The previous owners who purchased the village in the early 2000s had the aim of turning it into a tourist centre.
The village of Salto de Castro in Zamora, in the north-west of the country, made headlines last year when it was put on the market for just 260,000 euros, less than the average price of an apartment in Barcelona.
It was purchased by entrepreneur Óscar Torres Gallego for around 300,000 euros and had planned to redevelop the enclave to boost local tourism. The owners before Torres purchased the village at the beginning of the 2000s and also had the aim of transforming it into a tourist hotspot.
12 months later, it’s back on sale for almost double the price it was purchased for. Torres has done some architectural work on the buildings and submitted documentation to the local government, but cannot complete the planned development due to his business strategy, according to real estate market Idealista.
What is included in the sale?
For 580,000 euros the lucky buyer wins 44 homes, a bar, a hostel, a swimming pool and a sports area as well as a church and an old barracks that once housed the civil guard. There’s also a pharmacy and a police station – everything you might expect to find in a rural Spanish village.
A short distance from Portuguese border, is located in the heart of the Meseta Ibérica UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.
Salto de Castro also has stunning views of the Duoro River and receives around 135 days of sunshine per year.
Interested parties will need to act quickly however as there has already been some interest in purchasing the abandoned village and a bidding war could push the price beyond 600,000 euros.
When it was put up for sale last year, estate agents estimated it would cost around 2 million euros to make Salto de Castro viable and start attracting visitors.
Why is Salto de Castro abandoned?
Salto de Castro was built in the 1940s by the Iberdrola power company to provide homes for workers who built the nearby dam. In the 1980s, people began to abandon the village as jobs were scarce and by 1989 there were no more inhabitants.
It has now been empty for more than 30 years.
The financial collapse of 2008 put the plans of the previous owners on hold and they ultimately decided to put Salto de Castro up for sale in 2022 with the hope that someone else could make their tourist vision a reality.
Many rural Spanish villages suffer from an aging population as young people move to cities or have fewer children than previous generations.
As a result, some local governments are encouraging foreigners to relocate with relocation grants and cash payments.
A few hundred kilometers away, the village of Rubai in Galacia offered expats up to 150 euros a month to live there. The local government hopes to increase the number of students in local schools by encouraging families to move to the village.
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