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One-person households put pressure on Barcelona's housing market
Barcelona faces new pressure in its housing market: the increase in divorces and one-person households is driving up demand for flats. With more people living alone and supply not growing at the same rate, finding housing is becoming increasingly difficult.
This change responds to transformations in everyday life. Separations, an ageing population and new family models mean that, with the same population, more homes are needed. This is what experts identify as part of the second demographic transition.
Added to this phenomenon is the constant arrival of new residents, especially through international migration. The city continues to attract people, which further increases pressure on a market already operating at its limit.
The leeway offered by empty flats after the last crisis has virtually disappeared. That “buffer” has been absorbed, leaving a situation in which the number of households is growing while supply remains stagnant.
As a result, shared solutions are increasing. Living with other people is already a common option for many, and shared flats are gaining importance because of the difficulty of accessing an individual home.
According to the Observatori Metropolità de l’Habitatge de Barcelona, these changes reflect a structural transformation in how the city is inhabited. Beyond prices or isolated policies, Barcelona is entering a stage in which the way of living — more individual, more flexible — redefines demand and requires the housing model to be reconsidered so it can adapt to a new urban reality.