YOUNG adults are proving to be the main market for rented property, outnumbering other, older age groups, according to recent figures.
Despite high unemployment among the under-35s and, in particular, the under-30s, with low wages and job insecurity rife in this age group, property owners looking for tenants are more likely to find them among this community than in any other.
The rental market has dramatically grown since the start of the pandemic – in the first six months, it completely stagnated, but analysts reveal it is now more buoyant than even before the Covid crisis began.
Banks are tending to offer more flexible conditions for first-time buyers, mindful of the fact that unless young adults are able to get a foothold on the property ladder before around age 35, they may never do so as it would mean they were still paying off their mortgages long after retirement.
And although reasons for renting are many and varied, a key motive for becoming a tenant rather than buying a home is to 'get settled' and become used to independent living and making one's wages stretch before committing to the long haul.
Most want to buy, but cannot afford the deposit
This said, a significant minority of young adults aged 18 to 35 believe buying a home is the best option and one they aspire to.
According to a recent survey, 37% of this age group considers renting to be 'dead money', whilst 40% think home ownership is security for the future and 48% believes it to be a sound long-term investment.
But banks still, mostly, want a 20% deposit for home-buying – although there are exceptions, the overwhelming majority will only lend up to 80% of the lesser sum between the market price and the value, and fees on top for buying and for setting up a mortgage come in at around 12.5% on top of the sale price.
Read more at thinkSPAIN.com