Mataró: the Maresme's main town for living and long-term renting

Mataró is the capital of the comarca (county) of Maresme and the largest town on the coast north of Barcelona: 131,370 residents in 2025 (Idescat). The average rent on new contracts here was 812 € a month in January–March 2026, against 1,137 € in Barcelona (Generalitat, Incasòl deposits). It is a market for permanent housing, not for holiday homes.

How Mataró differs from the resort towns of Maresme

People live in Mataró all year round. In the 2021 census, 90.8% of homes were main residences against 80.6% for Maresme as a whole, and 23.9% of main residences were rented against 21.2% for the comarca. Density is 5,830.9 people per km², almost five times the Maresme average.

Incomes, however, are lower than in the neighbouring towns: disposable household income per resident in 2023 was 18,465 €, which is 88.8% of the Catalan average, while Maresme as a whole stands at 100.6% (per EMEX). For a landlord this means demand from local families on a moderate budget, not from newcomers with high spending power.

The link to Barcelona is the R1: the L'Hospitalet – Mataró section runs through Plaça Catalunya and Sants, with a train every 6 minutes at peak and every 10 off-peak (Rodalies, R1). Mataró is the end of this frequent section: further north, as far as Calella, the train runs every 15 minutes at peak and every 30 off-peak.

What buying and renting cost in Mataró

The average appraisal value of housing according to Tinsa is 2,507 €/m² in the third quarter of 2026, up 10.25% over the year (Tinsa). Rents rose more slowly: the average rent on new contracts in the first quarter of 2026 was 812 € against 767 € a year earlier, about 6%.

The spread within the city is wide. The Generalitat publishes figures by neighbourhood once a year, the latest for 2024 (Incasòl, cities over 100,000 inhabitants).

The Cerdanyola neighbourhood in Mataró should not be confused with the town of Cerdanyola del Vallès. Between the most expensive and the cheapest neighbourhood in the table the difference per metre is about 45%, so the city average says little about a specific flat.

How to run the numbers on a flat for a long-term let

Worked example, not a forecast. A 75 m² flat at the average Tinsa appraisal costs about 188,000 €. If it is let at the city average rent of 812 € a month, the annual income is 9,744 €, and the gross yield is around 5.2% before tax, IBI (the annual property tax), comunidad fees (the owners' community charges), repairs and vacancy. In Rocafonda the same flat at the 2024 rate would earn noticeably less, in Eixample more; neighbourhood rents that are two years old are checked against recent contracts.

Two rules constrain this calculation. Mataró is in a zona de mercado residencial tensionado (a stressed residential market zone) under resolution TER/800/2024: the new rent may not exceed the last rent under the contract for that flat over the past five years, with indexation (art. 17.6 of the Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos, the Urban Leases Act). From 15 November 2026, Real Decreto-ley 28/2026 (BOE) extends a main-residence lease, after five (seven) years, by another five (seven), and the owner's refusal, except in cases set out in the law, requires compensation to the tenant. Congress has not yet validated the decree. Net yield after costs is easier to work out using the method in the article on net rental yield or in the calculator.

What to check in a specific neighbourhood

In Mataró the check is tied to the address, not to the city.

1. The distance to the R1 tracks. The line runs along the sea, and in buildings on the seafront you can hear the trains; they come in the evening and early in the morning.
2. The flood zone of the nearest riera (seasonal watercourse) on the Generalitat and municipal maps. Why this matters on the coast is covered in the article on Maresme and Garraf for the investor.
3. The flat's rental history over five years: the permitted rent depends on the last contract.
4. Damp and the facade: by the sea corrosion and mould appear sooner.
5. The lift and the age of the building, especially in the historic centre.
6. The rent in the neighbourhood from recent contracts, not the city average.

When Mataró is not the right fit

The city does not suit a buyer looking for a resort format and a second home by the sea: Mataró is a working city with dense development, and the quiet villages of Maresme offer a different way of life, see a house by the sea near Barcelona. Nor does it suit an investor counting on rapid rent growth: in a stressed market zone the rent is tied to the flat's history, and local tenants' incomes are below the regional average.