They Found a Way Around the Housing Crisis: Selling Rooms Instead of Apartments or Houses
A new startup in Spain is offering a solution to the housing crisis by enabling young people to purchase individual rooms instead of entire apartments or houses.
In response to Spainβs worsening housing crisis, where access to affordable housing is a major concern for many, new innovative business models are emerging. The startup Habitacion.com, founded by Oriol Valls and Anna Bedmar, aims to tackle the issue by offering young individuals the opportunity to buy individual rooms. This approach allows young people, who often struggle to save enough money due to high rental costs, to begin building equity and thus potentially start saving towards a larger investment in property over time.
Valls and Bedmar, both in their early thirties, recognized a significant challenge faced by their peers: the struggle to save while bearing the financial burden of high rents. With many young adults spending the majority of their wages on rental payments, their model seeks to provide a pathway to homeownership without the need for massive upfront capital for an entire property. The platform anticipates it will facilitate around 400 room sales this year, demonstrating initial interest in this alternative housing solution.
This innovative approach not only addresses the immediate concern regarding housing affordability but also contributes to a broader conversation about the need for structural changes in real estate markets. As governments work to accelerate the availability of affordable rental housing, startups like Habitacion.com explore creative solutions that could reshape how young people engage with property ownership. Such alternatives may offer new possibilities for financial stability among the younger demographic, potentially altering the traditional perceptions of homeownership in Spain.