SPAIN’S youth is notoriously late at leaving their parents’ home and taking their own step onto the property ladder.
And in today’s climate of low wages, unstable work contracts, rising inflation and soaring house prices, who can blame them?
But Madrid regional authorities are hoping to change that with moves to encourage first time buyers under the age of 35.
This week they unveiled the ‘My First Home’ package to grant up to 95% mortgages to young people within the Madrid Community.
Madrid’s Department of Housing has earmarked €18 million budget to ‘guarantee’ loans for those under 35s who have a sufficient salary but can’t raise the usual deposit demanded by banks.
“With My First Home, the regional government will encourage the emancipation of those young people from Madrid who, despite having financial solvency, do not have enough savings to obtain a mortgage,” said Madrid’s housing chief Paloma Martin announcing the scheme.
“For this reason, the regional government, in collaboration with the banks, will offer a guarantee to those who do have sufficient financial resources to find the deposit needed for the home they want to buy,” she said.
The scheme will be open to those under 35 with steady jobs who are buying their first property of up to €390,000 within the Madrid region. Only homes that are destined to be a primary residence and not ‘buy to let’ are eligible under the scheme.
Data from Spain’s Emancipation Observatory of the Spanish Youth Council (CJE), reveals that the average age for Spaniards buying their first property is 41-years-old.
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