A2 · ElementaryAdapted from Expansión

Spain Needs More Homes: A Growing Housing Crisis

España necesita más viviendas

Sep 24, 20261 min readGraded Spanish · word-by-word audio

Read along

Free preview — playback stops here. Full audio comes with Plus.

El mercado de la vivienda en España tiene un problema. Desde 2021, hay muy pocas casas nuevas.

El Banco de España dice que la situación va a ser peor. En 2028, España necesitará un millón de viviendas más. Soledad Núñez, del Banco de España, explica que la oferta es muy baja.

Go Plus

You've reached the end of the free preview.

Plus unlocks everything on SpanishReadingDaily:

Every article in full — no daily limit
Word-by-word audio read-along
Smart review that brings saved words back until you own them
Wordbook and streak on every device

Get Plus — $9.99/mo · $79/yr

Free full article every day — see today's. No card needed.

Have a Plus activation code?

Watch out, English speaker

English speakers often expect 'faltar' to work like 'lack' or 'miss' with a personal subject, but in Spanish the thing that is missing becomes the grammatical subject. So instead of saying 'Spain lacks houses,' you say 'Faltan viviendas' (houses are missing). Remember: the verb agrees with the missing item, not with the person or place experiencing the lack. In English, 'market' is a general term, but in Spanish 'mercado' often refers to a specific market like 'el mercado de la vivienda' (the housing market). Don't confuse it with 'mercado' as a physical marketplace; context makes it clear. Also, unlike English where 'market' can be a verb, in Spanish it's primarily a noun. English speakers might try to use 'faltar' like 'to need' or 'to be missing' with a direct object, but 'faltar' is intransitive and takes no direct object. For example, you can't say 'Falto dinero' to mean 'I lack money'; instead, say 'Me falta dinero' (money is lacking to me). The person who lacks is indicated by an indirect object pronoun. 'Precio' is straightforward, but beware of false friends: it doesn't mean 'price' in the sense of 'prize' (that's 'premio'). Also, in English we say 'prices go up,' but in Spanish it's common to say 'los precios suben' (prices rise) or 'suben los precios.' Don't use 'aumentar' reflexively unless you mean 'to increase oneself.' 'Banco' can mean 'bank' as a financial institution, but also 'bench' (a seat). Context usually clarifies, but be aware that 'banco de España' is the central bank, not a bench. In English, 'bank' can also mean a river bank, but in Spanish that's 'orilla' or 'ribera.' 'Situación' is a cognate, but it's more formal in Spanish and often used in news contexts. English 'situation' is similar, but Spanish 'situación' can also mean 'location' in some contexts, though less commonly. Stick with 'situation' for this article. 'Necesitar' works like English 'need' but is a regular -ar verb, so don't forget to conjugate it. Unlike English, where 'need' can be a modal ('I need to go'), in Spanish you need a conjugated verb + infinitive: 'Necesito ir.' Also, 'necesitar' can take a direct object, so 'Necesito agua' is correct. 'Oferta' means 'offer' or 'supply,' but in economics it's 'supply' as opposed to 'demanda' (demand). English speakers might think 'oferta' only means 'offer' like a special deal, but in this context it's about housing supply. Don't confuse it with 'ofertas' (bargains) in a store.

Key vocabulary

viviendaf.
housing, dwelling
“Faltan unas 755.000 viviendas.”— About 755,000 homes are missing.
Pattern mercado de la vivienda housing market
Compare casa f. house
Plural: viviendas
💡 From the verb vivir (to live); -ienda is a noun suffix meaning 'place for living'.
mercadom.
market
“El mercado de la vivienda en España tiene un problema.”— The housing market in Spain has a problem.
Pattern mercado inmobiliario real estate market
Compare comercio m. commerce
Plural: mercados
💡 From Latin mercatus, related to mercadear (to trade).
faltarv.
to be missing, to lack
“Faltan unas 755.000 viviendas.”— About 755,000 homes are missing.
Pattern faltar algo to lack something
Compare carecer to lack
Indicative present: falto, faltas, falta, faltamos, faltáis, faltan
💡 Related to falta (lack); note that the subject is the thing that is lacking.
preciom.
price
“Esto hace que los precios suban mucho.”— This makes prices rise a lot.
Pattern subir de precio to rise in price
Compare coste m. cost
Plural: precios
💡 From Latin pretium, related to apreciar (to appreciate).
bancom.
bank
“El Banco de España dice que la situación va a ser peor.”— The Bank of Spain says the situation will get worse.
Pattern Banco de España Bank of Spain
Compare entidad f. institution
Plural: bancos
💡 Note that Banco de España is the central bank of Spain.
situaciónf.
situation
“El Banco de España dice que la situación va a ser peor.”— The Bank of Spain says the situation will get worse.
Pattern situación económica economic situation
Compare estado m. state
Plural: situaciones
💡 From Latin situare (to place); the suffix -ción indicates a state.
necesitarv.
to need
“En 2028, España necesitará un millón de viviendas más.”— In 2028, Spain will need a million more homes.
Pattern necesitar algo to need something
Compare requerir to require
Indicative present: necesito, necesitas, necesita, necesitamos, necesitáis, necesitan
💡 From necesidad (need); note the difference from necesario (necessary).
ofertaf.
supply, offer
“Soledad Núñez, del Banco de España, explica que la oferta es muy baja.”— Soledad Núñez, from the Bank of Spain, explains that supply is very low.
Pattern oferta y demanda supply and demand
Compare suministro m. supply
Plural: ofertas
💡 From Latin offerre (to offer), related to oferta (offer).

Grammar spotlight

faltar: to be lacking

Faltar means 'to be lacking' or 'to be missing.' The subject of the sentence is the thing that is missing, not the person or place that lacks it. For example, in Faltan viviendas, the subject is viviendas.

“Faltan unas 755.000 viviendas.”— Faltan unas 755.000 viviendas.

⚠️ Do not write Falta viviendas, because viviendas is plural, so the verb must be faltan.

Sentence patterns to steal

El mercado de la vivienda en España tiene un problema.
The housing market in Spain has a problem.
El mercado de + noun + tiene un problema.You can replace mercado de la vivienda with other fields, such as el mercado laboral.
Desde 2021, hay muy pocas casas nuevas.
Since 2021, there have been very few new houses.
Desde + year, hay + quantity + noun.You can replace the year and the noun, for example: Desde 2020, hay muchos coches nuevos.
En 2028, España necesitará un millón de viviendas más.
By 2028, Spain will need a million more homes.
En + year, + subject + necesitará + quantity + noun + más.You can replace the year, subject, and noun, for example: En 2030, China necesitará más energía.

Spain's Housing Crisis

Spain has had insufficient housing supply since 2021, which has pushed prices up. The Bank of Spain warns that by 2028, one million new homes will be needed. This reflects a long-term imbalance between supply and demand in Spain's housing market.

Source: Based on Expansión news and Bank of Spain reports

Finish the story to log today's read

Discussion

Be kind, stay on topic, no ads or links. Community guidelines

No comments yet — be the first to share what you noticed in this article.