Prices were too low to build at. Nobody builds, and you get zero housing.
En La Rioja, donde la vivienda protegida lleva más de una década sin renovarse, el gobierno regional ha subido un veinte por ciento los precios máximos de VPO, buscando cerrar la brecha entre lo que cuesta construir y lo que los promotores pueden cobrar. La medida no es un abandono del ideal de accesibilidad, sino un intento de preservarlo: si nadie construye, la protección existe solo en el papel. Con precios que aún se mantienen un cuarenta por ciento por debajo del mercado libre, la región apuesta a que un ajuste realista puede ser más justo que una promesa vacía.
- Tras una década sin nuevas promociones de VPO, La Rioja enfrenta una crisis silenciosa: el acceso a vivienda asequible se ha convertido en una aspiración sin oferta real.
- La señal de alarma llegó cuando una licitación de ocho viviendas protegidas en Badarán quedó desierta, evidenciando que los precios vigentes no cubrían ni los costes básicos de construcción.
- El gobierno consultó a arquitectos, constructoras y ayuntamientos antes de fijar los nuevos precios, intentando equilibrar la viabilidad económica con la misión social del programa.
- Los nuevos precios —1.716 €/m² en Logroño y 1.578 €/m² en el resto— mantienen una diferencia del cuarenta por ciento respecto al mercado libre, preservando el acceso para familias trabajadoras.
- La medida llega como segunda corrección en menos de dos años, tras la subida del cuarenta y cuatro por ciento de enero de 2024, y su éxito dependerá de si los promotores vuelven a presentarse a las licitaciones.
La Rioja ha elevado un veinte por ciento los precios máximos de la vivienda de protección oficial, con el objetivo de reactivar una construcción que lleva más de una década paralizada. Los nuevos precios fijan 1.716 euros por metro cuadrado en Logroño para promociones públicas y 1.578 euros en el resto de municipios. Frente a los más de 2.000 euros del mercado libre en la capital, una vivienda protegida de noventa metros cuadrados en Logroño costará algo más de 154.000 euros, unos 31.000 menos que su equivalente en el mercado abierto.
El detonante inmediato fue una licitación en Badarán que no recibió ninguna oferta, señal inequívoca de que los precios vigentes no permitían a los promotores cubrir costes. Ya en enero de 2024, una subida del cuarenta y cuatro por ciento había logrado desbloquear la venta de varios solares en Logroño destinados a vivienda asequible, pero la escalada de los costes de construcción volvió a cerrar el margen.
Antes de fijar las nuevas cifras, el gobierno consultó a arquitectos, constructoras y municipios, y analizó los precios de regiones vecinas. Los datos confirmaron que la vivienda libre en Logroño superaba en casi un sesenta y siete por ciento a la protegida, lo que dejaba margen para ajustar sin excluir a las familias que el programa pretende beneficiar. Las nuevas tarifas, publicadas en el boletín oficial y vigentes desde el miércoles, se aplican tanto a obra nueva como a segundas transmisiones.
El gobierno sostiene que, incluso con la subida, la VPO sigue siendo un cuarenta por ciento más barata que el mercado libre. Pero la prueba real llegará con las próximas licitaciones: si los promotores responden, la región habrá encontrado el equilibrio entre viabilidad económica y acceso social; si no, el problema de fondo —cómo construir vivienda asequible cuando construir es cada vez más caro— seguirá sin respuesta.
La Rioja has raised the maximum price for protected housing by twenty percent, a move designed to restart construction of affordable homes across the region. The new rates, which took effect this week, set prices at 1,716 euros per square meter in Logroño for publicly developed projects, and 1,578 euros per square meter elsewhere. Private market housing in the capital runs about 2,062 euros per square meter by comparison—meaning a ninety-square-meter protected unit in Logroño now costs just over 154,000 euros, while an equivalent private apartment exceeds 185,000 euros. Outside the capital, protected housing of the same size comes in at roughly 142,000 euros against 172,000 for market-rate construction.
The regional government framed the increase as essential to closing a gap between what builders need to spend and what they can charge. For more than a decade, La Rioja had seen virtually no new protected housing developments. That began to shift last January when authorities raised prices by forty-four percent, which prompted the sale of several parcels in Logroño earmarked for affordable construction—a milestone after years of stagnation. But the market has moved faster than policy. Construction costs have climbed, supply has tightened, and recent bids have come back empty. An auction for eight protected units in Badarán drew no bidders, a sign that even the revised prices were not enough to make projects pencil out.
The government consulted widely before settling on the new figures. Architects, construction companies, municipal leaders, and the city of Logroño all weighed in. Officials also studied prices in neighboring regions and conducted a fresh survey of the local market for new construction. The data showed that private housing in Logroño costs roughly sixty-seven percent more than protected housing at current rates—a substantial cushion that suggested room for adjustment without pricing out the families the program is meant to serve.
The regional administration emphasizes that even at the new prices, protected housing remains about forty percent cheaper than what the open market charges. The calculation was designed to stay within reach of ordinary Rioja households while giving developers enough margin to actually build. The rates apply equally to new construction and resales, and they appear in the official bulletin as of Wednesday, taking effect immediately.
What happens next will test whether the increase is enough. Developers have signaled that costs keep rising, and the region cannot afford another round of failed auctions. The government is betting that this adjustment—coming on the heels of last year's larger jump—will finally unlock the construction pipeline and begin to ease the housing squeeze that has made it harder for working families to stay in the region.
Citas Notables
The regional government calculated that protected housing prices are forty percent lower than the free market, while remaining within reach of ordinary Rioja households.— La Rioja regional government
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why did they need to raise prices at all? Wouldn't that make housing less affordable?
It's counterintuitive, but the prices were too low to build at. Developers were losing money on every project. If the price cap stays below what it actually costs to construct, nobody builds, and you end up with zero affordable housing instead of some.
So the last increase, the forty-four percent one in January, didn't solve it?
It helped—it got some land deals moving in Logroño for the first time in over a decade. But construction costs kept climbing faster than the price ceiling. By this fall, bids were coming back empty. Eight units in a smaller town couldn't find a single bidder.
And they're confident this twenty percent will be enough?
They're hoping. They've done market studies, talked to builders, looked at neighboring regions. The new price is still forty percent below what private housing costs, so there's still a real incentive to buy protected. But if costs keep rising, they might be back here again in a year.
Who actually benefits from this? Is it working people?
That's the stated goal—families who can't afford market-rate housing. A ninety-square-meter apartment in Logroño now costs 154,000 euros instead of 185,000. It's still a lot of money, but it's meant to be within reach of ordinary households in the region.
And if construction still doesn't happen?
Then La Rioja stays stuck. They've been without new affordable housing for more than a decade. Another failed auction would suggest the problem is deeper than just the price.