Walls collapse at new housing development in Azuqueca, Spain

The walls that can't hold up in Azuqueca

The collapse of walls at a new-build housing development in Azuqueca, Spain, is not an isolated accident, but a symptom of what many call "end-of-cycle botch jobs". The image of bricks scattered across the ground has peine the debate about construction quality in a market that, despite soaring prices, seems unable to guarantee the most basic thing: that the walls stay standing.

The causes point in several directions. On the one hand, the lack of skilled labour: workers who go from driver to caretaker and from there to "construction god" within months. On the other, pressure from banks, which push developers to finish by any means necessary before the credit tap is turned off. And then there's the buyer, who pays 300,000 euros for a flat with a pool, padel and security, only to watch the facade fall down.

The anecdote of a forum user who in the 80s built a party wall that came down after a storm serves as a metaphor: sometimes, no matter how hard you try, the elements (or the interests) conspire against you. But there was no storm here, only poor workmanship and a quality control that is conspicuous by its absence.

The feeling remains that property, that safe-haven asset, is becoming ever more fragile. As long as the market doesn't penalise these practices, collapses will keep making the news. Or maybe not — perhaps the next buyer will have better luck and their dream of a 200-euro community fee won't end in rubble.