To buy or rent in Spain: 77 per cent of Spaniards prefer to buy

Buy or rent? The eternal question has been answered as 77 per cent of Spanish prefer to buy a house over renting. Spain has established itself as a country of house owners, and studies confirm citizens want to remain that way.

According to a new study on consumption habits conducted by Rastreator, most Spaniards prefer to buy. Of the people included in the study, 76.7 per cent acknowledge to owning their home, which increases to almost 82 per cent among people between 55 and 65 years.

Most people believe that housing is a safe investment, making 74.2 per cent of participants consider that paying a mortgage is much more beneficious that paying rent. However, more than half say they could not afford to pay for a house alone.

In Spain, the average mortgage payment is €593 euros, although the amount varies largely in different autonomous communities. According to government information, the average mortgage in Madrid costs around €873 and €692 in Catalonia, while in communities such as Extremadura and Murcia the average payment is €350 and €385 respectively.

Sergio Carbajal, manager of Mortgages at Rastreator, explains that the buying culture in Spain is very different from the rest of Europe. Proof of this is that, even the youngest Spaniards prefer to invest in a home before paying rent.

This buying culture has increased in recent years, especially as rent prices have shot up. In the current market, some of the most desired cities have very few properties available for rent. Experts indicate that especially with population growth in cities, Spain needs a minimum of 90,000 new apartments per year for rent. And wiith renting demand being so high, prices in cities and towns have started to become unaffordable for the average worker.

However, although most citizens would prefer to buy, their incomes aren’t enough to cover the costs as banks require big monthly incomes in order to hand out a mortgage. In Madrid, as mortgage prices increase to €873, banks require an income of €2,184 per month. Many users therefore, choose to rent not by preference but by necessity.