Business · Economy · 4 hrs ago
Spanish home prices have risen far faster than wages, CCOO study says
A study by CCOO, a Spanish trade union, says home prices in Spain rose 108% from 2013 to 2026, while average wages rose 30%.
The gap makes buying a home harder: a 90-square-metre flat took 7.1 years of average wages in 2026, compared with 3.1 years in 1985.
Rent costs have also risen faster than wages for new contracts, while higher commercial rents add costs for small businesses.
The article argues that high housing returns can draw investment away from businesses that produce goods and services.
Housing costs can also leave households with less to spend on other goods and services, weakening demand.
The study estimates that cutting housing costs by 30% could boost demand by €21 billion to €26 billion and support 330,000 to 411,000 jobs over five years; it presents this as a potential effect, not a forecast.
A CCOO Economic Cabinet study says Spanish home purchase prices rose 108% from 2013 to 2026, while average wages rose 30%.
The study says home prices rose 3.6 times faster than wages over that period.
Buying a 90-square-metre home required 7.1 years of average wages in 2026, compared with 3.1 in 1985.
The article argues that rising housing costs reduce workers’ purchasing power and can weaken consumption and productive investment.
It says that a 30% reduction in housing costs could boost aggregate demand by €21 billion to €26 billion.
- Who
- Spanish workers and households facing housing costs. The figures are from a study by CCOO’s Economic Cabinet.
- What
- The study says home purchase prices rose much faster than average wages.
- When
- From 2013 to 2026.
- Where
- Spain.
- Why
- The article links housing inflation to lost purchasing power and says it can discourage productive investment and reduce household consumption.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Buying a 90-square-metre home required an average of 3.1 full years of wages.
Home purchase prices rose 108%, while average wages increased 30%.
New rental contracts became 37% more expensive, compared with a 21% rise in average wages.
Commercial rents increased 18.6%.
Gross returns on housing reached 16%, compared with 7% for ordinary returns on companies’ own funds.
Buying a 90-square-metre home required 7.1 years of average wages.
- Home purchase prices
- Up 108% from 2013 to 2026
- Average wages
- Up 30% from 2013 to 2026
- Price-to-wage increase
- Home prices rose 3.6 times faster
- Home purchase affordability
- 7.1 years of average wages for a 90-square-metre home in 2026
- New rental contracts
- Up 37% from 2015 to 2024
- Potential effect of lower housing costs
- A 30% reduction could boost aggregate demand by €21 billion to €26 billion