Spain's housing crisis: what happened to the boom's 4.5 million homes

## A boom of 4.5 million homes

Spain started more than **4.5 million** homes between 2000 and 2008, including both private and subsidised housing. The peak was in 2005, with **729,652** housing starts, a historic record. In 2006, the ministry's records at the time handled a range of 665,000 to 760,000.

In 2008, **360,044** homes were started, a drop of more than 41% from the previous year due to the global financial crisis. Between 1997 and 2007, nearly 6 million housing starts were recorded across Spain, concentrated mainly in the early years of the 2000s.

## What peine to the homes from the cycle

A home doesn't expire like an orange. The most repeated estimate says that between **75% and 80%** ended up inhabited on a stable basis by individuals who bought them during the boom or in the 2010-2015 bargains. A house doesn't rot in 20 years, but it can remain closed or outside the affordable market.

The remaining **20% or 25%** stayed on bank balance sheets, went to investment funds for rental or swelled a stock that took more than a decade to absorb. Some dispute that range and believe the inhabited percentage is lower.

## The closed stock and the political dispute

In public debate, it is often repeated that hundreds of thousands of homes, even millions, remain closed and preserved in the hands of foreign investment funds that acquired assets since **2008**. It is a claim without an updated public census. One criticism holds that not even parties like **VOX** point to that supposed stock. Any calculation of empty or withheld housing requires an updated census and land registry verification.

The recurring recipe is to liberalise more land and repeat the brick model. Some reject it because it would not solve access to housing; others argue that without more land there will not be enough supply. The discussion affects prices and rents. That criticism holds that returning to the brick cycle does not solve the problem and may repeat it.