8 in 10 young spaniards still living with parents

The plight of "Generation Rent" in the UK has grabbed many media headlines in recent years, as the rising cost of owning a home has left first-time buyers priced out of the market, either trapped in tenancies or still staying with their family. But what are the conditions like for those hoping to buy in Spain?

Not much better, according to figures from the Emancipation Observatory. The data reveals that around 80 per cent of young people in Spain under the age of 30 are still living with their parents. This is despite prices collapsing since the financial crisis, with property values only now starting to show signs of slow, steady growth.

According to the report, young people would need to almost double their salary to be able to afford a home (98.23 per cent higher than what they currently earn). Buyers would have devote over half (almost 60 per cent) of their wages to get onto the housing ladder. Even then, the maximum size of the property they can hope to afford is just 50.4 square metres.

While the group, operated by the Youth Council of Spain, attributes part of the responsibility to the "harsh conditions of the housing market", the majority of the problem actually stems from unemployment. Indeed, with the Euribor at record lows, mortgage lending in Spain is both affordable and rising, according to recent statistics. Unemployment, though, is at a staggering 51.4 per cent for those under the age of 25, over double the 24.1 per cent rate for those aged between 30 and 34 and significantly higher than the 30.2 per cent rate for those between 25 and 29.

Half of the young people who are employed, meanwhile, are only on temporary contracts - far from the stability required to be able to save up and afford (and then continue affording) a home.

"Exclusion from the labour market and the precariousness of the jobs accessible to young people are the main causes of the failure to emancipate," Chairman of the Youth Council of Spain Héctor Saz tells El Mundo.

He calls for "a labour legislation guaranteeing rights, quality and decent employment conditions for young people and a housing policy that favours the implementation of an independent living project."