• Culmia presents the second edition of its report, “The Homebuyer’s Journey in Spain,” which analyzes the current and future landscape for homebuyers in Spain and in various regions, and explores market trends.
• 22.7% of Galicians have not applied for assistance because they believe they are not eligible, while only 3.1% say they have applied for an ICO guarantee, and 2.1% have applied for the aid intended for home purchases in rural areas as provided for in the State Housing Plan.
• 54% of respondents believe that housing options on the current market do not meet their financial expectations, and 14.2% say they do not meet their needs in terms of space and design.
• Although homeownership remains the most common housing option across all age groups, other alternatives are beginning to emerge among the most sought-after options, such as affordable rental housing (18.4%) and publicly subsidized housing (5.3%).
• 42.2% of users say that whether a home is healthy is a determining factor in their purchase. By age group, those over 65 are the most influenced by this factor.
• When asked what the home of the future will be like, 23% associate it closely with home automation and artificial intelligence.
• This edition of the report features children’s views on the home of the future. For them, robots and AI will be a reality in the home. And they hope for spacious, flexible, and bright places to live.

December 16 , 2024 – Culmia, the real estate platform that fully concentrates housing solutions on the market, has presented the second edition of the report ‘ Buyer’s Journey in Spain’ , in this case with data focused on Galicia.

This is a report prepared in collaboration with the polling firm Sigmados, which provides an up-to-date and detailed overview of the profile of homebuyers in Spain based on surveys conducted among a representative sample of more than 2,000 citizens over the age of 26 across Galicia, Andalusia, the Community of Madrid, Catalonia, the Valencian Community, and the Basque Country.

In addition to providing an overview of the residential market in Spain and Galicia, and of the profile of homebuyers in particular, the report examines emerging trends related to the home of the future and explores the significance of certain factors—such as digitalization, sustainability, energy efficiency, and new forms of interaction—in this context.

The report reveals that 72.1% of Galicians who have been looking for a home in the past year have not applied for any of the financial assistance programs offered by the government to help them begin the home-buying process. Of these, 22.7% did not apply because they believed they were not eligible. However, 3.1% have applied for an ICO guarantee, and 2.1% have applied for assistance under the National Housing Plan.

Among those who have applied for some form of assistance, this option is most common among younger age groups—specifically, those between the ages of 30 and 44—with an average of 6.1% having applied.

During the search: Affordable housing, a growing trend

With regard to price, 54% of Galicians believe that the housing options on the current market do not meet their financial expectations.

This data confirms the trend outlined in the previous report, which noted that all age groups agree on the need for more housing with more affordable prices and terms.

Meanwhile, 14.2% of Galicians say that the options currently available on the market do not meet their needs in terms of space and layout. Only 14.5% of those surveyed say that the housing options on the current market meet their expectations.

The report shows that the regulatory framework—such as the Housing Act—has led to an indefinite halt in home purchases for 36.7% of Galicians, with the greatest impact felt among young people aged 26 to 29, at 42.6%. The report notes that, among Galicians who have considered buying a home in the past year but ultimately did not do so, 48.8% made this decision as a result of the enactment of the Housing Act and its regulatory impact.

It also reveals that homeownership is the preferred option across all age groups, with 69% of respondents considering this option as a possible future choice. The current market context is leading to the emergence of new housing options that were previously less in demand. In this regard, 18.4% of Galicians consider affordable rental housing to be their top choice, followed by 5.3% who see subsidized housing (VPO) as a possible future option, 3.7% who consider coliving, and 3.5% who consider flexible rental arrangements.

Young people between the ages of 26 and 29, 70.5%, are the most likely to choose homeownership, unlike in other parts of the region—such as Andalusia, Catalonia, Madrid, Valencia, and the Basque Country—where homeownership is most common among people over 45.

In addition, 64.9% of Galicians say they have considered renting affordable housing or housing that receives some form of public subsidy. By age group, those over 65 are the most likely—22.9%—to view affordable rental housing as their preferred option for the future.

Search and Purchase Process: Advice or no advice?

As the industry evolves, preferences regarding advice before, during, and after the purchase of a home are also changing.

More than 74% of Galicians surveyed identified areas in which a real estate agency or developer can provide them with support during the home-buying process, a figure that aligns with the findings of the first edition of this report, in which support from the developer was one of the aspects that most helped customers during this process.

Specifically, 27.4% believe that a real estate agency or brokerage firm is helpful because of its better knowledge of the market and the advice it provides, followed by those who think that working with a real estate agency allows them to learn about more housing listings, at 18%.

