The measures proposed so far to fix the housing mess haven’t achieved much, so the government is considering a different approach. This time, they want to treat housing as a right guaranteed by the Constitution, not just as a commodity to buy and sell. Their first step is to impose higher taxes on property transactions that don’t involve a primary residence, especially in areas where the housing situation is most strained.
This isn’t the first time the idea has come up. There are already precedents, such as the proposed 100% surcharge on property purchases by non-EU foreigners who don’t live in Spain — a measure still being debated in Parliament.
Spain’s housing crisis has already reached Brussels. Even though the country already has some of the highest housing-related taxes in Europe, concerns about curbing speculation are growing, particularly among regional governments and especially in Catalonia. The issue has even made its way into meetings of the European Council, where the Spanish government has called for EU-wide legal measures to curb property purchases made purely for investment purposes. The EU Council has already noted that Madrid, Barcelona, and Lisbon are the cities where people spend the largest share of their income on housing.
The government supports its plans with data, such as the “Homebuyer Profile Study 2025,” which shows that 24% of home purchases are made as investments, while another 18% are second-home acquisitions. This means that over 40% of transactions are related to speculation.
Directly targeting the buying and selling of second or third homes isn’t easy. The government itself considers some proposals — such as those from the Sumar party — too extreme. In Catalonia, the idea of banning such transactions has already sparked political turmoil. However, if the measure is framed as a fiscal penalty on non-primary residences, as some parties have suggested in the past, it might move forward this time. The governing coalition appears ready to support it.