According to the latest news related to the economic situation of young people from the Youth Council, a mortgage or rent payment accounts for more than 50% of the net salary, making emancipation an impossible task.

The youth emancipation rate at the end of 2020 was placed at 15.8%, 3 points below the record in 2019, being the lowest figure since the last 21 years.

Among European countries, Spain is the country where young people become independent the latest. The reasons for this are high rental prices and the precariousness of employment due to temporary contracts.

The Youth Council indicates that the cost of rent for a young person is 92% of the salary and for the purchase of a house 55% plus the saving of 20% of the value of the property plus administrative and fiscal expenses.

Therefore, the most viable formula for many young people is to share rent, which means allocating 28% of their income.

Young people up to 29 years of age have to spend more than 30% of their salary on home ownership in Spain, which is higher than what is recommended by real estate experts.

The least accessible cities for emancipation are: Balearic Islands where the mortgage is higher than 90% of the salary. Madrid, the Basque Country, Catalonia, the Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla are above 60% of salary.

On the opposite side are Murcia, Extremadura, Castilla-La Mancha and Castilla-León, although the weight of housing on young people’s salaries is still over 30% and in Asturias and La Rioja it accounts for slightly more than 30% of the salary.

In a rental situation, it is even more complicated because young people up to 35 years of age cannot afford to pay rent alone in any community.