Housing is a dead end for young people. Many of those who manage to access a roof usually have an important stick behind them in the form of an inheritance or donation. The data from the General Council of Notaries confirms this: in the first six months of the year, 26,923 homes have been donated and 202,923 have been inherited, figures that are equivalent to 60% of all sales and purchases registered in that period of time. For the economist Gonzalo Bernardos, there are three main factors that explain why we can speak of an inherited real estate market: “A low salary, excessive spending and parents who accumulate much more wealth than they “they came to have their grandparents.” Added to this, he says, is a greater willingness of parents to lend a hand (or two) to their children, who are experiencing one of the biggest access crises in history due to the high prices of both rents and apartments for sale. In this context, “the great impediment to buying a home is not paying the mortgage payment, but not having the 20% of the price that the bank is not willing to lend,” says Bernardos. The difficulty in raising this amount has become the great barrier that separates those who can buy from those who, even with employment and stability, remain trapped in an increasingly expensive rent. Every day the Barcelona notary Jesús Benavides certifies this reality. “A young couple can cover the monthly payment of a mortgage loan of 700, 800 or 900 euros with their salary, but they do not have the capacity to save those 60,000, 70,000 or 80,000 euros for the down payment and expenses,” he explains. In practice, he assures, «it is very common for young people and couples with minors in their care to resort to the help of family members, mainly parents.» An aid that usually materializes in two ways: «The donation of money to cover the down payment, which is the most common option, or directly the donation of a property which, although it has increased, is not the most common.» Data from the Notarial Statistical Information Center show that this trend is not punctual. The number of donations of at least one home has grown by 71.2% between 2017 (29,722 acts) and 2024 (50,887), with special prominence for groups between 55 and 65 years old and those over 65 years old. Inheritances maintain equally high figures: going from 335,888 inherited homes in 2017 to 403,854 in 2024. The spokesperson for the General Council of Notaries, María Teresa Barea, interprets this phenomenon as the reflection of a structural reality: «The difficulties of young people in accessing housing mean that intergenerational transmissions are consolidated as instruments of access and redistribution of family resources.» And he continues: «If we take into account the data from 2018 compared to 2024, the autonomous communities in which the donation of homes has grown the most are Andalusia, Castilla y León and Extremadura. In the case of inheritances, Murcia, the Canary Islands and Asturias are the regions where the number of houses transferred has increased the most,» explains Barea. The explanation is not only economic, but also cultural and demographic. Spain already exceeds 10 million people over 65 years of age and is heading towards a scenario in which a third of the population will be or will exceed that age in 2055, according to the INE. This generation, which has accumulated housing in greater proportion than any other before, is becoming a decisive actor. That is to say, population aging predicts great wealth transmission in the coming decades, whether through donations or inheritances. After the increase in these transfers, there is often, in many cases, a planned tax strategy to avoid family conflicts or future burdens. Although Benavides does not believe this is the case: «These donations, which represent a partial advance of an inheritance, are not made to avoid conflicts or future tax burdens, but to help children in a situation of need, in the face of a very tense housing market, both in renting and purchasing.» “It is an act of altruism towards their children,” he insists. Taxation, however, weighs. Lawyer José María Salcedo, managing partner of Salcedo Tax Litigation, warns that donating a home can be very expensive: “The donation represents a capital gain that is taxed in personal income tax, and can be a fiscal ruin for the donor.” He explains: “If the capital gain for the donor in personal income tax is not very high—because the home was acquired recently or at a very high value—the decision to donate will depend on the existing tax benefits, and donations will be accelerated or delayed depending on whether or not a political change is anticipated in the autonomous community,” Salcedo argues. But he clarifies: «If the donor is going to have a significant profit, it is evident that the hardship that awaits him in personal income tax may also mean withdrawing the donation.»
Taxes
The beneficiary of the donation must pay the Inheritance and Donation Tax (ISD). In many autonomous communities there are bonuses or reductions in this tax when the donation is made between immediate family members (parents to children…), which can greatly reduce what the recipient pays. In this case, the donation may be reasonable. On the contrary, in inheritances, “there is no capital gain or loss in personal income tax, because for many years what is known as the deceased’s capital gain has not been taxed,” explains Salcedo. That is, those who die do not pay personal income tax for the transfer of their assets, which means that inheriting may be more fiscally favorable than donating. Now, in addition to the ISD paid by the heir, other expenses may appear such as municipal capital gains and Documented Legal Acts to formalize the deed of acceptance of inheritance. Another factor to take into account is the reference value of the Cadastre, which is the tax base of the ISD; Its amount can be decisive in making the decision. The social consequences of this phenomenon that changes the rules of the real estate board can already be observed. Bernardos affirms that we may be facing an irreversible generational change in the way of accessing a home: «A portion of young people have access assured thanks to the support of their parents. The worrying part is those under 40 who cannot be helped by their parents.» For his part, Jesús Benavides believes that, in the current situation, help and assistance from parents to children for the purchase of a home can be a good option, «but the best way is to donate money, not a property, since with this the family assets will not be «It resents so much and, likewise, we involve the children in the effort involved in paying for a home.»
