Rents have also risen across the country, with urban regions and tourist hotspots seeing some of the biggest rent hikes over the past 10 years.
Academics trace the roots of Spain’s housing crisis to the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis: while ordinary homebuyers struggled to get mortgages, large-scale investors began buying up property, speculating and driving up prices.
“The cash didn’t disappear from the market; it just ended up in the hands of investors,” said Spanish National Research Council housing expert Javier Gil. “What we see in Spain is a new cycle led by speculative, non-residential demand.”
Combine that with growing populations in major cities, social housing stock issues, and tourist housing, which the national bank estimates accounts for about 10% of the already small rental market, and Spaniards really feel the pinch.
Young people make up one of the key groups struggling to find their place in the Spanish housing market. In 2025, 67% of people aged between 18 and 34 still lived with their parents and almost half of the 26-34-year-olds in this position cited the inability to afford to rent or buy as the principal reason for their living situation.
“The prices just keep rising and rising, and landlords take advantage of the system to take advantage of tenants,” said Jorge Collado, a 26-year-old who took part in a massive protest encampment housing demonstrators set up in Madrid’s central Puerta del Sol square.