Affordability of buying or renting

⚖️ Affordability of buying or renting

How much housing weighs on pay. For buying: how many years of total gross salary it takes to pay for a 90 m² flat at the average appraised value, not counting taxes, fees or interest. For renting: what share of gross salary goes on the median rent for a flat. Since euros from the same year are compared, inflation does not affect the result.

Buying: years of salary

Between 2008 and 2025 the appraised value of a 90 m² flat changed by -25.0 % and the average gross salary by -3.7 %, both in constant 2025 euros, net of inflation. The low point of the series was in 2015, at 5.8 years of salary.

Renting: share of salary

By region

Buying: data for 2025; renting: for 2024, the latest year published. The salary used is that of each region, so the comparison takes into account that pay is higher in some regions than in others.

Ceuta and Melilla are not shown because the Labour Cost Survey does not provide their salary.

Calculation: years of salary = average appraised value of open-market housing for the year (average of its four quarters, Ministry of Housing) × 90 m² ÷ (total wage cost per worker per month × 12, INE, Quarterly Labour Cost Survey, table 6061, industry, construction and services). Rent as a share of salary = median monthly rent for a flat (SERPAVI) × 12 ÷ that same annual salary. These are average gross salaries per worker, not household incomes.