The property sector in Spain. Evolutionary analysis, current problems and difficulties for its development

Abstract

In this paper we first analyse the housing stock in Spain (new and pre-owned). We outline the political model of housing in Spain, highlighting the differences in its main stages and inquiring into the causes that have contributed to the current housing surplus. We then analyse the different aspects that explain why the housing market seems lethargic and likely to become problematic (population evolution and number of households, perception about purchasing residential properties as a business, etc.). We delve into information concerning the historical evolution of the Spanish housing stock and changing patterns of housing use via data provided by the statistical services of the Spanish Ministry of Development and the National Statistics Institute (INE). The current complex reality of the housing market in Spain is not coincidental, it is rather the result of a long period (more than half a century) of policies supporting increased housing construction. Spain’s dwindling and progressively aging population will jeopardise the net creation of households and housing demand. Given the global situation of the housing market in Spain, it can be said that there is an the end of a prolonged cycle of housing construction favoured by particular housing policies.