The Catalan capital saw 34 million tourists visit in 2016, a 25% jump from 2012. This has led to anger from locals, with anti-tourist graffiti emerging across the city.
Protesters even stormed the beach at Barceloneta in August 2017, decrying rowdy behavior as well as those using the sand to sleep off a night on the sangria.
Residents say services like Airbnb have sent rents soaring, forcing them from their homes. However the city's government has passed a law to limit tourist beds in a bid to tackle the problem.
If you must go then...
Remember there's more to Barcelona than walking along Las Ramblas.
Alternatively...
Why not head to Valencia for a less hectic break, with food and culture to rival the best of Barcelona.
Well, I'd say there are two main factors regarding tourism difficulties in Barcelona:
1st: Rental and purchase price increases as you said, somekind related to the Airbnb rise in the city. (check http://www.dwarshuis.com/various/airbnb/barcelona/ and https://translate.google.es/translate?sl=ca&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=es&ie=UTF-8&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ara.cat%2Feconomia%2Fpreu-dels-pisos-dispara_0_1714628570.html&edit-text=&act=url)
2nd: Some people asks for a more cooresponsive and integrated tourism by reducing the access of cheap tourism in the city and searching for formulas to stimulate a tourism interested in the people and culture of Barcelona.
Anyway Valencia is also beautiful and its people is wonderful too. :)