I've been comparing prices of apartment rentals in various cities around Europe, and it seems like prices have been dramatically on the rise in Barcelona. Is this a recent change? When I spent a month in Barcelona in June 2015, it was so cheap!! Granted, I stayed in a tiny apartment in the Born on the top floor with no elevator and no air-conditioning. But when I put in a basic search on Airbnb for apartments in the Ciutat Vella I can't find anything even close to the prices I saw two years ago. Airbnb now lists an average price per night in Barcelona as $188 for the first week of June. London during the same week is listed as $174/night on average. Can Barcelona really be more expensive now than London (I realize those are average prices and don't reflect the entire inventory)?
I was wondering if this seeming increase in prices was due to the stronger crackdown on vacation rentals in Barcelona? Have other people noticed this change in rental rates in Barcelona?