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Diari de Catalunya

Buying a Home Requires 7.5 Years of Salary, Double the 1980s Figure

Housing prices have tripled in recent decades, far outstripping salary increases in Spain.

Generic image of euro coins and a small house, symbolizing housing costs.
IA

Generic image of euro coins and a small house, symbolizing housing costs.

Purchasing a home in Spain in 2025 requires an average of 7.5 years of full salary, a figure that doubles the requirement in 1987 and has sparked a debate on youth emancipation.

Homeownership has become significantly more challenging in Spain, with an average of 7.5 years of full salary needed to acquire a property in 2025. This figure contrasts sharply with the less than three years required in 1987, highlighting a considerable increase in housing accessibility difficulties.
According to the Bank of Spain, while the age of emancipation for young Spaniards has remained stable between 28 and 30 over the past two decades, the annual salaries needed to buy a house have soared. This trend has forced many young people into the rental market.
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"The impossibility of accessing affordable housing delays the age of emancipation, which in Spain is already well above the European average. This has ripple effects: it hinders household formation, conditions decisions – such as having children or developing an autonomous life project – and generates prolonged dependence on the family environment."

Javier Muñoz · Head of the Socioeconomic Area of the Spanish Youth Council
The situation varies considerably by region. While in Extremadura, housing is the most affordable in the country, with an average cost of 55,700 euros for an 80-square-meter apartment, in regions like Madrid or Catalonia, the same property can cost up to 400% more, despite salaries only being 36% higher. This disparity is even more pronounced in tourist areas such as the Balearic Islands or the Canary Islands.
Although the salary-to-housing ratio is now higher, current banking regulations limit mortgage payments to one-third of income, which was not the case in previous decades. This means that while buyers from older generations (Generation X or baby boomers) could allocate a much higher percentage of their salary to a mortgage (up to 72% in 1991), they had greater borrowing power that is no longer permitted today.
The Barcelona Metropolitan Housing Observatory noted in the last quarter of last year that the main obstacle to homeownership is the inability to cover the initial costs associated with a mortgage down payment, affecting 36.4% of rental applicants. This reality has contributed to the formation of a 'generation of tenants,' with only 30% of those under 30 owning a home, compared to nearly 48% in 2004.

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