Home ownership: a state of mind?

Home ownership is unforeseeable for a large proportion of Europeans, according to a recent study.

According to the seventh edition of ING´s home and mortgage survey, 30% of all Europeans cannot see themselves ever buying a house…

With regards to future home ownership, the most pessimistic were the Germans, Italians and Brits – yes, the UK is included in this – who took the survey, of whom 45%, 44% and 41% respectively thought being a homeowner was nothing more than a pipe dream.

One logical conclusion to draw from this statistic is that residents of the respective European countries believe that property prices are either out of reach given the current market conditions or that buying a home in the foreseeable future will be economically untenable. In fact, 57% believed that residential real estate is either “costly” or “unjustly expensive”.

Either that or, as Europeans, we believe low salaries are to blame for the lack of perceived ability to buy real estate. More than half (56%) of the 15,000 individuals surveyed blamed insufficiently-high salaries for their “inability” to buy.

Well, here comes the curveball… only 17% of Spaniards believe that house prices are too high and just 21% on average have difficulty with mortgage repayments: both figures significantly lower than in other countries.

So, either they are incredibly optimistic, or they are aware that now is an especially favourable time to invest in bricks and mortar on Spanish soil.

Although Spain has long been renowned for its outstanding quality of life and affordable real estate, now it is a veritable beacon for foreign investment – both fellow Europeans and citizens from further afield are buying with increasing enthusiasm – as well as being a preferred haven for those wishing to escape Brexit woes in the UK.

VIVA are here to help you achieve the Costa del Sol property of your dreams, allowing you the lifestyle you always promised yourself. With now being a great time to buy in Spain and mortgage conditions very favourable, see what the Spaniards see and check out the eminent affordability of property here>>