Spanish families prefer to be the owners of their homes rather than renting. This is the headline one can have on the basis of the data shown, some weeks ago, by the Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE), concerning the type of housing tenure in Spain. This data shows that nearly 77% of Spanish families lived in owned housing during 2020, a fact which means an increase of nearly eight-tenths in relation to the previous year. This percentage includes both fully paid houses as well as those that still have outstanding payments. If we compare this with families who live in rented houses, 17,3% (one point below the previous year), then there is a significant difference. The rest of the percentage, 5,8% , corresponds to families who live in donated or very low rental priced houses. From these facts and figures we can deduce that the pandemic has strengthened, even more, a tendency in Spain,which has always been very solid, in prefering to own rather than to rent a home, unlike other European countries. In spite of the fact that we have lately seen how rental offers are on the rise in Spain, we still opt for purchasing our home. Maybe this is due to the family character which is deep-rooted in our origins and that stands out in Spanish society.

OWNERS RATHER THAN TENANTS

It is undeniable that in our country we prefer to be owners rather than tenants. Spanish families opt for buying a house even if it means having to face a mortgage which must be paid for during many years. The data offered by INE shows that less than half of Spanish homeowners have fully paid for their houses, specifically 49,1%. We can say that the pandemic has not in the least changed the Spanish culture of preferring to purchase rather than to rent a house, and we can even add that this preference has been strengthened. In addition, the health crisis we are living through has led to an upsurge of the possibilities that young people have to emancipate themselves. Next week, we will analyze this issue in depth, however, we will serve as an advance that in 2020, 25,6% of young people aged between 30 and 34 lived with their parents meaning an increase of more than 5 points with regard to the year 2013, and of more than 1 point with regard to 2019. According to INE, 90% of young people are in favour of regulating rental prices so as to make it easier for them to gain independence. The vast majority of young people believe that it is very difficult for them to gain access to housing before the age of 30.

MORE FAMILY NUCLEUS

According to the facts and figures shown by INE, there has been an increase in the number of family nucleus in the year 2020. The average value of family units is far above 18 millions, specifically 18.754.800 family nucleus, which implies an increase of 0,7%. Spanish homes had an average number of two and a half persons per home, and it is estimated that, in 2020, around 4,85 million Spanish people lived alone. If we take a look at percentages, then we can see that 30,4% of Spanish homes consisted of 2 people, 26,1% of only one person, 20,5% of three people, 17,2% of four people and only 5,8% of five or more people. In any case, in spite of the fact that nearly five million people live alone in our country, we must point out that Spain is one the countries in the European Union with the least number of homes occupied by only a single person.