{
  "id": 9332740,
  "title": "El mercado de la vivienda en España y Portugal, cara a cara",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/23/el-mercado-de-la-vivienda-en-espana-y-portugal-cara-a-cara",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-09-23T11:59:47.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Expansion ES",
    "slug": "expansion-es",
    "url": "https://www.expansion.com/inmobiliario/mercado/2026/09/23/6ab3bf30468aeb81718b4595.html"
  },
  "original_language": "es",
  "account": "Spain and Portugal are among the eurozone countries where home prices have risen the most in recent years. This surge is making home ownership difficult for many citizens, particularly the young. The latest report from Century 21's Accessibility to Housing reveals the situation in both countries. In Spain, home sales reached over 730,000 in 2025, with prices up for 46 consecutive quarters, reaching a 12.7% increase last year. However, this dynamism is mostly driven by those already owning a home who wish to upgrade. Currently, 73.6% of Spanish households are homeowners, and they sell their current property to buy a larger one. Yet, the study shows that without prior wealth, it is much harder to save for a down payment and maintain a manageable mortgage, while rents keep rising. Buying a 90-square-meter home is now cheaper than renting in all analyzed capitals, saving between 16% in Madrid and 45% in Merida. The effort ratio for home purchases remains below the recommended 33% in most of the country; Madrid is the only exception with 34%. The report highlights that the pressure is mainly on rents, which have risen between 18% and 51% since 2022, exceeding the recommended threshold in Barcelona (48%), Madrid (40%), Valencia and Palma de Mallorca. The difference is also noticeable in home size: with the same budget, a family can rent 65 square meters in Barcelona compared to 155 in Merida. Meanwhile, incomes grew between 19% and 24% since 2022 in major capitals, enough to absorb the rise in home prices but not rents. In Portugal, home prices rose 16.5% year-over-year in the second quarter, according to the national statistics office. The study emphasizes that buying and renting are now inaccessible in Lisbon, Oporto, and Faro, with effort ratios exceeding 50% of family incomes. In 2022, there were 16 district capitals where buying was sustainable; in 2025, there are 15, with more than half demanding high effort. The pressure has extended to metropolitan areas. In Greater Lisbon, renting is unaffordable in all analyzed municipalities, and buying is only possible in most, except Alcochete, Barreiro, Montijo, and Seixal, which still require high effort. In Greater Porto and the Algarve, similar trends occur: only 9 of 26 municipalities in the three metropolitan areas remain affordable for buying. Affordable housing, requiring less strain, is reduced to 35-50 square meters in these areas, compared to the study's reference of 90 square meters. The result is the same in both countries: access to housing now depends less on income earned and more on what is already owned. Rising urban center prices are displacing families to suburbs and metropolitan municipalities, where prices are more accessible. The Portuguese report documents this progressive territorial exclusion, describing forced, non-voluntary migration to peripheral municipalities like Montijo, Barreiro, Seixal, Alcochete, or Sintra, serving as metropolitan escape hatches. The study warns that affordable housing does not always coincide with well-connected areas, and calls for urban planning to be accompanied by investment in public transport networks, metro, and river transport. In Spain, the pattern repeats on a smaller scale. In Madrid's metropolitan area, while the capital demands 34% effort for purchases and 40% for rents, municipalities like Fuenlabrada offer up to 35% savings compared to Madrid's capital. The Spanish report calls for reviewing urban planning from a metropolitan perspective and improving mobility to connect supply and demand, in line with what occurs in Portugal. The issue is not just where people live, but where they can afford to live. More and more families are being forced to move away from city centers to afford housing, but these areas often lack necessary amenities like health centers, schools, commerce, leisure, and transport connecting to jobs. Building homes without building a city around them only relocates the problem, it does not solve it. Ricardo Sousa, CEO of Century 21 Spain and Portugal, reflects on this challenge.",
  "summary": "España y Portugal se encuentran entre los países de la zona euro donde más ha subido el precio de la vivienda en los últimos años. Esta escalada está dificultando el acceso a la compra a muchos ciudadanos, especialmente a los jóvenes. La situación es similar, aunque con matices diferentes. Leer",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}