Seven in ten young Spaniards still cannot leave home
70% of under-34s in Spain live with their parents. Between 43% and 47% are of foreign origin. Inheritance and taxes are key to the bottleneck.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
70% of under-34s in Spain live with their parents: the inheritance trap and the demographic wall
The figure is damning: seven in ten Spaniards under 34 still live in the family home, according to the latest survey by the Spanish Youth Council. The number has kept rising since 2008 and puts Spain at the top of Europe for late departure from home. But it is not just about low wages or impossible rents: behind it lies a cocktail of inheritance taxes, demographics and a labour market that rewards precariousness.
The demographic factor nobody wants to see
One of the starkest calculations circulating about the problem points out that between 43% and 47% of under-34s in Spain are of foreign origin (including naturalised citizens and second generation). This group, mostly young, competes in the same housing market as natives, tightening supply even further. The uncomfortable question is whether the current migration policy, focused on the arrival of young people, eases or worsens the pressure on the stock of affordable housing.
Inheritance as a last hope... and the taxman as executioner
The scenario drawn by several analyses is almost Kafkaesque: parents aged 60 with a life expectancy of 15-20 years, thirty-something children who will inherit at 50. But when the inheritance arrives, many will not be able to pay the inheritance tax or the municipal capital gains tax, so the property will end up with the State. 43% of young people do not even consider moving out, and only 7% are saving to buy. The paradox is that living with your parents does not guarantee enough savings when inheritance taxes are confiscatory.
The data offer few short-term ways out. With a labour market that does not generate stable incomes and a housing stock whose price keeps rising unchecked, the trend suggests the problem will spread to people in their forties. Nobody seems willing to do what needs to be done: either reform the inheritance system, or build public housing, or accept that the millennial generation will be the first to live worse than their parents.
The figure is damning: seven in ten Spaniards under 34 still live in the family home, according to the latest survey by the Spanish Youth Council. The number has kept rising since 2008 and puts Spain at the top of Europe for late departure from home. But it is not just about low wages or impossible rents: behind it lies a cocktail of inheritance taxes, demographics and a labour market that rewards precariousness.
The demographic factor nobody wants to see
One of the starkest calculations circulating about the problem points out that between 43% and 47% of under-34s in Spain are of foreign origin (including naturalised citizens and second generation). This group, mostly young, competes in the same housing market as natives, tightening supply even further. The uncomfortable question is whether the current migration policy, focused on the arrival of young people, eases or worsens the pressure on the stock of affordable housing.
Inheritance as a last hope... and the taxman as executioner
The scenario drawn by several analyses is almost Kafkaesque: parents aged 60 with a life expectancy of 15-20 years, thirty-something children who will inherit at 50. But when the inheritance arrives, many will not be able to pay the inheritance tax or the municipal capital gains tax, so the property will end up with the State. 43% of young people do not even consider moving out, and only 7% are saving to buy. The paradox is that living with your parents does not guarantee enough savings when inheritance taxes are confiscatory.
The data offer few short-term ways out. With a labour market that does not generate stable incomes and a housing stock whose price keeps rising unchecked, the trend suggests the problem will spread to people in their forties. Nobody seems willing to do what needs to be done: either reform the inheritance system, or build public housing, or accept that the millennial generation will be the first to live worse than their parents.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (27 replies).
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