The report emphasizes that the main problem is not overheating of lending, but a chronic shortage of supply. The cumulative gap between the creation of new households and the commissioning of housing for the period 2021-2025 is estimated at 750,000 units. About 240,000 new households are formed in Spain every year, while only 92,000 houses are being built. Half of this deficit is concentrated in six provinces - Madrid, Barcelona, Alicante, Valencia, Murcia and Malaga.
Housing prices continue to rise. Adjusted for inflation, they increased by 9.7% in 2025, but remained, according to data for the 1st quarter of 2026, by 12.2% below the peak level of 2007, reached before the large-scale crisis. According to the National Institute of Statistics, prices increased by 12.9% year-on-year in the 1st quarter of 2026. This creates an acute accessibility problem, especially for young people and foreigners in large cities.
The volume of housing purchase and sale transactions in 2025 exceeded 750,000, which is close to the record figures of 2008. However, in per capita terms, this level is lower due to the significant immigration influx in recent years. At the same time, the share of mortgage-financed purchases was 52% lower than during the boom period. The volume of new mortgage loans increased by 27.5% in 2025, driven by a reduction in interest rates of about 150 basis points since the end of 2023. About 80% of new loans are issued at a fixed rate. The Bank of Spain has called on the central government, regional and municipal authorities to take coordinated action to increase housing supply. Among the recommended measures are the development of industrial housing construction, the expansion of the public housing stock and the restriction of the use of housing for tourist purposes. The regulator stressed that, unlike the 2008 cycle, there are no macroeconomic imbalances today, which makes it possible to avoid a repeat of the systemic crisis.Source: Global Banking & Finance
