Young people in Tinajo give up on buying a first home despite the lowest prices in Lanzarote

Tinajo, in north-western Lanzarote, is one of the municipalities where the average house price still sits below the island average, according to property portals. That apparent advantage, however, does not mean young locals can buy their first home: property sector sources point out that the scarce supply of flats and available plots, combined with wages that have not kept pace with other costs, leaves a large share of the under-35s outside the market.

A small village with very little new supply

In villages such as Tinajo pueblo and Mancha Blanca, new-build housing has been all but token in recent years. Municipal sources explain that most of the consolidated urban land has already been built on, and that the little developable land still pending is moving very slowly through the planning process. That forces many young families to wait for an inheritance or a family plot in order to build, rather than buying on the open market.

Renting is no easy alternative either

According to industry sources, Tinajo's rental stock is very small, which pushes some of the municipality's young people to look for a flat in Arrecife or San Bartolomé, with the resulting increase in daily commuting to work or study. Residents' groups insist that what is missing are social housing schemes tailored to a rural, low-density municipality whose population is barely growing.

Hopes pinned on social housing

Sources at Tinajo Town Council confirm that they are exploring joint arrangements with the Canary Islands Government to unlock public land for social housing, while acknowledging that any scheme would take several years to materialise. In the meantime the paradox endures: prices lower than on the coast, yet fewer and fewer young people able to stay on in their own village.