A new study from Fotocasa Research has found that over a third of Spain’s empty homes have stood unused for more than five years—a figure that has edged higher even as housing demand soars in key regions. The findings shine a spotlight on a paradox that continues to frustrate both policymakers and prospective buyers.
Long-term vacancy on the rise
According to a nationwide survey by Fotocasa (a property portal) conducted in February 2025 with more than 5,000 respondents, 38% of the country’s vacant homes have been empty for at least five years. This figure marks a three-percentage-point rise in just twelve months. Meanwhile, the share of homes that have become vacant within the past six months has also grown, reaching 31%—up by six points.
Between these two poles, the remaining properties fall into a patchwork of shorter vacancy durations: 8% have been empty for between six and twelve months; 11% for one to two years; and 12% for between two and five years.
Who owns Spain’s vacant homes?
Only 3% of Spanish property owners admit to having an empty home in their portfolio. However, this number varies drastically with the size of one’s property holdings. Among those with just one property, scarcely 1% have an unoccupied residence. This rises to 6% for owners of two homes, and leaps to a notable 26% among those who own three or more.
Fotocasa’s director of research, María Matos, explained: “It’s vital that empty homes are brought back into the market, be it for sale or for rent, particularly since Spain lags behind much of Europe in terms of available homes per citizen. But the reality is not as simple as it seems: most of these vacant properties are not in a liveable condition, or require major renovations their owners can’t afford. Plus, many are found in areas with little or no housing demand—in rural towns rather than big cities, where the crisis of affordability is most acute.”
Portrait of the average vacant home owner
Men make up a slight majority of owners with vacant properties (53%), and the average age sits at 53. More than half are in the older bracket of 55 to 75 years old, with a significant presence among middle and upper-middle-class households. Family situations vary: a third live with a partner and children, a quarter live alone, and 23% reside with a partner but no children. The vast majority (69%) live in a home that they own themselves, and three-quarters of respondents with empty homes have at least two properties to their name.
Where are Spain’s empty homes?
Geographically, Andalucía leads the league tables with 2.5% of its property owners declaring at least one unused home, followed by Madrid (2.1%) and Valencia (2.0%). At the opposite end, only 1.7% of Catalonian property owners report having an empty property—a relative bright spot in an otherwise challenging landscape.
A stubborn problem with deep roots
The report makes it clear that Spain’s 21st-century housing headaches aren’t solely down to under-supply in the most popular regions. Poor property conditions, a mismatch between vacancy and demand hotspots, and the financial burden of renovation are all feeding into the problem of long-term emptiness.
Still, as debate around affordable housing reaches a crescendo, these figures provide an important reality check: thousands of homes sit idle not by choice, but by a stubborn combination of accident, circumstance, and hard economics—leaving both buyers and renters to continue searching for their place in the sun.
