In Portugal, only one in three young people believe they will be able to buy a house in the next few years. In Spain, almost half of young people between the ages of 20 and 40 estimate that they will need between five and 15 years to do so, while 31% of young people between the ages of 36 and 40 believe that they will never be able to do so.
The Iberian situation highlights structural obstacles that profoundly condition the life path of the new generation. While in Portugal the main obstacles are high prices (43%) and low incomes (30%), in Spain these factors are even more significant: 80% of young people point to the cost of housing as the main barrier, followed by job instability (65%) and lack of savings (54%).
"This data shows that the reality of young people is marked by profound generational inequalities. The desire to leave home exists - and is intense - but the system is not responding to their needs. Instead of being emancipated, we have a postponed generation," says Ricardo Sousa, CEO of Century 21 Portugal and Spain.
In Portugal, almost 65% of non-independent young people plan to emancipate themselves in the next two years and 45% give top marks (10 out of 10) to the desire to leave their parents' home. In Spain, 37% of young people would like to live alone, but end up choosing to share a house with their partner (46%) or with friends (20%) for financial reasons.
Most young people consider state incentives to be insufficient
The majority of young people don't believe that public support is effective: only 24% of Portuguese young people consider state incentives to be sufficient and 65% of Spanish young people say that support rarely materializes.
According to the Century 21 study, 89% of young people in Portugal are willing to give up travel, leisure and shopping in order to achieve independence. In Spain, although this awareness exists, 58% of young people are not willing to give up personal comforts, such as buying cell phones, streaming platforms or cultural events, even though they know that this would facilitate emancipation.
Renting is the solution, but buying remains the goal
In Portugal, 32% of young people prefer to buy a house with a mortgage, although the majority (46%) opt for renting as their first step. In Spain, the percentage of those who prefer to buy a home rises to 39%, reaching 48% between the ages of 28 and 35, while renting is more popular among younger people (44% between the ages of 20 and 27).
In both countries, young people favor affordability, proximity to public transport and essential services, giving less importance to the area of the house. Urban mobility and the time it takes to get to work or study also weigh on the decision: in Lisbon, 27.6% of young people consider their commute to be too long, which is lower in Porto (22.6%).
In Portugal, most of the housing on offer is above 300,000 euros, with only 1% of available properties below 250,000 euros in the main cities. This scarcity significantly restricts the options for young people and reinforces the need for new public policies and incentives to build affordable housing.
“We need a new housing paradigm centered on affordable living”
"We need a new housing paradigm centered on affordable living and not just affordable housing. The problem isn't just the price of the house: it's the sum of housing, transport, energy and quality of life. We urgently need to develop a strategy that combines urban mobility with job stability and incentives for career progression," says Ricardo Sousa.
Image credits: © Aquilion Property | Unsplash
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
