Record prices in 2025 and expectations for 2026
Resale housing in Spain has never been this expensive. In October 2025, its average price rose by almost 16% and reached €2,555 per square metre. This shows the state of the Spanish real estate market and is the result of a combination of factors that are fuelling runaway price growth.
The overheating of the housing market is no less intense than during the construction boom that peaked in 2007. The number of sale-and-purchase transactions has increased sharply, but has not yet reached the record levels of that period; prices are also rising, but remain below those record highs; there is no “bubble” in the real estate market, although experts no longer completely rule out the risk of one forming…
In October, two important events occurred: firstly, the historic rise in resale housing prices, reflected in Idealista’s analysis, has already reached a new record level; secondly, price growth at the national level reached 18% year-on-year, the highest figure in the Fotocasa series. As a result, the price per square metre already stands at €2,789, which is only 5.5% below the maximum recorded during the “bubble”. It is precisely this new situation that is leading industry representatives to warn that 2026 will become the “year of historic prices”.
Supply shortage and the impact of the rental market
The reason for the strain in the market is well known: supply is far too low compared to the level of demand, and the stock of housing for sale is close to its minimum, amounting to only 9% of the lowest level recorded in 2014. In turn, high prices in the rental market (and the associated economic costs, which are also rising relentlessly) do not dampen people’s intention to buy a home of their own; on the contrary, they push those who can afford it to try to buy.
Based on a comparison of Fotocasa’s survey for the second half of 2024 with its recently published report, it can be said that the doubts that existed a year ago about whether to rent or buy have dissipated. The option to buy has won a convincing victory, although this does not mean that the rental housing market is in decline.
The return of interest in buying
The drop in the Euribor rate to around 2% has rekindled interest in buying among those who had postponed their plans or abandoned them altogether due to unfavourable mortgage conditions. This idea has gradually lost its relevance over the past year, and the prevailing trend is now undeniable.
While the overall number of individuals participating in the rental market has remained at 17%, the same level as a year ago, the share of people in the purchase-and-sale market has risen from 18% to 21%. According to the analysis, 81% of people in recent months have not taken part in the process and have not intended to buy property, but 24% of them plan to take action in the next five years (8% in the next two years and 16% are postponing their plans for a period of two to five years). It is precisely this latent demand that creates future tension which will continue to support price growth.
The worst reality behind these figures is being left out of both markets, which is especially true for young people. The annual increase in participation in the real estate market (renting, buying or at least intending to do so) is seen across all age groups except the youngest, from 18 to 24 years old, which at the height of the market boom reduced its participation by 10% over the last year (from 54% to 44%, according to Fotocasa).
Young people and postponed emancipation
Moreover, this is the only age group in which demand for renting exceeds demand for buying – mainly because they are unable to pay the initial down payment on a home. However, in a context of rising prices and limited supply (according to Idealista, in the third quarter the number of people who want to rent a home in Spain increased by 13%), renting is sometimes also becoming impossible, and the age of emancipation is being postponed indefinitely. The latest data from the Spanish Youth Council (CJE) for 2024 reflect this reality, indicating that the proportion of young people under 30 who have managed to leave their parental home is only 15%.
