FOUR in ten Spaniards are considering building their own home as soaring property prices make buying increasingly unaffordable.
A study by the Real Estate Credit Union (UCI) found that 42% of Spaniards have thought about building their own home at some point.
The figure rises to 47% in Andalucia, 52% in Extremadura and a whopping 61% in the Canary Islands.
A further 25% of respondents said being able to tailor the cost to their budget was a key attraction, while 18% were motivated by the prospect of having a more sustainable and energy-efficient home.
According to the UCI study, younger Spaniards are leading the trend, with 52% of those aged 25 to 34 saying they have considered building their own home.
The percentage falls to 46% among 35 to 44-year-olds, and 42% among those aged 45 to 54.
Among Spaniards aged 55 to 65, just 29% have considered the option.
Where people live also appears to play a role, with almost 48% of those living in rural areas saying they would consider building their own home.
The figure, however, falls to 39.9% in city centres and 39.6% in urban outskirts.
The revelation comes as Spain’s housing crisis continues to deepen, with house prices soaring 12.9% in the first quarter of 2026 compared with a year earlier, according to the National Statistics Institute (INE).
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Rental asking prices have also hit record levels, reaching an average of €15.30 per square metre in July.
That means a typical 100-square-metre home would be advertised for around €1,530 a month before other expenses.
At the same time, Spain is suffering from a huge shortage of homes, with the Bank of Spain estimating the country’s structural housing deficit has now topped 750,000 homes.
The imbalance between soaring demand and a lack of new homes is continuing to push up prices and make housing increasingly unaffordable, particularly in the country’s biggest cities and most popular tourist areas.
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