Why can't a young person today buy a home like their parents'?

Accessing a home has become a nearly impossible task for the younger generations. In cities like Barcelona, ​​the average price per square meter now exceeds €6,000, nine times more than in 1995. In contrast, young people's salaries have barely increased. The result: they need five times more financial effort than their parents to buy the same apartment.

According to data from the Bank of Spain, in the 1990s, it took only 3.9 years of full salary to purchase a home. Today, it takes more than seven. And in some central neighborhoods, such as Barcelona's Eixample district, the effort exceeds 20 years of salary.

Meanwhile, rent prices are also reaching record levels. In Barcelona, ​​the average monthly cost is around €1,180. A figure that, in many cases, represents more than 70% of a young person's salary. The Spanish Youth Council warns that spending more than 30% of income on housing compromises financial independence, but for many young people, this is the only option.

Spain is one of the European countries where young people leave home the last: the average age is 30.4 years, according to Eurostat. The lack of public rental housing exacerbates the situation. Currently, only 2% of the housing stock is social housing, and in cities like Barcelona, ​​the construction of new social housing is progressing at a very slow pace.

To alleviate market pressure, Barcelona City Council has imposed rental price caps. Since its implementation, prices have fallen by 6%. However, seasonal rentals—which are exempt from the regulations—have increased by 45% in the last year.

The municipal government has also announced the elimination of all tourist apartments by 2028, which would allow for the return of approximately 10,000 homes to the residential market. Furthermore, plans have been launched to build more than 2,000 social housing units in the coming years. But experts warn that these measures are insufficient.

“Access to property ownership is closed even to those with good salaries, because they can't build up the necessary initial savings,” warns José García Montalvo, professor of economics. “We're in a completely different market than the 1990s. Back then, there was a lot of construction, with easy credit. Now, the entry point is private rentals, and many are stuck there.”

The Bank of Spain has already warned of the consequences: younger generations accumulate much less wealth than their parents and own fewer homes. This wealth gap, if not reversed, could mark the future of an entire generation.