Desajustes en el mercado de la vivienda en España

Housing tops the list of Spaniards’ main concerns, attracts considerable coverage in the media, and is the subject of numerous analyses and assessments – not all of them soundly based. This monograph identifies the causes of the mismatch between housing supply and demand, the social groups that are most affected, and how it impacts citizens’ living conditions and life choices.

Its main contribution is to offer a more complete picture of the current housing situation based on a detailed analysis with a high degree of disaggregation. Rather than being a widespread problem, difficulties in accessing housing – though serious –  are concentrated in certain groups, and their impact varies by region. The causes of supply and demand imbalances are examined from multiple perspectives and with a detailed breakdown by territorial unit, an obligatory approach given the local nature of housing markets.

The analysis combines microdata from the Living Conditions Survey with other sources including the Population and Housing Censuses, the Labour Force Survey, Department of Housing statistics and the BBVA Foundation-Ivie capital stock database. These data serve primarily to perform a descriptive analysis that underpins the arguments put forward in the text, along with econometric studies of the relationship between the mismatch in housing supply and demand and price increases, the determinants of the emancipation rate, and the size of the housing cost burden.

The results indicate that affordability issues are not widespread. Average housing expenditure accounts for about 20% of disposable income, and only 9% of the population spends more than 40% of household income on this item. However, this percentage rises among households headed by young people (19.6%) and immigrants (25.8%), in the rental market particularly, evidencing the existence of affordability problems in these groups.

This book will be of interest to researchers, policy makers, real estate professionals, the media and citizens keen to learn more about one of the main problems facing Spanish society, and includes a final chapter with recommendations and proposals for policy action on housing.