There is a phrase we hear too often in family conversations or with friends who have teenagers. It is a sentence loaded with pessimism that is repeated like a dangerous mantra among the youngest and, honestly, it hurts us to hear. Surely you have heard it: “At the rate prices are rising, I will never be able to buy a house on the Costa del Sol.” The saddest part is not that they say it, but that often they simply repeat what they hear from their elders without questioning the data. It seems we have collectively accepted that access to housing is a utopia for new generations. But today I want to prove to you with real numbers, pen, and paper, that this prophecy does not have to come true if you exchange complaints for strategy.

Let’s do a practical exercise imagining that you want to buy a normal two-bedroom apartment in our area, between Benalmádena, Fuengirola, or Mijas. Today, that home might cost about 275,000 euros, but we know that money loses value and things go up over time. If we are realistic and apply an annual inflation of 3% to market prices, that house will cost more in the future. In addition, to buy it safely you will need to have saved a significant percentage for the down payment and closing costs. The goal is to reach that capital, and this is where the magic of time plays in your favor.

Imagine you are 20 years old and decide to start your plan today to buy that house when you turn 35, that is, in a 15-year term. By then, that 275,000-euro apartment will have an approximate market value of 428,000 euros due to the accumulated rise. You will need to gather about 122,000 euros in cash to cover the 20% down payment and taxes, a figure that is scary if you look at it all at once. However, if you invest your savings in a fund that yields 5% annually, you would only have to put away about 460 euros a month. It is an effort, yes, but totally manageable if you live with your parents at the start of your working life.

Now, many wonder what happens after making the down payment, when it comes time to pay the mortgage month by month in the year 2041. If you have contributed that initial capital, you will have a remaining amount of 342,400 euros to finance. Assuming you get a fixed interest rate of 2.5% over 30 years, your monthly payment would be about 1,350 euros. If we apply a debt-to-income ratio of 40%, which is the healthy limit you should allocate to housing, your household income should be about 3,375 euros net per month.

Here is where you surely think you will need an executive’s salary to achieve it, but nothing could be further from the truth. If we project the current Minimum Wage with that same 3% annual increase over these 16 years, the base salary will be around 1,900 euros a month. This means that a couple where both earn only the minimum wage will have a total income of about 3,800 euros per month. In other words, even with the lowest salaries in the market, you would have enough income to pay the mortgage comfortably and safely.

But the data that really changes the perspective and dismantles any doubt is the comparison with renting. If you decided not to buy and live as a tenant in that same apartment, the situation would be much worse for your pocket. A rent that today costs 950 euros, applying that same 3% annual inflation, would skyrocket to 1,480 euros a month within fifteen years. That is to say, renting would cost you almost 130 euros more each month than paying your own mortgage. And with a crucial difference: rent will go up for life, while your fixed mortgage will remain stable, and you will be building your own wealth.

This example proves that buying the first home young is a matter of financial discipline and, above all, pure mathematical anticipation. Time is your most valuable asset, much more than the salary you have right now, so do not waste it thinking it is impossible. Also, remember that these calculations do not include possible future aid or Transfer Tax bonuses in Andalusia, which would make the path even smoother. The goal is to reach maturity paying less for your house than you would pay for a borrowed one.

Would you like us to personalize these numbers according to your current savings capacity?

Come see us at the office on Av. de la Paz 1, Benalmádena, Málaga. At Hernán Bustos – Real Estate Experts, we love sitting down with foresighted young people, explaining the clear accounts, and giving them that push of confidence that is sometimes missing to get started.