Bedrooms for Sale Highlight the Depths of Europe's Housing Crisis as Young Buyers Seek Alternative Paths to Homeownership
February 28, 2026: A Spanish startup is selling bedrooms in flats shared with strangers, a British developer offers mortgages for friends willing to buy together, while stakes in rental properties help some tenants cover their housing costs. Such unconventional arrangements highlight the lengths some young Europeans are ready to go to cope with a housing crisis that has hit them the hardest .
Over the past decade, house prices in the European Union grew 10% faster than incomes, according to European Commission research, and all metrics show that the young feel the squeeze the most .
Spain: Selling Rooms, Not Flats
In Spain, where housing shortages in Madrid, Barcelona and other major cities were made worse by a surge in short-term holiday rentals, Habitacion.com offers individual rooms for up to €80,000 ($95,200)—about a third of what a one-bedroom flat would fetch in similar locations .
The company said it sold 200 rooms last year and has a waiting list of 32,000, with properties in seven cities listed on its website . Founder and CEO Oriol Valls says his firm offers a solution to the squeeze on finances—official data show average Spanish monthly salaries rose 26% over the past decade while property prices surged 81%—and changing life circumstances .
"People no longer get married, or if they do, they get married but don't have children ... or they do it much later," he said. "They require much smaller living spaces that are also much more affordable" .
Customers must fill compatibility questionnaires covering questions about lifestyle habits to be paired with co-owners or renters. They also need to use personal loans rather than mortgages and must go through the company if they want to resell .
However, critics note that buyers often need to take out expensive personal loans—one prospective buyer was offered a 10-year loan at 6% interest, twice the regular mortgage average—and cannot live with partners under the scheme .
UK: Buddy Mortgages and Zero Deposits
In London, developer Fairview has a "Buddy Up" scheme, offering to connect friends with a broker and solicitor and covering up to £2,000 ($2,726) toward legal fees if they decide to buy property together in the capital or its surroundings .
Banks in Britain, France, Germany and Italy are also reviving low or zero-deposit mortgages that vanished after the 2008 financial crisis. They come with higher costs and typically require applicants to present high, stable income, but while still rare, offer an option for those unable to save for a downpayment .
Natalie and Martin Walker from West Yorkshire in northern England say an eviction notice served when their baby was one month old drove them to take up a zero-deposit mortgage last year to buy a house after four years of renting. "The sense of stability that it brings you, that's the biggest delight for me," said Natalie .
Fractional Ownership and Rental Investments
In Spain, Carlos Sempere, a 36-year-old industrial engineer who rents a flat in central Madrid where properties sell for around €1 million—far out of his reach—bought a rental property in southern Spain instead via investment company PropHero. "Either it helps me pay the rent, or I sell it in the future," he said .
For those who cannot afford a whole property, PropHero also offers stakes in rental apartment buildings in Spain and Ireland for as little as €20,000 .
Policy Context and Concerns
While the European Commission announced plans in December 2024 to make housing more affordable, concrete measures have yet to take shape . Meanwhile, these market-driven solutions are filling the gap.
Real estate consultant and head of alternative investments at AIRE Partners Patricio Palomar noted that it is the dire market conditions that make prospective first-time buyers look past legal complexities and cost of new schemes. "All these housing solutions serve to show how people are getting poorer," he said .
The schemes also raise questions about regulation, investor protection, and long-term affordability as prices continue climbing across European cities .