Last week, Spain’s Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced several measures, including 100 % tax on the price of foreign houses purchased to tackle the residence crisis in the country.
The purpose of Sanchez is to prevent non -EU residents from buying houses in the country. “Spanish residence should be for the Spanish people, as well as for immigrants who come here to work and live and contribute to the development and prosperity of our country,” Sanchez said. Referring to the house that uses the house as an investment. Vehicle
The shortage of houses and rising prices have encouraged people to protest against tourists in many cities like Barcelona and Seoul, as foreign buyers and widespread tourism are seen as crisis factors.
So how serious the housing crisis is and will the new measures deal with the problem that governments have failed to resolve constant?
What is the new proposal for Spain’s Property Tax?
Sanchez has proposed 12 steps to tackle the country’s tense housing market, which saw the highest increase in Europe’s prices last year.
100 % tax will affect overseas buyers, who purchased 27,000 apartments in 2023. According to the Association of Registrars, in the third quarter of 2024, about 15 % of all real estate properties were purchased by foreigners.
“They [overseas buyers] Not to stay so, but to make speculation, to make money with them, something we can’t afford in the context of a shortage, “Sanchez forum in Madrid on Monday,” Housing, Welfare State The fifth pillar said.
The Spanish leader also proposed to impose more taxes on holiday rentals to ensure that tourists be taxed on renting apartments like a “business”. “It is not appropriate that people who own three, four, five apartments for short -term rent, pay less tax than hotels,” Sanchez said.
Other proposals include tax exemptions and privileges to provide cheap housing to landlords, especially to young people and to more demanding areas.
What else has he announced?
Sanchez, who is the head of the left -wing government under the leadership of its Spanish Socialist Workers Party, also plans to amend the rules to accelerate the construction of new houses and increase the availability of land for private construction.
According to the Bank of Spain, about 600,000 new homes are needed by the end of 2025, but about 90,000 homes are being constructed every year.
Sanchez emphasized that accommodation is the top priority of his government, but he warned that there was no “magic stick” to resolve the issue. The Spanish Prime Minister announced the transfer of 2 million square meters of land to a new, public company to build “thousands and thousands” affordable social houses.
Social residence buildings are subsidized by the government and they are owned or managed by local or central government or non -governmental organizations.
Sanchez said that the social housing is only 2.5 % of the Spanish market, which is far below place in other European Union countries, such as 14 % in France and 34 % in the Netherlands.
Without presenting a detailed plan, Sanchez also said that the government intends to counter holiday fares, such as on a platform like AIRBNB.
Spain’s holiday rental markets include fake lists of property in fraud and without the consent of the owners, tourists include unauthorized submission of property, and unlicensed fares that do not meet legal or security standards.
In December 2024, Spanish authorities launched an investigation into the failure to delete thousands of misleading rent offers on the AIRBNB platform.
Meanwhile, the Golden Visa introduced in 2013 will be removed. The program allowed wealthy non -EU investors to get housing by buying at least 500,000 euros (about $ 513,000) real estate projects.
Which features and people will be most affected by it?
This tax will apply to individuals who are neither citizens nor European Union residents, and often use properties as holiday or investment homes.
UK buyers are at the top of the list of foreign property buyers in Spain. About 10 % All acquisitions by non -residents in the last quarter of 2023.
Lack of houses and high rentals mean that people’s prices have been out of the market, the displacement rate has increased by 24 % to 28,000 since 2012. Official data.
The purpose of Spain’s new initiatives is to help residents, especially those in cities and coastal areas such as Belaric Islands, and Canary Islands, where fares have increased due to high demand and limited logistics.
When will this be implemented?
Foreign buyers have not been told the correct timeline for tax enforcement and other proposed measures.
These proposals need approval in Spain’s scattered parliament, where the minority coalition of Sanchez may face a challenge in the legislature.
How cheap is the accommodation in Spain?
Home in Spain has become expensive in cities on the coast of Madrid, Barcelona and the Mediterranean, especially urban centers or tourist destinations.
According to the Real Estate Portal Idealista, fares increased by 11 % in 2024.
The average price of a bedroom flat in the center of Barcelona city. $ 1,313 per monthAnd outside the city center $ 989 every month. The average fare has increased in Barcelona. 53 % Over the past decade.
However, the Spanish city is still cheaper than many Western European cities, where high prices of rent and houses have increased the cost of life crisis.
In London, which is also facing a residence crisis, an average fare of a bedroom apartment in December 2024 was $ 2,738 per month.
O Report from London’s City Hall showed that the city’s fare costs were driven by its global economic hub, which attracts a major manpower and a population of students, which increases the demand for housing. Is This demand is combined with a significant reduction in the supply of rental property after 2020, which has taken the fares to a record level.
Sanchez pointed out that in the last 10 years, housing prices have increased by 48 % in Europe, which is almost doubled in domestic revenue during the same period.
“The West faces a decisive challenge: not to be a division of a society among two classes, rich owners and poor tenants,” he said.
According to comments published by the government, “We face a serious problem, which has a lot of social and economic implications, which requires a decisive response from society as a whole, in which the public Institutions are at the forefront. “
Is the only factor to affect the housing crisis tourism?
Spain is the world’s second -most most visible country with more than 94 million tourists in 2024. Tourism earned about $ 200 billion, or 13 % of the country’s gross domestic production (GDP).
Spanish residents have complained about large -scale tourism, including softening, increasing life costs and increasing misconduct by foreigners seeking party.
However, tourism is not the only factor in the crisis in Spain.
The 2008 Housing Destruction in Spain and the resulting financial crisis also worsened the problem. Between 2008 and 2014, Spain suffered a major financial crisis, including a long property accident.
According to a working paper from the European Central Bank, “By 2015, housing prices were reduced by one -third of the top of 2008, and no new house was being built basically”.
Covid-19 pandemic disease also increased the crisis as construction costs have increased significantly.
High unemployment of 26 % of young people means that young people live with their parents for a long time, which slows down new residential projects. About two -thirds of Spanish youths between the ages of 18 to 34 live with their parents.
Other factors include complex regulations that have slowed down land development and there is a lack of bank financing and public budget for real estate projects.
