Earlier today, Tuesday, we heard the Balearic government talking of a ban on holiday lets and a crackdown on more hotel beds as part of its attempt to curb and control tourism in the face of critics that claim the government has done nothing to combat tourist overcrowding.
And now, it has been revealed that the supply of seasonal rentals in Palma has soared by 23% in the first quarter compared with last year, whilst permanent rentals have risen by 3%, according to data published on Tuesday by the property portal idealista. Granted, we’re not talking about illegal short-stay holiday lets but the seasonal rentals are not helping to ease the problem for people trying to find permanent affordable housing in Palma, especially those looking for work.
According to the portal’s data, all markets that have been declared under pressure and are implementing price controls have seen the supply of properties available for permanent rental in the first quarter of this year continue to fall compared to that recorded in the same period of 2025. Across the country as a whole, seasonal rentals continue to increase their share of the property market at the expense of permanent tenancies.
By the end of the first quarter of 2026, the share of this type of rental (excluding tourist rentals) had reached 27% of the market, with a year-on-year increase in supply of 22%, whilst the supply of permanent rentals fell by 3% over the same period. The sharpest decline among these markets was in Pamplona (-39%), followed by A Coruña (-33%), San Sebastián (-28%), Bilbao (-21%), Tarragona (-15%), Lleida (-12%), Barcelona (-9%) and Vitoria (-4%). The only exception among these markets is Girona, where supply has increased by 9%.
In the other provincial capitals, the sharpest decline after Pamplona was in Melilla (-36%), with falls of over 20% also recorded in Huelva (-33%), Ceuta (-31%), Huesca (-31%) and Soria (-26%). Among the other major markets not classified as under pressure, Alicante recorded the largest fall (-8%), followed by Seville (-6%), Valencia (-4%) and Málaga (-2%). In the city of Madrid, supply remained stable, whilst in Palma it increased by 3%.
In total, there were 17 provincial capitals where available supply grew over the past year. The largest increase in the country was recorded in Lugo, with a rise of 30%, and Cáceres, where growth stood at 26%. Among the major markets considered to be under pressure, the largest increase in seasonal supply has been in A Coruña, which has 188% more seasonal rentals than a year ago, followed by Pamplona (78%), San Sebastián (67%), Vitoria (55%), Bilbao (41%), Lleida (20%) and Girona (13%).
Following the passing of the regional law in Catalonia, the supply of short-term rentals in Tarragona has fallen by 16%, whilst in Barcelona the drop has reached 29%. The largest and most dramatic increases in this type of supply have occurred in small markets where this phenomenon was, until recently, practically non-existent. This is the case in Cáceres (221%), Lugo (209%), Ceuta (160%), Guadalajara (150%) and Badajoz (118%).
Despite the new regional legislation, Barcelona remains the city with the highest proportion of seasonal rentals, accounting for 55% of the supply in this category (down from 64% last quarter). It is followed by San Sebastián (49%), Bilbao (44%), Cádiz (44%), Girona (41%) and Pamplona (41%). Among the other major markets, Valencia has the highest proportion (31%), followed by Málaga, Madrid and Seville (28% in all three cases), Palma (25%) and Alicante (22%). Conversely, in less dynamic areas, this seasonal category is practically non-existent. These are the cities of Guadalajara (4%), Ourense (5%), Palencia (5%), Melilla and Valladolid (6% in both cases).