Buying a home in Spain and Portugal is becoming harder as house prices continue to rise sharply, putting homes out of reach for many buyers. The rapid increase has pushed both governments to keep a close watch on their housing markets over affordability concerns, although they have not introduced broad lending restrictions.According to Reuters, house prices in Spain rose 12.9% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2026, while Portugal saw an even bigger 17.8% jump, the fastest annual increase in the euro zone.