BARCELONA, Spain, April 6, (AP):Tens of thousands of Spaniards marched in protests held across the European country on Saturday in anger over high housing costs with no relief in sight. Government authorities said that 15,000 marched in Madrid, while organizers said 10 times that many took to the streets of the capital. In Barcelona, the city hall said 12,000 people took part in the protest, while organizers claimed over 100,000 did.

The massive demonstration of social angst that is a major concern for Spain's left-wing government and town halls was organized by housing activists and backed by Spain’s main labor unions. The housing crisis has hit particularly hard in Spain, where there is a strong tradition of home ownership and scant public housing for rent. Rents have been driven up by increased demand.

Buying a home has become unaffordable for many, with market pressures and speculation driving up prices, especially in big cities and coastal areas. A generation of young people say they have to stay with their parents or spend big just to share an apartment, with little chance of saving enough to one day purchase a home. High housing costs mean even those with traditionally well-paying jobs are struggling to make ends meet.

"I’m living with four people and still, I allocate 30 or 40% of my salary to rent,” said Mari Sánchez, a 26-year-old lawyer in Madrid. "That doesn’t allow me to save. That doesn’t allow me to do anything. It doesn’t even allow me to buy a car. That’s my current situation, and the one many young people are living through.”

Housing Minister Isabel Rodríguez said on X that "I share the demand of the numerous people who have marched today: that homes are for living in and not for speculating." The average rent in Spain has almost doubled in the last 10 years. The price per square meter rose from 7.2 euros ($7.90) in 2014 to 13 euros last year, according to real estate website Idealista.

The increase is bigger in Madrid and Barcelona. Incomes have failed to keep up despite Spain's recent economic boom, especially for younger people in a country with chronically high unemployment. Spain does not have the public housing that other European nations have invested in to cushion struggling renters from a market that is pricing them out.