- 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.
- 49.6% of respondents believe that housing options on the current market do not meet their financial expectations, and 11.7% say they do not meet their needs in terms of space and design.
- Although homeownership is 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 (12.5%) and publicly subsidized housing (10%).
- 16.2% of Basques have not applied for assistance because they believe they are not eligible, while only 2.8% say they have applied for an ICO guarantee, and 1.3% have applied for the aid intended for home purchases in rural areas as provided for in the State Housing Plan.
- 36.7% of users say that whether a home is healthy is a determining factor in their purchase decision. By age group, those over 65 are the most influenced by this factor.
- When asked what the home of the future will be like, 22.7% closely associate it 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.
May 14, 2025. — Culmia, the real estate platform that brings together all the housing solutions available on the market, has released the second edition of its report “The Buyer’s Journey in Spain,” this time with data focused on the Basque Country.
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 Andalusia, the Community of Madrid, Catalonia, the Valencian Community, the Basque Country, and Galicia.
In addition to providing an overview of the residential market in Spain and the Basque Country, 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 55% of Basques say they have considered renting an affordable home or one that receives some form of public subsidy. By age group, young adults—those between the ages of 26 and 29—are the most likely, at 21.5%, to view affordable rental housing as their preferred option for the future.
During the search: Affordable housing, a growing trend
When it comes to price, 49.6% of Basques 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, 11.7% of Basques say that current market options do not meet their needs in terms of space and layout, 5.3% say they do not meet their expectations for common areas, and 7% say that the current offerings do not meet their expectations for complementary services. 26.4% of respondents state that 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 nearly 37% of Basques, with the greatest impact felt among young people aged 26 to 29, at 47.5%. The report highlights that, among Basques who have considered buying a home in the past year but ultimately did not do so, 61.6% made this decision as a result of the enactment of the Housing Act and its regulatory impact.
It also reveals that, although homeownership is the most popular housing option across all age groups—with 72.7% of respondents considering it a possible option for the future—this percentage decreases among younger age groups. The current market context is leading to the emergence of new housing options that were previously less
in demand. In this regard, 12.5% of Basques consider affordable rental housing to be their primary option, followed by 10% who view subsidized housing (
) as a possible future option, 2.5% who consider flexible rental housing, and 2.3% who consider coliving.
Younger people—those under 30—account for 59.6% of those who are least likely to view homeownership as a viable option for the future, while those over 65—nearly 90%—are the most likely to choose homeownership.
With regard to financial assistance, the report notes that 79.8% of Basques 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 begin the home-buying process. Of these, 16.2% did not apply because they believed they were not eligible. However, 2.8% have applied for an ICO guarantee, and 1.3% have applied for assistance under the State Housing Plan.
Among those who have applied for some form of assistance, this option is most common among people aged 45 to 64, with an average of 4.9% having applied.
The Search and Purchase Process: Should You Seek Advice or Not?
As the industry evolves, preferences regarding advice before, during, and after the purchase of a home are also changing.
More than 68% of Basques surveyed identified areas where 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.
In particular, more than 25% 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 20.6%.
By age group, as Basques get older, their preference for searching for housing without external advice increases. While this preference stands at 37.9% among respondents over 65, the figure drops to 29% for those under 30.
Meanwhile, when it comes to beginning negotiations for the purchase of a home, the report notes that more than 69% 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 Define the Most Sought-After Homes
The ability to customize a home is an important factor for more than 63% of Basques, although it is not a deciding factor in the home-buying process. Home design is a key consideration among respondents, with 60.7% of younger people placing the greatest importance on it.
Basques place the greatest importance on spaciousness and open floor plans in a home, at 66.3%. This is followed by natural light, at 65.4%, and in third place, the layout of the rooms, at 54.7%, followed by the home’s orientation.
When it comes to the home-search process as well, 36.7% of users say that whether a home is healthy is a determining factor in their purchase. 43.8% of people over 65 say that a home’s healthiness is a determining factor in their purchase, a figure that drops among people aged 26 to 29, who say that a home’s healthiness is relevant but does not determine their purchase.
Chemical pollutants (27.6%) are the aspect of household health that causes the most concern, followed by biological pollutants (24.3%) and physical pollutants (23.4%).
In addition, 17.6% of Basques prioritize sustainability in the home-building process and consider it an essential factor in the home-buying process; this factor is most important to people between the ages of 45 and 64.
This is reinforced by the fact that more than 77% of Basques emphasize that energy certification is a deciding factor when buying a home, although 46.4% 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 69.4% of respondents.
Regarding home automation, the report also reveals that nearly one in two Basques—46%—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 Basques’ perceptions of the home of the future and analyzes the
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 Basques associate with the home of the future are sustainability and energy efficiency (31%), affordability (30.3%), and energy self-sufficiency (20.2%).
On the other hand, regarding the materials expected to be used in the homes of the future, the report reveals that most Basques 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% of Basques believe that the home of the future will be smart. As a result, 32.7% believe that computers, the
, 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 viewing the home
through augmented reality and social media. The survey 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 WhatsApp support.
Finally, regarding financing for future housing, Basques expect it to come from bank loans, as opposed to other payment and financing methods such as equity, 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 children’s views on the home of the future, offering a new perspective—
—on 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. Click this link to see the children’s expectations for the home of the future.
These are some of the conclusions of the report prepared in collaboration with the polling firm Sigmados, which provides an up-to-date and detailed overview of the profile of homebuyers in the Basque Country based on surveys conducted among a representative sample of more than 2,000 citizens over the age of 26 in various autonomous communities. In addition to providing an overview of the residential landscape in the Basque Country—and of homebuyer profiles 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.
