Thinking about owning a home in Spain, moving with your family or planning a long retirement on the Costa del Sol? One of the first things many foreigners notice is how many Spanish households own the flat or house they live in – even when salaries seem modest.
The latest Encuesta Financiera de las Familias (EFF) from the Banco de España gives a clear, data‑based picture of how homeownership is changing.
Is owning a home in Spain still the norm?
According to the EFF, 70.6% of households own their main residence. This is down from 72.1% in the 2022 edition.
Back in 2011, 89.4% of households owned some kind of real asset, which includes property and business assets. That share has been drifting down ever since.
For foreign buyers used to very rental‑heavy cities, this is still a high homeownership rate, but the direction of travel matters.
Who owns their home – and who is being squeezed?
Homeownership rises sharply with age
Homeownership in Spain follows a strong age pattern. The older the household, the more likely it is to own the home it lives in.
- Among households where the main respondent is 65 or over, more than 80% own their main residence.
- In the group over 74, the ownership rate is 83.4%.
Many older Spaniards bought years ago, often when prices were lower relative to incomes and credit was expanding. For younger foreign households, this can be striking: Spanish retirees are often “house‑rich” in a way that many pensioners elsewhere are not.
The middle‑aged squeeze
The most noticeable declines in homeownership between 2022 and 2024 show up not at the bottom or very top, but among mid‑career and upper‑middle‑income households.
Homeownership fell by 5.9 percentage points among households in the 80–90% income bracket. This means many households in their late 30s and early 40s – in theory, the prime home‑buying age – are now less likely to own than they were just two years earlier.
Young buyers are back: under‑35s buck the trend
Amid the general picture of falling ownership, one finding stands out: the youngest households are actually more likely to own than they were in 2022.
The homeownership rate among households headed by someone under 35 rose by 4.8 percentage points between 2022 and 2024. This is the first increase for this group since 2011.
It suggests that, despite higher prices and tighter lending conditions in recent years, more young households have managed to buy a home, perhaps with family support, smaller properties or properties in cheaper locations.
What are Spanish homes actually worth?
The EFF asks homeowners to report the value of their main residence. The answers are then adjusted to 2024 euros. Among households that own their main home, the survey finds the median value of the main residence is €170,000.
Prices in parts of Madrid, Barcelona or stretches of the Costa Brava and Costa del Sol can be far higher. At the same time, there are many cheap areas, especially inland or in smaller coastal towns, where property values are lower than this national median.
Mortgages in Spain: how many households still owe money?
How common is mortgage borrowing?
One distinctive feature of the Spanish housing market is that many owner‑occupiers no longer carry mortgage debt on their main residence. 25% of all households have debt linked to the purchase of their main residence.
Almost two‑thirds of owner‑occupiers live in a home that is owned outright, at least in terms of the main mortgage on that property.
Typical mortgage balances
For those who do still have a mortgage on their main residence, the survey gives a clear picture of the typical balance outstanding.
Among households with main‑home mortgage debt, the median outstanding amount is €60,900.
What this means if you’re thinking of buying a home in Spain
Putting the EFF 2024 data together, a few broad messages emerge for anyone considering a move to Spain or a more permanent step into the housing market. Understanding these patterns can help you decide whether buying a house in Spain is the right choice for you.
- Owning is still the default: around seven in ten households own their main residence, and ownership rates are very high among older Spaniards.
- Mid‑career households are under pressure: the sharpest recent falls in ownership are among 35–44‑year‑olds, well‑paid but not top‑income households.
- Young buyers are re‑emerging: under‑35 ownership has increased for the first time since 2011.
- Mortgages tend to be modest: only a quarter of all households – just over a third of owners – have a mortgage on their main home.
If you are moving to Spain with a foreign salary, remote work or a pension, your position will not be identical to that of local households captured in the survey.
Your income and savings might be in another currency, and exchange rates directly affect what you actually pay. That’s why idealista has launched a dedicated currency exchange service to get competitive rates when transferring funds for a property purchase.
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