Catalan authorities have announced the acquisition of one thousand apartments from InmoCaixa for €87.2 million. This deal marks another step in the region’s ambitious program to expand the stock of affordable rental housing. All purchased properties are expected to be converted into permanent social housing and allocated among residents of more than fifteen municipalities.
However, despite the impressive scale of the transaction, real estate and urban planning experts are hesitant to call it groundbreaking. They believe that such purchases only partially address the issue and do not tackle the root causes of the housing shortage in Catalonia.
Expert opinion
Робен Деко (Robin Decaux), возглавляющий компанию Equito, отмечает: приобретение готовых квартир – это, безусловно, позитивный сигнал для рынка, но не более того. Он подчеркивает, что в странах, где удалось добиться реального прогресса в обеспечении граждан жильем, власти делали ставку не только на выкуп существующего фонда, но и на активное строительство, ускорение разрешительных процедур и привлечение частных инвестиций через инновационные схемы.
Maribel Martínez, technical architect and project manager at Bel.lar Espais, also points to a structural deficit: by her estimates, Spain lacks between 450,000 and 600,000 apartments to balance supply and demand. The country needs to bring at least 200,000 new units to market each year, but in 2025 this figure barely surpassed 85,000.
Problems and challenges
In Catalonia, according to Martínez, the situation is being aggravated by ineffective decisions made by previous governments. She notes that public discourse tends to focus more on high-profile property purchases than on real measures to launch new construction projects. At the same time, the details of such deals—such as location, size, and technical condition—often remain unclear, making it difficult to objectively assess their effectiveness.
Deco adds that without accelerating bureaucratic procedures, large-scale renovation, and the introduction of new financial instruments, the market will not be able to meet growing demand. He points out that European experience proves: only a combination of construction, urban renewal, and modern technologies can attract investment and improve professional management of the housing sector.
Possible Solutions
Martínez believes that any news about expanding the public housing stock deserves attention, but long-term change is only possible with a systematic approach. She urges authorities to publish more information about urban planning initiatives that could unlock construction and make housing more accessible to a wider range of people.
Experts agree that three key measures are needed for a sustainable impact. First, increasing supply by speeding up planning, permitting, and the construction of new projects. Second, large-scale renovation and putting vacant or dilapidated apartments back on the market. Third, creating flexible financing models where the state sets the rules and private capital helps deliver projects at the necessary scale.
Innovation and Future Opportunities
Deco emphasizes that modern technologies, such as tokenization and digital management, can attract citizens’ savings, speed up project launches, and bring unused housing back to market. He believes that to truly impact the market, it is essential not just to redistribute existing assets but also to scale up construction.
According to experts, Catalonia has the potential to lead change if it adopts a more open and flexible approach. This means fostering partnerships between the public and private sectors, implementing PropTech solutions for more efficient management, and accelerating all administrative processes. It is crucial for the state to provide land, guarantees, and stimulate demand, while business contributes capital, technology, and implementation experience.
Buying ready-made apartments is just one tool. True transformation of the market requires a comprehensive strategy that brings together all stakeholders and modern solutions.
Incidentally, InmoCaixa is one of the largest real estate companies in Spain, specializing in the management of residential and commercial properties. The organization is actively involved in affordable housing development programs and cooperates with government agencies. In recent years, InmoCaixa has closed several major residential property sales across various regions of the country, which has helped strengthen its position among the sector’s leading players.
