Estate agent window in Mallorca

A half of young people are evicted because they can't keep up payments. | Efe

Andrew EdePalma31/01/2025 08:43
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In 2005, 34% of young people in the Balearics aged between 16 and 29 achieved emancipation in the sense of not living with their parents. Since then, various factors have intervened, such as the financial crisis. While that crisis did subdue house prices, the trend for at least the past ten years has been upward, and by an at-times staggering rate. Salaries have risen but can in no way be said to have kept pace with the costs of housing and indeed other costs.

According to the 2023 report from the Youth Council of Spain that was published on Thursday, the emancipation rate had fallen to 18%. This finding follows information from the Balearic Government's First Youth Survey, which was presented last week.

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The regional government's report states that the average salary for this age group is 1,050 euros per month. The Youth Council has found that, at a national level, 35% of 16 to 29-year-olds earn less than 1,000 euros per month.

Where people have left home in the Balearics, around 40% are said to be in a highly vulnerable financial situation because they spend more than 40% of income on housing. A consequence is the level of debt they incur. Half of all those who leave home are evicted because they can't pay the rent or keep up mortgage payments.

A further finding from the government's study is that more than 40% of the age group say that the lack of affordable housing is the reason for not leaving home. A response to this is the increasing popularity and availability of coliving. Most evident in Barcelona and Madrid, the real estate group CBRE estimates that there are approaching 20,000 coliving beds in Spain. In 2023 there were 8,000.