The number of empty houses in private ownership is a topic that is poorly covered in the analysis of the Spanish residential real estate market. On the other hand, due to the circumstances, this issue is increasingly coming to the fore. The market has faced two contradictory problems: a drop in the number of solvent population and, at the same time, a lack of housing to meet the existing demand.
To demonstrate how poorly the topic of the actual number of empty housing is covered, it is worth pointing out that the last market research on this issue by the National Institute of Statistics of Spain was conducted back in 2013. Then the balance of available housing was 3.4 million properties. Today, everything is much more complicated with these statistics. However, the figures accurately indicate that about 4% of homeowners have free, empty housing.
The Fotocasa real estate portal took up the analysis of this aspect of the market. As part of the study, Fotocasa took up the issue of not only the actual numbers of empty housing, but also the study of the problems faced by their owners. So, it became known that one of these problems is the fear of homeowners before the possible settlement of their homes. About 43% of respondents who have empty housing indicated that their entry into the market is hindered, on the one hand, by the increase in non-payments for rental property and, on the other hand, by the low legal protection of homeowners against unscrupulous new tenants.
The owners of some vacant houses note that greater confidence in legal protection would encourage them to offer some form of use of their property more often. Especially if they had guarantees of a simple return of the house after settling in, and especially in case of non-payment by tenants. The importance of these moments was estimated at 7.3 and 7.1 points out of 10, respectively.
Maria Matos, Director of Research and official representative of Fotocasa, reports: «Our study is the first time that homeowners who are actively working in the market were asked why exactly they keep their property empty. Despite the fact that there are very few such homeowners, they are still part of the market and their fears and concerns are important for understanding the state of the sector. Most of all, they fear that tenants will not pay them, that they will mistreat the house, that homeowners may lose access to their property. Therefore, they prefer to keep these objects empty».
Matos also adds that these owners are calling for greater legal protection of landlords, especially in case of non-payments, damage to real estate, opposition to eviction. Besides, this category of owners hopes for tax benefits and assistance in the restoration of properties. In their opinion, such measures will allow them to safely put houses up for sale. They oppose the social policy of the state, which, in their opinion, is punitive against homeowners and scares away potential investors.
According to Fotocasa, 61% of people over the age of 18 in Spain own housing independently or jointly. Of these, 79% have a single dwelling, 17% have two residential units, and 4% have three or more. At the same time, the share of owners with empty real estate is growing as the number of houses in their possession increases. That is, they buy all new houses, but they do not bring them to the market in any way. So, among those who own two houses, 10% have indicated the presence of an empty house. Among those who own 3 or properties, 23% indicate the presence of empty objects.
According to the real estate portal, it is necessary that the state begin to provide real guarantees of a «stable and safe atmosphere».