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The spatial polarization of housing wealth accumulation across Spain

Author

Listed:
  • Rowan Arundel

    (Department of Geography, Planning and International Development Studies, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands)

  • Jose Manuel Torrado

    (Department of Sociology, University of Granada, Granada, Spain)

  • Ricardo Duque-Calvache

    (Department of Sociology, University of Granada, Granada, Spain)

Abstract

Housing wealth is central to structuring inequalities across societies. Processes of financialization have intensified the speculative nature of housing, while labour and welfare restructuring increase the importance of property wealth towards economic security. Housing, however, represents an exceptional asset given its inherently spatial nature and buy-in barriers. This implies that not only access to homeownership but where households enter the housing market is central to wealth trajectories. Spatial inequality in housing trends thus fundamentally structures wealth dynamics. While some scholarship has posited increasing housing market spatial polarization, there remains a lack of empirical evidence. This research turns to the context of Spain, to directly assess spatial polarization in housing value accumulation. Employing an innovative dataset at a detailed geographic scale, the analyses reveal strong increases in polarization across the national territory over the past decade. Strikingly, these dynamics appear resistant to major upheavals, including the post-GFC crash and Covid-19 impacts, and are robust across scales. The analyses reveal that more expensive areas saw greater absolute gains and higher rates of appreciation. The findings expose a structural intensification of spatial polarization and provide crucial empirical evidence of how the housing market acts in amplifying inequality through the spatial sorting of wealth accumulation.

Suggested Citation

  • Rowan Arundel & Jose Manuel Torrado & Ricardo Duque-Calvache, 2024. "The spatial polarization of housing wealth accumulation across Spain," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 56(6), pages 1686-1709, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:envira:v:56:y:2024:i:6:p:1686-1709
    DOI: 10.1177/0308518X241247738
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