Affordable housing affordability and the financial sector in Spain

AFI (Analistas Financieros Internationales) has published a report on banking and access to housing which highlights the following: 

• 80% of Spanish households own their property, compared to 70% in the EU, 60% in France and 50% in Germany. Spanish households have 75% of their assets in real estate.
• Bank lending is key for home ownership. Mortgages in Spain have better conditions than the European average. AFI estimates that a mortgage holder in Spain paid on average €20,000 less interest than the average mortgage holder in the EU from 2003 to 2018.
• Residential rentals have been gaining importance in recent years, and today represent 20% of the market, compared to 10% before the crisis. This trend can exert upward pressure on residential rental prices. The solution lies in greater supply of affordable rental housing, rather than price caps.