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Spain is (increasingly) more A country of heirs. And so It is felt In its real estate market. If in 2007 11% of the homes that changed hands did it through inheritances, in 2024 that data already exceeded 19%. In Fotocasa Research they have dropped even more retail And they have found that 16% of the entire Spanish real estate offer feeds on homes that have gone from family members to others, an even greater percentage if we stick only to the sale market.
After that figure there are opportunities … and challenges.
The percentage: 16%. A few months ago Fotocasa Research technicians asked a question: what weight do inheritances in the Spanish real estate market? To get out of doubt in February they conducted a survey that yields some interesting results. First, because they help us understand the current ‘photo’ of the market, very conditioned by a lack of housing that does not cover the new work. Second, because they are completed with others similar studies of the last five years.
Of all its conclusions the most revealing is that, in a market very marked by the mismatch between supply and demand, the inherited homes are almost fifth (16%) of all available properties. It is also not a timely situation. The data coincides more or less with that of the last year (15%), although it is below the 18% peak registered in full pandemic.
More sales than rentals. 16% is the ‘general photo’, but hides some nuances that can only be seen when lowering in detail. The main one is that this percentage varies considerably depending on the segment we are talking about, if we refer to houses available to rent or the sale market. In the second case, that of the houses looking for a buyer, the impact is greater.
“By segments, the weight of the heirs in the sale market historically doubles that they have in the rent. People who have received an inheritance home represent 23% of the offer in the purchase market, while that percentage is reduced to 11% in the rental segment,” María Matos commentsDirector of Studies and spokesman for Fotocasa. Both indicators are located a percentage point above those noted last year.
A full exchange market. Matos remembers that the weight of inherited housing has been increasing year after year due to the country’s demographic drift, marked by the aging of Baby Boomers and the progressive fall of birth rate, and warns of the effects of ‘Great wealth transfer’.
“We estimate that in the next decade there will be the greatest transfer of intergenerational heritage in history, which will have a structural impact on the market,” Reflect The Fotocasa spokeswoman, and adds: “However, for each inherited house that is destined for rent, the double is sold.”
Why this difference? In addition to collecting data, Fotocasa He has asked Also to some heirs who leads them to sell or rent their homes. The first conclusion, at least among the former, those who choose to get rid of their legacy, is that they weigh above all “personal motifs”, the reason that alleges 34% of respondents. Another key argument is that they are not attracted to the perspective of becoming homemade. And he does not basically do it for fear of defaults.
“The heirs who prefer to sell also do so to avoid problems with the payment of rent (32%), an option that has significantly increased their support in recent years, since it was 23% in 2024”, Remember the expert. When preparing its study, the platform has also met with heirs reluctant to lease their homes for fear that tenants cause damage (21%) or the “absence of tax benefits that compensate for the risks” (21%).
“A natural way”. Matos remembers that during the last year these misgivings have increased their impact on the market, And warn: “In the lease is where more housing is needed, so, if an environment of greater security and trust, many of these inherited homes could be generated, could become a natural way to increase the offer in rent.” Those who do choose to lease their houses in search of a source of income and profitability.
And who inherit? That is another of the questions that answer The report. According to the data collected by Fotocasa, the profile of the heir who chooses to take out his home to the real estate market (either in lease or the sale) is very defined: they are above all men (they represent 60% of the cases) of around 54 years, upper or medium-high class and that usually reside with their partner and children. By communities, Madrid stands out, the region in which the heirs reach greater weight. Second is Andalusia and in the fourth Catalonia.
Is there more data? Yes. Fotocasa gives a track, but it is not the only one that shows the impact of inheritance on the Spanish real estate market. Another is contributed by the INE, which has been elaborating for years A historical record of housing transmissions that close throughout the country looking at how they are carried out; That is, if it is donations, sale, swaps, inheritances or some other formula.
Your conclusion? In 2007 they changed hands in Spain around 1.2 million homes. The vast majority (775,300) did so in sale operations and 131,200 through inheritances, so that last option had an impact of 11.1% on the market. Last year the photo was already something different. Of the million transmissions noted by the INE, 642,000 corresponded to sale and 201,000 with inheritances, which raises its footprint to 19.3%.
Inheritances also gain weight in a delicate moment for the real estate market, very conditioned by the great demand and the shortage of supply. The Housing and Land Observatory shows that in 2024 they were completed almost 101,000 Housing to cover that imbalance, 13% more than in 2023, but the data remains well below the house creation rhythm noted by the INE.
Images | Andrés García (UNSPLASH) and Joseph Bouvier (UNSPLASH)
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