By age group, it is evident that Galicians between the ages of 45 and 64 are more likely to search for housing without external assistance—31.3%—a figure that drops significantly to 17.6% among those under 30.

Meanwhile, when it comes to beginning negotiations for the purchase of a home, the report notes that nearly 61% of those surveyed prefer to interact with the seller and complete the purchase process through personal contact with a professional.

When buying a home: Design and sustainability are the hallmarks of the most sought-after homes

The ability to customize a home is an important factor for more than 65.8% of Galicians, although it is not a deciding factor in the home-buying process. Home design is a key consideration among respondents, with 57.8% of those aged 30 to 44 placing the highest importance on it.

Natural light is the feature that Galicians value most in a home, at 71.1%. This is followed by spaciousness and open floor plans(71%), and in third place, thermal comfort (60.7%), followed by the layout of the home’s rooms and its orientation.

When it comes to the home-search process as well, 42.2% of users say that whether a home is healthy is a determining factor in their purchase. 56.3% of people over 65 say that a home’s healthiness is a determining factor in their purchase, a figure that drops among people aged 30 to 44, who say that a home’s healthiness is relevant but does not determine their purchase.

Chemical pollutants(26.2%) are the aspect of home health that causes the most concern, followed by biological pollutants (24.3%) and physical pollutants (22.9%).

In addition, 21.5% of Galicians prioritize sustainability in the home-building process and consider it an essential factor in the home-buying process; this factor is of greater importance to people over the age of 65.

This is reinforced by the fact that more than 81% of Galicians emphasize that energy certification is a deciding factor when buying a home, although 48.9% are not willing to pay for it. The main reason buyers prefer homes with a high energy efficiency rating is to save on energy costs, cited by 69.6% of respondents.

Regarding home automation, the report also reveals that nearly one in two Galicians—51.2%—are looking for homes that include home automation features for efficient household management. This trend was already evident in the first edition of the report, where these features accounted for 3.1% of the most highly valued factors for reducing a home’s fixed expenses.

The Home of the Future: sustainable, efficient, and smart

The second edition of Culmia’s report, “The Buyer’s Journey in Spain,” also explores Galicians’ perceptions of the home of the future and analyzes emerging trends that will shape homes in the medium and long term. The report’s findings reveal that several ideals related to the home of the future are already being implemented today.

Among the essential values that Galicians associate with the home of the future are sustainability and energy efficiency(33.7%), affordability (28.3%), and energy self-sufficiency (23.1%).

On the other hand, regarding the materials expected to be used in the homes of the future, the report reveals that most Galicians believe homes will continue to be built with traditional materials, followed by other options such as wood, in second place, and solar glass, in third place.

In line with the rise of new technologies, more than 23.2% of Galicians believe that the home of the future will be smart. As a result, 33.2% believe that computers, smartphones, or tablets will be the primary means of interacting with the smart home, followed by communication through virtual assistants.

Regarding the process of buying the home of the future, the survey suggests that it will involve hyper-personalized advertising, followed by social media and viewing the home through augmented reality. It also raises the possibility that other channels may emerge in this process, such as viewing via holograms and the metaverse, as well as influencers.

As for advice, it is believed that in-person interactions will be the most common channel for customer service during the home-buying process in the future. This is followed by phone support and support via WhatsApp.

Finally, regarding financing for future home purchases, Galicians expect to rely on bank financing rather than other payment and financing methods such as using personal assets, barter, bare ownership, or crowdfunding or crowdlending.

How do children envision the home of the future?

As a new feature this year, the report also analyzed the opinions of children ages 12 to 14 regarding the home of the future, offering a new perspective from the viewpoint of future homebuyers in Spain.

Children imagine a future where homes will be deeply integrated with artificial intelligence, with all devices and appliances connected to the internet. They envision automated homes, where lighting, appliances, and household chores will be managed by robots and controlled via voice commands or remote controls. Furthermore, they associate artificial intelligence not only with the convenience of giving instructions, but also with the efficiency and energy savings it will provide in the operation of smart homes.

They envision a future where the rooms in homes will be completely dominated by electronics and artificial intelligence. They envision more spacious and functional spaces, where everything—from televisions and game consoles to the lights—will be voice-controlled. The lights, key players in this scenario, will be able to change color and brightness, and even turn off automatically when you fall asleep. They also expect cleaning and organization to be handled automatically. These smart rooms will create personalized environments, adapting the temperature, lighting, and space to the needs of the moment, all managed electronically via screens or voice commands.