Many people associate student days as living in cramped halls with shared bathrooms and kitchens, or renting a run-down house with a large group.
In Spain meanwhile, around half continue to live at home with their parents.
But for wealthy international students coming to Spain from outside of the EU it’s often a different story, as their privileged position allows them to afford, not only higher international fees, but also accommodation at exorbitant prices.
Luxury real estate agency Engel & Völkers recently reported that their luxury properties are snapped up by international students within a few “hours”, particularly in the capital of Madrid, mainly in the upmarket districts of Salamanca, Chamberí, Chamartín and Centro, as well as the Malasaña-Universidad and Barrio de Las Letras.
Advertisement
Madrid already has some of the highest rents in Spain. A quality studio there costs €2,500 per month, but there are other properties that exceed five figures. These prices are in part driven by international students who have very generous budgets, and according to real estate agents some rents even exceed €10,000 per month.
“Generally, these amounts are paid for homes that offer services similar to those of a hotel. They have terraces and are in privileged areas,” explains Alvise da Mosto, managing director & partner of real estate giant Barnes in Spain.
He claims that most of the wealthy students come from Latin America, from countries like Venezuela, Colombia or Mexico and that many pay between €5,000 and €6,000 per month in rent to share with only one or two people.
Juan Uribe, director of rentals from Engel & Völkers Madrid says that many students even sign contracts without ever visiting the property.
Uribe argues that “foreign students know that landlords are more wary because they’re young, compared to middle-aged families or professionals, so they put in an offer quickly and are often backed by the solid solvency of their parents”.
Data from Spain’s National Statistics Institute (INE) showed that nicer properties in wealthier areas of Madrid were much more likely to be occupied by students, than in poorer ones like Vallecas.
In these high-class neighbourhoods, the prime tenants are either professionals with high positions or students. Most are aged between 19 and 55 years and are from Latin America, the US, Italy, France and the UK.
Experts believe this phenomenon is on the up due to Madrid’s rise as a global city and the proliferation of international private universities there, as the nomadic elite hop between cities and countries to to study or work temporarily, thus looking for housing in line with their purchasing power.
But it’s not just in the Spanish capital where this is happening. In Segovia (90km from Madrid), the 2,400 students at the private IE Business School branch are paying about €25,000 per year in tuition fees. Approximately 95 percent of them come from Latin America, Africa and Arab countries.
“Sheikhs rent out entire hotel floors for their children” and these elite students “don’t mix with public university students or locals”, Spanish newspaper El Periódico de España wrote in an article from June 2024, stating that Segovia “is living in a Matrix, in which two parallel worlds co-exist but rarely mix”, “the epitome of real estate speculation”.
“In the last seven years, the price of rent in Segovia has doubled. The average price per room is now €800 per month,” says Javier Rojas from Ideal House, a real estate agency that manages several rooms in apartments dedicated to renting out to international students.
“For a three-bedroom apartment it’s around €2,400. They’re Madrid prices,” he explains. He claims that it’s often the most expensive places that are snapped up first.
Advertisement
According to data from Brains Real Estate’s real estate ‘big data’ platform, rental prices there have shot up by almost 93 percent since 2015.
International students have not yet had the finger pointed at them for causing soaring rental prices for locals, as have digital nomads, wealthy foreign property buyers and tourists.
The main difference is that these non-EU students tend to be very wealthy, so they’re generally not competing for properties with other students or even average working Spaniards, they’re snapping the top luxury properties in areas that are already considered rich.
But as seen from the case in Segovia they may still be contributing to rising rental prices.
Advertisement
Spain is currently undergoing a severe housing crisis, with many unable to afford their own place to rent or buy.
Data shows that more than 60 percent of 18 to 34 year-olds still live at home, one of the highest percentages in the EU.
According to the Bank of Spain, the rate of homelessness has also risen by 24 percent since 2012 to 28,000 people.
El Banco de España also report that 45 percent of people living in rented accommodation are at risk of poverty, the highest proportion in Europe.
Whether wealthy foreign students are truly having a negative impact on regular property prices and rents for locals is debatable, but it certainly illustrates a very different reality than that of most of their counterparts in the same situation.
READ ALSO: ‘The Hunger Games’ – Two million university students in Spain fight to find a room
