The price boom in Spain was mostly due to British and German expats buying up coastal condos and villas. Many of the Spaniards I know in Andalucia (a southern coastal province) complain that housing prices are outlandishly high, to the point of unaffordability. Because of this (and the traditionally higher unemployment rate in the south), it's often customary for kids to live with their parents into their 30s before they can afford a house (and a family) of their own.

A comparable house in Ronda, Spain to those in my native Kansas is roughly twice as expensive, but to a Londoner accustomed to things costing four times that (eight times Kansas prices), Spanish houses look like a great deal.