"Boomers are interested in housing remaining as it is and young people do not have the capacity to change it"

PalmJavier Burón uses a simile to explain the housing problem as a public manager of the issue, with 25 years of experience in various regional governments. "We see the lava advancing and we're sitting on the terrace saying: 'Well, there's time.' When the lava is on top of us, we'll see what we do.'" Author of the housing problem (Arpa Editors) and managing director of the public company for industrial land, housing, and territorial cohesion of the Government of Navarra, he is participating this Thursday, April 30th, at Ca n'Oleo in Palma in a conference organized by the UIB on what is needed to have social and affordable housing.

"The diagnosis is made. No one doubts what is happening. We know that there is less and less housing intended for permanent residence at prices linked to salaries and more for short stays. That, in itself, is not bad. Tourism is not the enemy. The problem arises when an economy depends exclusively on it," analyzes Burón with a description that fits the Balearic Islands. According to his argument, there are experiences, tools, and examples throughout Europe "and also in Spain" that change is possible: "The question is why we don't do it."

While the lava advances, two reasons explain the inaction. The first is the economic model: "In territories like the Balearic Islands, the weight of tourism and the real estate sector is so large that there is no plan B. Changing the structure of an economy is not simple: it takes decades and generates tensions." The second is generational: "The majority of owners, multi-owners, and landlords are people over 50 and 60 years old, with a conception of housing as an economic asset. In contrast, the majority of tenants are young people who share flats and cannot access housing. While it benefits boomers for everything to stay as it is, millennials and Gen Z do not have the capacity to change it. Therefore, the problem is not technical. It has to do with the economic model, the social structure, and political decisions."

Tense areas

Burón defends the declaration of areas with tense markets, which the PP has refused to apply in the Balearic Islands. “It is a tool that works. It does not serve to lower prices, but it does serve to prevent them from continuing to grow uncontrollably. They do not eliminate supply, but rather reduce turnover and increase stability”, he explains, and cites a difference of almost 20 points in the behavior of rental prices in Madrid, where there is no regulation, and Barcelona, where there is. “It is not a structural solution, but a tourniquet to prevent the wound from continuing to bleed. If measures like this are applied alone and for a long time, they generate side effects. That is why they must be combined with deeper public policies”, he recommends.

The key point for Burón is the creation of a public housing stock, like the one he led in the Basque Country, where since 2003 HPOs cannot pass into the free market. “Without real public investment, there is no housing policy. No government that limits itself to using state and European funds, without contributing its own resources, is betting on housing. A strong public sector is needed, which has housing, manages it, and knows the market. And from here, collaboration with the private sector. But this order is important. If you do not have public capacity, when you negotiate with private individuals, you are at a disadvantage”, he continues.

The context is that of Franco's Spain, when millions of protected homes were built, designed to end up on the free market. “It was a policy designed to turn workers into owners. The problem is that democracy did not correct this model”, he states to explain why the current public stock is so scarce. However, in Euskadi “different decisions were made: permanent protected housing, strong land reserves, and an active role for the public sector”. “This has not ended the market, as some feared. It has simply introduced a different balance”.

In the Balearic Islands, the challenge is complex. “The dependence on tourism is very high and there is a social feeling that there is no turning back. But the transition is possible, although it will be slow. And in the meantime, short-term policies are fundamental, because for many people this “meanwhile” is their entire life”, he explains.

The key lies in “generating an ecosystem” made up of strong public companies, cooperatives, and private operators willing to work with moderate, long-term profits. “And, above all, we must ensure that protected housing is truly and permanently protected. Ultimately, technique alone will not solve this. It has to do with collective decisions. With what economic model we want, with what policies we vote for, and to what extent we are willing to act before the lava reaches us,” he concludes.