The most attractive ads on the Idealista website are for luxury villas near the beach and flats located in the Recogidas area of Granada. There are also many properties in Los Periodistas.

But there’s a catch: squatters live in these properties. Sales of squatted homes have more than doubled in just a year. In 2024 the phenomenon was first noticed in Granada and has exploded since then. The number of properties in this category was less than 50 last year. 40, to be precise. Now, Idealista which has introduced a new search feature, offers 232, representing a 477.5% increase.

Granada and its surrounding municipalities account for 72 percent of the total supply. Only 22.9% of the total number are offered in Granada. , Casería de Montijo, La Paz and Cartuja.

One year ago there was only one specialist estate agency advertising these properties. Now, almost a dozen agencies are offering them in the province. The sale price for a squatted home is between 40% and 60 percent below the normal cost per square foot. But, it also comes with many disadvantages and uncertainty.

The prices of these properties vary widely. One of the cheapest properties is sold in Alhama de Granada for only 5,250 Euros and measures 114 square meters. However, a square metre is valued at around 2,500 Euros in the province. In contrast, the most expensive is in Loma del Gato in Almuñécar, which is on the market for 550,000 euros and the estate has 500 square metres built on a plot of 2,500 square metres.

Another luxury property, located next to Cotobro Beach and valued at 248,300 Euros, is also available on the Costa Tropical. A flat in Playa Granada is for sale at 115,000 Euros. This area of Motril is one of the most sought-after. A similar property in this same residential area, however, is valued at more than 300,000 euro.

A four-bedroom apartment in Calle Muladies, Granada is valued at 421,000 Euros. In Bola de Oro a detached home, now listed for 299,000 Euros, has seen its price drop by over 20 percent in just six months. The last flat is in Recogidas. It has a resident tenant, and the seller wants 188,000 Euros.

Due to the inability to see the flat personally, the buyer does not know what they are purchasing. When taking out a loan, it is impossible to do an accurate valuation as the only reference available is the land registry.

Most buyers are market experts, who purchase properties for renovation and then sell them after removing the tenants.

According to Ángel Muñoz, president of the Granada Real Estate Association, with the lack of housing supply, some individuals are opting for this type of property. The percentage of houses for sale in the current market is negligible. In the province there are currently at least 13,000 properties for sale, as opposed to the remaining volume of squatted houses.

“It’s a small minority, but its numbers have increased.” This phenomenon does exist, despite the fact that some politicians deny its existence. The property is purchased at a lower price because the buyer assumes that they will have to leave the house. “These types of transactions are made for obvious reasons,” says he.

The seller should indicate that the property is illegally used in both the deposit agreement and the deeds. In the case of these properties, it is necessary to initiate eviction procedures. If the process already began, the buyer has a subrogation to any legal action already in progress.

Cosmopolitan Properties, a Malaga and Granada-based real estate agent, says that “it’s a unique product, not for everyone.” “Most buyers have experience in dealing with the squatters and can either reach an agreement, or they wait for the legal proceedings to be successful,” the agency states. The agency adds that squatted property sales began five years earlier. The report acknowledges that buyers end up with a significant profit.

You have three options to get rid of a tenant: either follow the legal process, which takes the longest; contact the squatters and offer them money for their departure; or hire a specialist eviction company.