Finally: Fewer Agents
The tipping point we predicted has arrived. 2026 started with 7,900 fewer agents than it did last year. Spain’s real estate workforce dropped by 20,800 agents in the last quarter of 2025: an 11% decline from 187,700 mid-year to 166,900 by year-end. That’s one in nine agents gone, even counting the self-employed. This was revealed by the Encuesta de Población Activa (EPA) survey published by the official statistics office INE, reported by Idealista.
This decline stands in contrast with the broader Spanish labour market, where total employment increased over the year to reach 22.46 million and unemployment fell to under 2.5 million at the end of 2025. The general job market recorded 605,400 more employed people than a year earlier, showing resilience even as specific pockets of the economy adjust.
José María Alfaro, president of the Federation of Real Estate Associations (FAI), says that “it’s not about a smaller market, but a market that demands more preparation. Agencies that provide real value, knowledge, and professionalism will not only survive, but will emerge stronger from this new cycle. On the other hand, those that don’t adapt quickly will suffer in the medium term if the low inventory persists, which seems most likely.”
According to the article, this drop in real estate jobs reflects structural changes within the sector. Agencies are relying more on digital tools, outsourcing and contractors, and self‑employed agents rather than hiring salaried staff. These shifts reduce the number of people counted as employees without necessarily indicating a collapse in business activity.
A persistent shortage of homes for sale has tightened market conditions for agents. Limited inventory means fewer listings to work with, reducing the volume of transactions that drive hiring and income for agents. National analysts and banks have highlighted this imbalance between strong demand and insufficient supply as a key constraint on market growth, even as prices and transactions stay high.
One factor shaping real estate activity is broader housing market dynamics. Record levels of property transactions were reported for 2025, with around 700,000 sales across Spain – the highest since before the 2008 financial crisis – and continued price increases. These market conditions put pressure on stock, pushing more buyers into a thin supply environment that in turn affects how agencies operate and hire.
In summary, the sharp fall in real estate employment at the end of 2025 captures a specific sector trend against a backdrop of overall job market growth in Spain. The contraction reflects changing business practices, a tightening housing supply, and the evolving structure of real estate work rather than a broad labour market collapse.
Did you know? Málaga Province is disproportionately represented in this sector. While it has only about 3.5% of Spain’s total population, it holds over 7% of the nation’s real estate jobs, reflecting the intense focus on property development and tourism-related housing in the province.
