Taxation and housing: a barrier to real estate investment?
Last Updated on 18 June 2025 by Urbanitae
Housing taxation in Spain has become a growing concern for both citizens and investors, as the high tax burden—well above the European average—poses significant challenges for accessing housing and attracting real estate investment. In a context where millions of additional homes are expected to be needed to meet demand, it is urgent to thoroughly analyze how current tax policies may be acting as a barrier to developing a more accessible and dynamic housing market, and what measures could be taken to reconcile the need for public revenue with the promotion of real estate financing and the right to housing.
Spain ranks among the countries with the highest housing-related tax burden
Spain leads in terms of housing-related tax pressure within the European context, according to the latest report by the Instituto de Estudios Económicos (IEE), which states that the effective tax burden on housing reaches 30.3%, nearly five times the EU average of 6.5%. This burden spans the entire property cycle: from purchase and ownership to sale or rental.
According to Luis Garvía, economist and PhD in Finance at ICADE, “Taxes on property transactions (such as ITP or VAT for new builds), notary fees, stamp duty (AJD), and municipal capital gains tax add up to a total burden that can easily exceed 10–15% of the property’s value. This not only discourages the average buyer but also distorts investment decisions in downturns.”
Moreover, according to the IEE, this high tax burden creates distortions that negatively affect supply, housing investment, and access to housing, undermining the efficiency of Spain’s real estate market. Garvía adds that “legal uncertainty caused by regional or local regulatory changes, and fiscal uncertainty—such as the treatment of REITs (SOCIMIs) or new levies like the ‘vacant housing tax’—reduce the sector’s appeal as a long-term financial asset.”
On another front, tax uncertainty also discourages investment, as some recent proposals in Congress have suggested imposing a 100% surcharge on the value of properties purchased by non-EU residents. In this regard, the Registry of Tax Advisors (REAF) recently issued its assessment of the proposal package, warning that its effectiveness would be limited, as it targets a small segment of the housing market and excludes purchases of new builds or those made directly from developers.
The impact of taxation on housing access and investment
The high tax burden affects not only investors but also ordinary citizens seeking to access housing, as the fiscal surcharge reduces families’ purchasing power and delays the age of independence, especially among young people. The Bank of Spain has warned in various reports that access to housing is becoming a structural problem in Spain, affecting both the buying and rental markets.
According to Garvía, “the current tax system disproportionately penalizes young people and the middle class.” He notes that the ITP is a flat rate with no progressivity, tax deductions for primary residences have mostly disappeared except under older schemes, and the lack of redistributive public housing has been replaced by demand-side subsidies “that ultimately inflate prices.” This, he concludes, “creates a perverse effect: less help reaches those who need it most, and intergenerational inequality is perpetuated.”
The Bank of Spain report highlights a twofold impact: on the one hand, high taxes on housing construction and transactions reduce supply; on the other, landlords pass these costs on to tenants, driving up rents. This tax burden significantly erodes the profitability of housing investments, especially those targeting middle- and lower-income segments, which already operate on tight margins. As a result, developers and investors focus on more profitable projects aimed at those who can pay more, further neglecting affordable housing supply and making it increasingly difficult to find solutions for the majority of the population.
In this context, the build-to-rent model faces a structural conflict, as Garvía points out: “On the one hand, the goal is to promote affordable rentals, but on the other hand, developers are burdened with VAT, property tax, corporate tax, and often face rent update restrictions. This erodes expected profitability and reduces financial viability, especially in mid-sized markets or those with rigid regulations.”
Additional factors worsening the situation
Beyond high taxation, other factors are exacerbating the housing access crisis, such as inflation, which has raised construction and material costs, driving up the price of both new builds and renovations. According to the latest report from the National Statistics Institute (INE), the price of free-market housing rose by 12.2% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2025, the highest increase since 2007. Added to this complex situation is the slow and rigid urban planning process, which acts as a real obstacle to launching new housing developments, causing significant delays that hinder the sector’s ability to meet market needs.
In this regard, the General Council of Economists (CGE) recently stated that the lack of available land, combined with administrative rigidity and legal uncertainty, severely limits the sector’s capacity to respond to existing demand. This supply bottleneck means that any cost increase—such as taxes—has an immediate impact on prices.
What proposals are on the table to address the situation?
Currently, several proposals are being discussed to reduce the tax impact and improve housing access. At the XXVIII Presidents’ Conference held on June 6th, the central government proposed tripling public funding for housing to reach €7 billion between 2026 and 2030, in addition to guaranteeing long-term protection status for subsidized housing and creating a public database on real estate prices.
Meanwhile, the opposition has advocated reducing VAT to 4% for housing purchases and renovations, improving access to land for affordable housing construction, and repealing the current Housing Law in favor of a more investment- and supply-friendly framework.
From the academic sphere, the Instituto de Estudios Económicos has argued that it is necessary to eliminate taxes that discourage or distort housing investment. Furthermore, it proposes rethinking the entire tax structure affecting the real estate sector to make it more efficient, i.e., able to fulfill its revenue-raising role without hindering the market, and also fairer, especially for those trying to buy their first home.
Lastly, reforming the Land Law is one of the sector’s major demands, aimed at streamlining permits, increasing the supply of buildable land, and offering greater legal certainty to developers.
Luis Garvía advocates a comprehensive and progressive approach: “It’s essential to reduce transaction taxes for first-time homebuyers and long-term rental projects, implement a truly progressive tax system with deductions based on relative effort, and ensure regulatory stability, avoiding retroactive tax changes.” He also stresses the importance of “incentivizing renovation and energy efficiency—not just new builds—and funding public housing through the general budget instead of through indirect taxes on buyers.”
Regarding international comparisons, Garvía notes that “although Spain is not the most heavily taxed country in absolute terms, it is less predictable and more fragmented, with 17 autonomous communities and many municipalities applying different policies, which deters some investors.” As models to follow, he mentions “Germany, the Netherlands, and Austria—countries that combine legal certainty, long-term incentives, and public-private cooperation to deliver effective solutions without distorting the market.”
