A family from Lanzarote, Gran Canaria and Fuerteventura needs to save for 28 years to be able to face the payment of the down payment of a house in the province of Las Palmas. This has been revealed by the real estate portal Idealista through a study based on the homes advertised on its platform during the fourth quarter of the year.
The financed purchase of a two-bedroom house in Spain requires, on average, 51,410 euros of prior savings with which to face the 20% that is not financed plus the expenses and taxes of the operation. If we take into account that, according to the National Institute of Statistics, the savings rate of Spanish families in 2024 was 7.1% of their income, it would take 24 years of savings to be able to obtain that amount.
This reality is more pressing in the case of the Canary Islands, where in the eastern islands an average of 62,253 euros must be paid to be able to pay the down payment on a home, the equivalent of 28 years of savings. In contrast, in Tenerife, La Gomera, El Hierro and La Palma 79,502 euros must be paid, which means that families will have to save for 38 years.
For Francisco Iñareta, spokesperson for Idealista, “this study shows the enormous difficulty families have in accessing housing. Current prices and salaries are extending the necessary savings periods to the absurd and making access to financing unfeasible and therefore access to home ownership for families with average incomes. The only way to access the first owned home comes from donations, extraordinary income or inheritances."
Thus, he has indicated that "rental costs are higher than the payment of a mortgage, but without access to financing due to the lack of savings, many families are forced into the rental market.”
The years it takes to save the necessary amount for the down payment vary depending on the price of the house and income, so, among the provinces, it would be the Balearic Islands where it would take the longest to save before applying for the mortgage: 47 years, almost a complete working life. They are followed by the provinces of Málaga (44 years saving), Santa Cruz de Tenerife (38 years), Alicante (31 years), Madrid and Las Palmas (28 years in both cases). Above 20 years of savings are also the provinces of Cádiz (23 years), Girona, Guipúzcoa (22 years in both cases), Pontevedra (21 years), Álava, Barcelona, Granada, Huelva and Valencia (20 years of savings in the 5 provinces). At the bottom is Ciudad Real, where it is only necessary to save 10 years to collect the amount of the “entrance”.
Spanish capitals
The situation in the provincial capitals is very similar, since Palma is where you have to save the longest, almost the same as in the province: 46 years. They are followed by the cities of Madrid and Málaga, which share 38 years of savings to obtain the amount that allows access to housing financing. In fourth place is San Sebastián, with 37 years, and then the cities of Barcelona (32 years), Alicante (31 years), Cádiz (28 years), Valencia (28 years), Granada (27 years) and Pamplona (26 years). Jaén, on the other hand, is the capital where the necessary savings time is less: 11 years.
Three capitals require savings above 100,000 euros for the purchase of a two-bedroom house: Palma (123,892 euros), San Sebastián (119,025 euros) and Madrid (117,299 euros). Next are Barcelona (95,015 euros), Málaga (86,190 euros), Pamplona (71,865 euros) and Valencia (70,322 euros).
In Jaén, however, only 27,276 euros are needed. Below 30,000 euros of savings we also find Palencia (29,028 euros), Zamora (29,276 euros) and Huelva (29,738 euros).
