Forum discusses how €400k homes are bought without high salaries

Who pays for €400,000 homes (and who doesn't)

Buying a €400,000 property isn't about salary; it's about the down payment. According to calculations repeated in the thread, banks require roughly 20% plus 10% for costs and taxes: around €120,000 in cash, which rarely comes from wages alone, no matter how high. The remaining €320,000, financed over 30 years, results in a monthly installment that many couples earning over €3,000 could theoretically handle. The real question isn't how they pay, but where the initial money comes from.

The math debunking the high-salary myth

The most common arithmetic is simple: €400,000 price, 10% costs, 20% down payment. Result: €120,000 cash, €320,000 financed, and a monthly fee of around €1,200 with a fixed rate over 30 years. With two incomes totaling more than €3,000, the deal fits parameters some users say banks tolerate.

However, an average employee cannot generate that down payment in ten years. This is where family support enters. The most cited scenario involves a couple in their thirties whose parents contribute €100,000 each, combined with €50,000 in personal savings. With this, banks approve the rest. Without it, the door closes.

Some nuance the calculation: banks won't finance if the mortgage consumes 50% of both salaries. A realistic threshold is around 30%, excluding many profiles who could technically afford it on paper.

The cycle of inherited and resold housing

The most repeated mechanism has nothing to do with current wages. Someone bought an apartment thirty years ago in an area that later appreciated. They sell it for €400,000, pocket the capital gain, and buy another similar home in a less pressured area. This cycle, repeated thousands of times, drives prices up and excludes those with nothing to sell.

Concrete cases circulating are telling: an apartment bought for €60,000 in a peripheral Madrid neighborhood, sold in 2007 for €200,000, funded the down payment on a €380,000 home. Another bought in 2011 for €150,000 now sells for €400,000, financing the next jump. The conclusion remains the same: those who already owned, buy; those who didn't, watch.

Foreign buyers also play a role. Retirees and funds that entered coastal markets at bargain prices between 2014 and 2015 are now selling with gains and leaving, according to one post. Their exit doesn't lower prices; it simply changes hands of the same stock.

Who can actually afford a €400,000 home?

It depends on profession and partnership. A single teacher can't reach it. Two teachers can. Doctors, police inspectors, professors, or politicians enter easily, according to some participants. But these profiles are a minority among total transactions at this price.

The bulk consists of three groups: those selling another property, those inheriting, and those receiving family help. High salaries help but aren't enough. And as one popular comment summarizes, low-income earners stay at their parents' house forever.

The gap between prices and wages

The underlying argument is that houses haven't risen so much in real terms. An apartment bought for €90,000 in 1991 sells today for €250,000. Adjusted for inflation, those €90,000 would equal €231,000. The real increase is moderate. What hasn't risen is wages: a 356% nominal increase versus stagnant salaries.

That's the root cause. It's not that homes are luxury items; it's that income doesn't keep up. Meanwhile, in cities like Valencia, €400,000 no longer buys even half a high-end apartment, according to one user.

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With these numbers, buying a €400,000 home should be reserved for a specific segment. And it is. What doesn't add up is the volume of transactions closing at this price with salaries that, on paper, don't sustain them. The answer lies in inherited brickwork, not paychecks. If the inheritance tap closes, the market adjusts. When? No one knows.