Ten districts in the city have exhibited the greatest increase in housing costs thus far. For example, the cost in Eixample rose to 987.61 euros per month, an increase of 11.5 %; Ciutat Vella rose to 815.27 euros and by 13.9 %; and Sarrià-Sant Gervasi increased to 1226.81 euros and by 9.0 %. Some people speculate that the increase in prices on the housing market, among such major reasons as tourism, has been precipitated by the unstable political situation.
The price inflation tendency reached its greatest climax so far in the third trimester of 2016, when in a short period of time the prices for rental housing in Barcelona sky-rocketed from 774 euros on average per month to 826 euros. By the end of the year, this index already had reached 843 euros.
Nevertheless, the increase in prices did not affect the number of rental contracts signed. In the first part of 2016, 23,240 rental agreements were registered, or 3,000 agreements more than were documented during the beginning months of 2016. It is expected that in 2017, the historical record established in 2013 will have been exceeded (when almost 45,000 housing rental agreements were signed).