Spain’s housing crisis deepens

Spain is experiencing a severe housing crisis, with rising rents and a record number of empty homes, despite having one of the highest rates of vacant properties among OECD countries. The National Statistics Institute reported that 14.4% of the country's housing stock was unoccupied in 2023, with many of these homes located in rural areas.

Vacant homes concentrated in rural and urban areas

In smaller communes with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants, nearly half of all vacant homes are found. Even major cities like Barcelona and Madrid have significant numbers of unoccupied properties—75,000 and 97,000 respectively—showing that the issue affects both urban and rural regions.

Historical real estate policies contribute to the crisis

The current housing paradox is partly due to past policies, such as the overproduction of homes in the 2000s and the controlled housing prices during the Franco dictatorship. Between 2000 and 2010, Spain built around 5 million new homes, supported by variable-rate mortgages, which led to a real estate bubble that collapsed in 2008, causing a sharp drop in property prices and a surplus of homes.

Spain has more homes than people

According to the OECD, Spain ranks third in Europe for the number of homes per inhabitant, with about 551 properties for every 1,000 people in 2020. While some rural areas have tried to repurpose vacant homes—such as the village of Arenillas offering free homes and jobs to new residents—challenges remain in more densely populated regions.

Legislative efforts and political consequences

Internationally, cities like Vancouver, Paris, and Marseille have introduced taxes to encourage the use of vacant properties. However, Spain’s recent legislative proposals to help tenants were rejected by Parliament, prompting Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez to call early general elections for November 29 to gain a new mandate.