In 2024, Spain's construction of protected housing, known as Viviendas de Protección Oficial (VPO), has seen a remarkable growth of 62% compared to the previous year, reaching a total of 14,371 units completed.

This marks the highest number of VPO built since 2014, according to data released by the Ministry of Housing.

However, the increase remains insufficient to meet the structural housing deficit that the country faces and falls short of the government's aim to make protected housing a cornerstone for ensuring affordable rents.

Analysts have pointed out that while the rise in completions is significant, it serves only as a temporary measure against a backdrop of skyrocketing housing prices and limited access for large segments of the population.

Notably, only 25% of these new units have been allocated for rental, where the accessibility problem in the real estate market is most acute.

The surge in VPO construction reflects efforts by both state and regional governments to revive the development of protected housing, which has seen sharply reduced activity since the 2008 financial crisis, where nearly 70,000 such homes were constructed during the real estate boom.

Despite slight uptrends in recent years, production levels have remained low since then.

While the 2024 construction figures indicate a significant relative improvement, they still fall short of the country's needs, which domestic think tanks estimate require the construction of up to 1.8 million social and affordable homes to alleviate current deficits and ease pressures on the housing market.

The geographical distribution of newly built protected housing is uneven.

Certain regions, such as La Rioja, Murcia, and Cantabria, completed no VPO units in 2024, while Galicia recorded only five.

Economists like Santiago Carbó from the Universitat de València have acknowledged the figures as encouraging but emphasize that Spain is starting from historically low levels following 25 years without a substantial housing policy.

He suggests that the lack of significant governmental initiative has resulted in the ongoing deficit, and it may take several years of sustained growth to significantly modify the existing situation.

José García Montalvo, a professor at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra, has offered a more critical view of the figures, stating that the current construction pace is minimal compared to historical standards, recalling that before 2014, more than 50,000 protected houses were built annually.

Both experts concur that this recent uptick is not merely a temporary phenomenon but indicative of a longer-term trend that may see further increases in coming years.

Experts have also raised concerns regarding the internal distribution of these newly constructed protected homes.

Of the 14,371 units completed, 41% were designated for ownership (5,884 units), while only 26% (3,683 units) were intended for rent without an option to buy.

The remaining 33% (4,771 units) were allocated across mixed regimes or other arrangements.

This skewed allocation emphasizes a fundamental challenge that Spain faces: enhancing the public rental housing stock, which many experts believe is essential for addressing the issues of housing market accessibility.

Historically, various governments have encouraged a culture of home ownership, leading to the sales of many previously protected homes to tenants after limited qualification periods, bolstering the private housing supply rather than establishing a permanent public housing stock.

Montalvo has highlighted that Spain ranks poorly within Europe regarding access to rental housing, citing the small scale of its social rental stock.

He argues against continuing to promote home ownership in the protected housing sector, emphasizing that the central issue lies in rental accessibility.

The Basque Country is noted as a contrasting example, having shifted its focus towards increasing the availability of official rental properties.

Carbó adds that the preference for ownership stems from the desire for individuals to invest in assets for their future.

Nevertheless, the underlying issue remains that the Spanish model continues to prioritize ownership over rental equity, diverging from patterns seen in neighbouring countries.

A 2022 study indicated that in a standard European country, excessive rental price increases are countered with a greater public housing supply; however, in Spain, only 2.5% of households are in protected housing, significantly less than the EU average of 9.3% and far behind the 20% in Denmark and the UK.

According to the housing statistics, in the previous year, only one autonomous community focused primarily on rental housing, with the Balearic Islands dedicating 83% of its 236 protected homes to rental without an option to buy.

Navarra followed, dedicating 49% of its 277 VPO units to rental.

Catalonia, Madrid, and the Basque Country had proportions close to the national average with 30%, 28%, and 27%, respectively.