before anyone quotes the 27% as a reason to buy tomorrow.
First, the purchase figure is a mortgage payment, not the cost of buying. It assumes the deposit is already in the bank and ignores the 10–13% in transfer tax, notary, registry and legal fees that a Spanish purchase adds on top of the price. Our breakdown of buying costs sets out what that means in euros.
Second, the mortgage side is not standing still. The 12-month Euribor closed July at 2.855%, its second monthly rise, and daily quotes through mid-August have been running near 2.9%. The official August average lands on 1 September, and the ECB — which held its rate at 2.25% on 23 July — does not meet again until September. Every month the index drifts up, the purchase effort rises with it.
Third, these are city and province averages built from asking rents and asking prices. Alicante city is not Villajoyosa, and neither is Torrevieja. The number describes pressure across a market, not the cost of a specific home.
What this means for the private buyer
1. Renting while you decide has a measurable price
For a buyer who plans to be on this coast for years, the study puts a figure on the waiting room: renting the same kind of home costs about eleven points more of annual income in Alicante than owning it does. That is the cost of a decision deferred, and it does not depend on any forecast about prices.
2. Financing is the variable to arrange, not to wait for
The old plan — wait for cheaper money — has expired for now. With the Euribor drifting up rather than down, the useful move is to know what a Spanish bank will actually lend you and on what terms before you shortlist homes. Our mortgage guide for foreign buyers covers current loan-to-value limits and rates for non-residents.
3. If you are buying to let, the rent side of this data is the opportunity — with a licence caveat
Rents rising faster than incomes is the reason long-term letting on the Costa Blanca still pencils out. But short-term letting is now a licensing question, not a marketing one: Málaga has frozen new tourist licences for three years, and other councils are tightening. Read how letting works in practice before you count on holiday income, and check our note on where licences are still available on the Costa del Sol.
Outlook
Two dates to watch. The official 12-month Euribor average for August publishes on 1 September, and the ECB meets again the same month — those set the purchase side of this ratio. idealista's next affordability edition, on third-quarter data, is due in November, and it will show whether the summer's rental pressure eased once the holiday season ended. On the supply side nothing changes quickly: the shortfall BBVA describes takes years, not quarters, to work through.
For a buyer on the Costa Blanca the practical reading is narrow but firm. The affordability numbers say that in this province, at today's rents and today's rates, owning the home you live in costs less of your income than renting it — and that the two lines are moving in the same direction, not converging. What the numbers do not do is choose the home. That still comes down to which of the projects available now fits your budget and your timeline.
