Households’ financial burden in accessing housing will be the focus of the new edition of the report “Accessibility to Housing in Spain”, to be presented today at SIMA 2026, as part of the session “Accessibility to Housing in Spain vs Portugal”, within the International Living Conference.
The study, presented by Century 21 Spain and the magazine Observatorio Inmobiliario, in collaboration with Accumin, analyses the ability to access the residential market for both purchase and rental, with a particular focus on those who do not already own a home or who are entering the market without accumulated wealth. To this end, it compares average annual net household income with sale and rental prices, using a standard 90 sqm home as a benchmark.
This new edition is set against a backdrop of pressure on housing affordability, driven by price trends, financial costs, inflation and households’ ability to save. The report aims to provide a data-driven analysis of the financial burden involved in accessing housing and the evolution of buying and renting conditions across various Spanish markets.
The study covers 40 Spanish municipalities, including regional capitals and other key residential markets, with a particular focus on the metropolitan areas of Madrid and Barcelona. It also includes an analysis of developments since 2022, the year of the previous publication, to observe how access conditions have changed over a period marked by shifts in interest rates and the availability of housing supply.
The presentation will include a comparative analysis with Portugal, as part of a session on housing affordability in the Iberian Peninsula, to situate the Spanish analysis in relation to another Iberian market also facing pressures regarding access to housing.
The event will feature Antonio Gil Machado, partner at Grupo Iberinmo; Cristina Arias, director of the Research Department at Tinsa by Accumin / Accumin Intelligence; Alba Brualla, director of El Economista’s Inmobiliaria magazine; Igor Sánchez, commercial director of CaixaBank’s Negocio Hogar; and Ricardo Sousa, CEO of Century 21 Spain and Portugal.
The session will take place as part of SIMA, which will be held in Madrid from 20 to 23 May and will bring together professionals from the residential market, financial institutions, consultancies, investors and operators in the property sector.
