Marc Vidal: "No more housing is being built because there is no land and making it developable can take up to 15 years"

The housing crisis occupies the center of public debate in Spain, to the point that it has precipitated early elections that will be held on November 29.

For this reason, radio and television programs mainly talk about this issue. This is the case of the Herrera program in COPE, in which the economist Marc Vidal has expressed his opinion on the subject.

The Catalan economist has spoken about the demands of those camped in Puerta del Sol and about the Government's housing decree, which in his opinion does not solve the rental problems.

"Freezing prices and indefinite contracts protect those who already have it, not those looking for an apartment," says Vidal, who maintains that these measures generate an invisible queue of applicants and that landlords choose tenants with a magnifying glass.

Another problem that Vidal points out is the lack of housing supply in the context of the fact that in Spain 100,000 properties are built a year while around 250,000 homes are created.

"The issue is that more housing is not being built in our country because there is no final land and converting it into developable land can take between 8 and 15 years," says Vidal.

The economist recalls that the processing of a building permit in cities such as Madrid or Barcelona takes up to 12 months, while development taxes increase the final price by 20%.

Furthermore, Marc Vidal points to the shortage of qualified labor, pointing out that there has been a lack of 700,000 workers in the construction sector since 2008. And if that were not enough, the public housing stock in Spain represents between 2% and 3% of the total, a figure very far from the 8% recorded by the European average.

Vidal also responds to those who reply that there are 3.8 million empty homes in Spain, and reminds them that the majority are in places where there is no demand, that is, where people do not want to live.