Spain ended 2024 with a record-breaking housing milestone: more than 27 million homes registered across the country. But behind the headline lies a nuanced snapshot of supply, demand, and a stubborn stock of unsold new builds.
Record growth in housing numbers
According to the latest figures published by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Agenda and reported by Europa Press, Spain closed 2024 with a total of 27,010,608 homes, marking the first time this figure has passed the 27 million threshold since official records began.
The increase—102,322 more than a year earlier—reflects an annual growth rate of 0.38%, indicating modest but steady expansion in the national housing stock.
Main vs second-homes: the composition of Spanish housing
Of the total homes registered at the end of 2024, the vast majority—some 19.2 million or 71.4%—were classified as main residences, up by 0.59% compared to the previous year. The remaining 28.6% (around 7.7 million) were secondary properties, a slight decrease of 0.13%.
This shift suggests a continued trend toward owner-occupier or long-term rental use, possibly influenced by tighter regulations on short-term holiday lets and changing household demographics linked to remote work and internal migration.
Unsold new builds back on the rise
While the total housing stock continues to grow, so too does the problem of unplaced supply. At the close of 2024, Spain had 455,280 newly built homes still waiting for a buyer—an increase of 1.7% compared to 2023. These unabsorbed units represent 1.69% of the total housing stock.
The lack of movement in this segment hints at a persistent mismatch between where homes are being built and where demand actually exists—or worse, an oversupply of homes not aligned with affordability levels.
Where is all this housing anyway?
Not surprisingly, housing stock is heavily concentrated in the most populous autonomous communities:
- Andalucía leads the pack with a whopping 4.7 million homes.
- Cataluña follows with 3.9 million.
- The Comunidad Valenciana holds 3.3 million.
- Madrid rounds out the top four with 3 million.
On the other end of the scale are the usual suspects: Ceuta and Melilla (a combined 58,634 homes), La Rioja (214,914), and Navarra (340,548), all with the smallest housing stocks in the country.
The concentration of unsold new builds
Interestingly, the surplus of unsold new homes isn’t evenly distributed across Spain. Just three regions—Cataluña (83,487), Comunidad Valenciana (68,397), and Andalucía (67,547)—account for nearly half of the national total.
Meanwhile, several regions recorded effectively zero housing stock in this category, including Navarra, Cantabria, and Extremadura. The Basque Country (2,527), and the territories of Ceuta and Melilla (a combined 904) had the lowest shares of unsold new builds on a national scale.
What does it all mean?
The narrative that emerges from these figures is one of steady expansion with pockets of strain. Spain’s housing stock is growing, yes—but so is the pile of unsold new homes in certain areas, prompting questions about whether construction is aligned with demographic trends, job opportunities, and actual housing need.
The increase in primary residences signals healthy demand for full-time homes, but the stagnant movement in newly built properties could suggest miscalculations by developers—or perhaps broader affordability issues on the demand side.
As policymakers continue to monitor and regulate the housing market, understanding not just how many homes exist—but where, what type, and for whom—will be key in avoiding the ghost towns of the past and building for a more balanced future.
