That living in the same neighborhood in Madrid, from one year to the next, is almost 20% more expensive. This is the devastating conclusion reached by the report Rental Housing in Spain in 2025, based on the Fotocasa Real Estate Index, and the reality faced by the residents of Sanchinarro (Hortaleza), who have seen rental prices in their neighborhood skyrocket.
Specifically, the annual increase in this Madrid neighborhood over the last year has been 19.9% between December 2024 and December 2025. Ensanche de Vallecas-La Gavia (Villa de Vallecas) follows with a difference of just over 8 points (11.6%), and in third place is Niño Jesús, in Retiro, where the average rent has skyrocketed by 9.8%.
The report’s data also reveals that the rise in prices has affected 54% of Madrid’s neighborhoods, with two in Chamberí topping the list of the most expensive: Trafalgar, with an average price of €25.40/m² per month, and Almagro, with an average price of €25.17/m² per month.
Why have rents risen so much in Sanchinarro?
Image courtesy of: Jumbero / Wikimedia Commons
One of the reasons for the surge in rents in this neighborhood of Hortaleza has to do with the sale to the Nestar investment fund (formerly Lazora) of what was the Sanchinarro X development— public housing apartments originally intended for sustainable rental—which are now being offered at market prices: the range varies between €1,300 and €2,100 per month, according to Idealista.
The controversial operation—about which Fernando Peinado provides more details in this report in El País—was completed in 2010, with Gallardón as mayor of Madrid, but that real estate earthquake still has repercussions today, such as the almost total expulsion of its original residents.
Other reasons that have contributed to the rise are the imbalance between supply and demand, the exclusivity of the area, and the influence of rising prices in the Madrid real estate market, which affects peripheral neighborhoods considered to be “high-end,” such as this one, and leads to rising prices.
Neighborhoods in Madrid where rents have risen the most in the last year
- Sanchinarro (Hortaleza): 19.9%
- Ensanche de Vallecas-La Gavia (Villa de Vallecas): 11.6%
- Niño Jesús (Retiro): 9.8%
- Acacias: 9.5%
- Nueva España: 9.2%
- Imperial: 9.1%
The cheapest neighborhoods in Madrid (and where rents have risen the least)
At the other end of the scale, the Madrid neighborhood where rents have not only not risen but have fallen by 18% is La Paz (Fuencarral – El Pardo). As for the cheapest neighborhood in the capital to rent, you have to go to the Latina district: Aluche, with an average rental price of €17.33/m² per month.
The data for Aluche is striking considering that, in absolute terms by autonomous community,the average rental price in Madrid is €20.33/m² per month. Even so, it is above the national average, which is €14.21/m² per month.
The consequences of gentrification
This rise in prices also has consequences for the very configuration of the city and its commercial, social, and cultural fabric. One of the most recent examples of this is the closure of the Tipos Infames bookstore in Malasaña, after 15 years in business, due to its inability to cope with the rise in prices in the neighborhood as a result of gentrification, as explained on its social media accounts.
This is precisely the focus of Más Madrid’s latest campaign, Te están robando Madrid(They are stealing Madrid from you), launched just a few days ago. This message has been displayed on some buildings in the capital as a protest against real estate speculation and vulture funds.