Catalonia's housing costs drive surge in parent‑to‑child home donations

Donations from parents to children for buying homes rose sharply in Catalonia, with the Notarial College reporting about 23,000 transactions in 2025 – a 22 % increase over the previous year. The rise is linked to a tax exemption on donations that meet certain criteria, highlighting an emerging form of intergenerational solidarity that preserves relative wealth positions across generations.

In the Lleida region, a Bank of Spain report noted that residents need to allocate 3.8 years of net income to purchase a dwelling, the lowest effort among Catalan provinces. House prices there have risen only about 1 % per year between 2014 and 2025, well below the 2.8 % increase in Barcelona. Housing costs represent 19.5 % of average salaries, while the overall fiscal load on buying, owning and transferring a home can exceed 62 % of the purchase price. Experts have urged measures such as a 0 % VAT on affordable rentals and reduced rates for first‑time buyers to ease the burden.