This article was originally published in English
The previous owners, who bought the town in the early 2000s, wanted to convert it into a tourist center.
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The Zamorano town of Salto de Castro, in the northwest of the country, made headlines last year when it came on the market for just 260,000 euros, less than the average price of an apartment in Barcelona.
Businessman Óscar Torres Gallego bought it for about 300,000 euros and planned to redevelop the enclave to boost local tourism. The owners before Torres purchased the town in the early 2000s and also had plans to convert it into a city Tourist enclave.
Twelve months later it is available again for almost twice the purchase price. According to real estate market Idealista, Torres has carried out some architectural work on the buildings and submitted documents to the local government, but is unable to complete the planned development due to his business strategy.
What does the sale include?
For 580,000 euros, the lucky buyer will receive 44 houses, a bar, a hostel, a swimming pool and a sports area as well as a church and an old barracks building that housed the Guardia Civil. There’s even a pharmacy and a police station: everything you can find in a rural Spanish town.
Just a few minutes walk from the border Portugueselies in the heart of the Iberian Plateau UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.
Salto de Castro also offers breathtaking views of the Duoro River and enjoys around 135 days of sunshine a year.
However, interested parties must act quickly as there is already interest in purchasing abandoned village and a bidding war could drive the price to over 600,000 euros.
When it was put up for sale last year, real estate agents estimated it would cost about €2 million to make Salto de Castro viable and attract visitors.
Why is Salto de Castro abandoned?
Salto de Castro was built in the 1940s by the Iberdrola electric company to house workers building the nearby dam. In the 1980s, people began to leave the city due to lack of work, and by 1989 there were no more residents.
Now it has been without a population for more than 30 years.
The financial crisis of 2008 paralyzed the plans of the previous owners, who decided to put Salto de Castro up for sale in 2022 in the hope that someone could realize their tourism project.
Many rural Spanish towns are suffering from an aging population as young people move to the city or have fewer children than previous generations.
For this reason, some local governments encourage foreigners to settle with subsidies.
The city is only a few hundred kilometers away Rubiana in Galicia has offered expatriates up to 150 euros per month to live there. The local government hopes to increase the number of students in local schools by encouraging families to move to the city.