Spain should curb immigration if it wants to ease its deepening housing crisis.
That’s the stark claim from one of the country’s leading property and investment experts.
Mikel Echevarren, president of Colliers, has argued that the current pace of population growth is placing unsustainable pressure on the housing market.
His comments come as Spain hits a record milestone, with more than 10 million foreign-born residents now living in the country, according to the Instituto Nacional de Estadistica.
Earlier this year, PM Pedro Sanchez also announced the legalisation of 500,000 irregular migrants.
‘No society can withstand this pressure’
‘No market can withstand 500,000 new people arriving each year,’ Echevarren said, warning that Spain’s housing system is struggling to cope with the scale of demand.
In his view, the most ‘obvious and simple’ solution is to limit population growth, in a position that directly links immigration levels to the worsening housing crisis.
He doubled down on that argument days later, stating: ‘No society can withstand this demographic pressure.’
A widening housing gap
At the heart of the problem is a growing mismatch between supply and demand.
Spain would need to build more than 250,000 homes a year to keep up, according to Echevarren. In reality, construction is running at closer to 100,000 annually.
That shortfall is already severe and could balloon dramatically in the coming years if current trends continue.
Fewer rental homes on the market
The situation could be made worse by a looming reduction in rental supply.
Echevarren predicts that around 40,000 homes currently on the rental market will be sold off in the coming years, as landlords and investment funds opt for more profitable returns by selling properties individually.
That shift would further tighten availability for renters, pushing prices even higher.
Why Spain can’t just build more
While boosting construction might seem like the logical fix, Echevarren argues it’s not realistic under current conditions.
Unlike the pre-2008 boom, when up to 700,000 homes were built annually, today’s market faces major constraints, including limited capital, a shortage of labour and slow land development processes.
‘The conditions that allowed that level of construction no longer exist,’ he said.
A controversial diagnosis
Echevarren acknowledges that immigration has brought economic benefits, including GDP growth.
But he insists that, from a housing and infrastructure perspective, the impact is ‘clearly negative’ when supply cannot keep up.
His remarks come as Spain continues to rely on foreign workers to support key sectors of the economy.
Despite the warnings, the Colliers chief admits there is no short-term solution to the crisis.
