• The Prizes winners from the Economy Committee highlighted these conclusions during the morning’s meeting on housing.
• Members of the HAC met at the Palau de la Generalitat Valenciana with the Regional Minister for Education, Carmen Ortí, to present the conclusions of these reports.
• The Council’s session was also devoted to discussing the challenges facing Environmental Protection

Members of the High Advisory Council (HAC) of the Generalitat Valenciana — a body comprising scientists, economists and experts who have been awarded the prestigious Rei Jaume I Prizes — highlighted one conclusion during their morning session: the rental housing market is dominated by small landlords, whilst so-called ‘large property owners’ account for less than 4.7 per cent of the total supply, and that new housing needs to be built. According to the experts gathered, “if new housing is not built, the result will be that social classes with greater purchasing power, such as digital nomads, will rent properties at high prices, leaving young people unable to access them”.

This striking statistical reality forms part of the technical report presented by the economists Francisco Pérez, José García Montalvo and Carmen Herrero. The conclusions have been adopted as one of the central themes of the HAC’s debate, which held a full-day meeting to analyse the current economic and social situation.

Meeting at the Palau de la Generalitat

The findings of this study will not remain solely within the academic sphere. The following day, 6 November, the annual plenary session was held at the Palau de la Generalitat Valenciana, attended by the Regional Minister for Education, Carmen Ortí. During this institutional meeting, the Rei Jaume I Prize winners formally presented the results and the alarming conclusions of these reports, amongst which a serious shortage of properties available to let stands out.

The panel of experts warns that the vast majority of rental properties are owned by private individuals and families who own no more than two to four properties. They therefore insist that any regulation or public policy must be designed to protect small savers and stimulate the supply of housing, rather than legislating on the basis of the myth that the market is dominated by investment funds.

An afternoon dedicated to Environmental Protection

Having analysed the challenges facing the housing sector and the wider economy during the morning alongside leading figures from the Spanish economy such as Vicente Salas, Antoni Espasa and Ramón Tamames, the High Advisory Council’s agenda continued at a brisk pace. Thus, in the afternoon, the HAC meeting resumed with the Committee on Environmental Protection. The council members discussed and drew up proposals on this matter, balancing economic growth with sustainability – aspects which have also formed part of the package of comprehensive recommendations that have been submitted to the Valencian Government.