Spain’s Cheaper Housing Hack: Turning Empty Shops Into Homes

Spain has had an overheated lodging marketplace lately. The buyers interest astir rising prices and deficiency of space, and successful this basking climate, a quiet gyration is taking place. 

Instead of building from zero, spot watchers are seeing a crisp change: nan conversion of offices, shops and commercialized units into homes. And this strategy is becoming a celebrated consequence to some soaring request and vacant buildings.

According to consultancy CBRE, much than 390,000 quadrate metres of abstraction began translator successful 2024 alone, pinch seventy general “changes of use” recorded crossed Spain. The inclination only gained momentum successful nan first half of 2025: complete 137,000 quadrate metres were converted successful nan period, a 4 per cent summation year-on-year. 

So why is this happening now?

The first logic is nan unit connected nan residential market, which we each know. There are precocious prices and besides debased availability. And nan 2nd one, nan commercialized real-estate slump. Remote work, shifting unit habits and excess agency abstraction mean galore commercialized buildings beryllium half-empty aliases worse.

Experts opportunity this mismatched proviso and request is precisely what’s driving nan conversions. Big cities specified arsenic Madrid and Barcelona stay conversion hot-spots, but now second-tier regions for illustration Andalusia are gaining traction. Cities for illustration Malaga aliases Sevilla are offering much charismatic onshore and, astatine nan aforesaid time, little costs for developers. 

What’s successful it for investors and buyers?

For investors, converting an underused commercialized portion into lodging tin unlock worth faster than caller builds. Meantime, for buyers, particularly those priced retired of accepted marketplace segments, these are aureate opportunities to entree properties that mightiness different not person existed.

Even though nan word “cheaper housing” doesn’t ever use (you’re still paying for a conversion), this measurement it’s much cost-effective than starting from zero. But, beryllium aware, be aware is needed: each building is different. The translator requires readying permission, building activity and a change-of-use certificate. 

There’s much than housing

And there’s thing more. These conversions regenerate neighbourhoods. Old agency blocks, deserted stores aliases desolate precocious streets get caller life by shifting blight into vitality. In galore Spanish cities, this is aligned pinch authorities policies to beforehand sustainable municipality usage and to trim onshore depletion by building up alternatively than out. 

It’s besides helping easiness nan unit connected nan modular residential market. With conversions, nan wide banal of lodging improves, giving buyers much options.

But location are still challenges

Permissions alteration crossed Spain’s autonomous communities. In addition, structural and method activity tin beryllium difficult and expensive. Also, immoderate of these converted units still look higher moving costs (insulation, access, air-conditioning) because they simply weren’t primitively built for residential living. 

And, while conversions tin summation density and activity, they tin airs questions of infrastructure, parking, and organization cohesion successful formerly commercialized zones.

So what next?

If you’re reasoning of buying aliases investing successful Spain, you whitethorn see this option. A converted local, shopfront aliases midtown agency mightiness now correspond a superior introduction into nan lodging market. But beryllium quick, because, arsenic always, things are moving fast. These conversions are nary longer conscionable niche, they’re softly becoming a mainstream strategy.

Read here more articles astir life successful Spain.