Investor buys 40 apartments in Soria, Galicia and Asturias

Investor buys 40 apartments in Soria, Galicia and Asturias

According to a debate participant, a private investor has accumulated 40 properties within twelve months: half in Soria, the other half distributed between Galicia and Asturias. The same user argues that this is not an isolated case, citing portfolios approaching half of a town's housing stock and organized groups scanning for cheap inventory in provinces where no bubble ever occurred. The prevailing thesis among market observers, according to this participant, is that pressure on housing in Spain’s five major capitals is spilling over to the rest of the country.

Prices are already rising in areas ignored two years ago, based on calculations shared by this user. In Ocaña, a 100-square-meter apartment would cost around €250,000. In the provincial capital of Soria, the same size approaches €400,000. Rents in these markets have reportedly surged by 40% in just one fiscal year, according to buyers' estimates. The investor logic remains unchanged: buy where price per square meter is still low, hold without selling, and wait for the wave to arrive.

Why do prices rise in cities with seemingly no demand?

Because demand comes not from residents, but from those with liquidity seeking refuge. Some argue this phenomenon reflects a capital transfer from strained zones to markets where entry prices allow yields impossible in Madrid or Barcelona. The counter-argument also circulates: without job creation or stable population, these purchases are bets that someone else will pay more later.

Comparisons with Madrid’s outskirts fuel the debate. In neighborhoods like Getafe or Coslada, a 100-square-meter apartment from the 1980s would range between €600,000 and €800,000, with rents around €2,000 monthly, according to one user. A villa with a pool built in the 2000s could reach €2 million. La albóndiga, as the most affected area of Getafe is known, now offers 60-year-old two-bedroom apartments for €200,000, a price that seemed like a joke a decade ago.

Lack of new construction underpins the entire argument

The most repeated reasoning among buyers, according to the user, is that prices won’t drop unless construction reaches unprecedented levels. It is said that approximately three million homes per year would be needed to shift market dynamics. With such figures, investors conclude that available land is running out and that remaining cheap inventory in provinces is the last chance to enter at 2015 prices.

Against this thesis lies a geographical objection. There are areas with real demand —the Mediterranean arc, archipelagos, and large cities beyond Zaragoza— while others face aging populations and no inflow, according to another participant. The most skeptical prediction is that no one will pay €400,000 to live in Soria or Zamora, suggesting adjustment will come via supply when owners try to sell but find no buyers.

Energy certificates: the silent bomb in portfolios

One factor barely priced into values, according to a user, is energy efficiency regulation. Much of the purchased portfolio consists of old buildings without elevators and poor energy ratings. Warnings circulate that many investors will ruin themselves when renting or selling properties below minimum ratings is banned. European deadlines tighten, and necessary renovations are costly.

Additionally, maintaining empty portfolios incurs costs: community fees, property tax (IBI), insurance, and maintenance. An unrented apartment due to lack of local demand generates no income but creates expenses, hitting leveraged investors’ cash flow.

What role do taxes and regulation play?

Fiscal measures appear in nearly all discussions as the most effective tool to cool the market. Taxing ownership, capital gains, and rental income would change profitability equations without building a single home, according to one participant. Critics note that most legislators own real estate and won’t legislate against their interests.

The other front is institutional demand. “Housing, housing, housing,” repeat those who believe nothing works without public supply. A recurring suspicion: some money driving these purchases seeks laundering through bricks, a classic vehicle for opaque funds.

The British mirror and depopulated Spain

Comparisons with London appear frequently. What peine there —local population displaced to increasingly distant rings— is allegedly being replicated here with fifteen years’ delay, according to a user. Madrid’s southern corridor and northern Toledo concentrate logistics projects pushing up prices in towns recently considered dormitory suburbs.

The result is a paradox no one resolves. Entire buildings are bought off-plan in provinces where nobody lives and none is expected. If demand doesn’t materialize, appreciation only holds as long as someone pays more. And in real estate, that has a name worth remembering before signing the next mortgage.