Some properties in Spain take longer to sell than others. But when a home sits on the market for years, is it truly “unsellable”, or simply overpriced?

A recent article in the Telegraph tells the story of British owners struggling to sell homes in Spain, with some properties sitting on the market for years without a buyer.

One example is a British couple who built a five-bedroom villa overlooking the Béznar reservoir in Granada’s Valle de Lecrín more than two decades ago. Now in their late seventies, they want to sell and move closer to family, but their property has been on the market for two years without finding a buyer.

The comments under the article quickly homed in on one obvious explanation: price. As one popular comment put it: “A house is worth what someone will pay for it. If it’s priced right it will sell.”

In many cases, properties that linger on the market are simply priced above what buyers are prepared to pay. Lower the price enough and the pool of potential buyers grows. That’s just how markets work.

But pricing isn’t always a magic solution. In certain segments — particularly higher-end rural homes with significant maintenance and running costs — dropping the price dramatically doesn’t necessarily open the floodgates of demand. At that point, the right strategy and patience are essential.

The challenges of selling off the beaten track

Many of the examples highlighted in the Telegraph article share one important characteristic: they are located well off the beaten track.

Country homes in Spain can be wonderful places to live. They offer space, privacy, views, and often excellent value compared to urban property.

The downside is illiquidity.

In cities or established coastal areas there are always lots of buyers around. Flats in Barcelona or villas in Marbella benefit from deep, liquid markets with plenty of comparable sales.

In rural areas, the market can be extremely thin, with not many buyers around at any one time.

That makes pricing harder and selling slower.

And over the years I’ve heard from owners in rural areas who struggle to find agents capable of marketing their properties internationally. In some cases they end up trying to sell privately simply because the local agency network isn’t geared towards foreign buyers.

None of this means such properties are unsellable. It simply means the process can take longer and requires realistic price expectations.

When I handled the sale of the Balearic island of Espalmador, for example, the process took around five years, and the price dropped from €30m to €18m.

If a property appealed to you when you bought it, chances are it will appeal to someone else as well (unless you are sui generis). The challenge is finding that buyer — and making sure everything is properly prepared before you go to market. That means doing your legal due diligence, setting realistic price expectations, getting your documentation in order, and presenting the property in the best possible light. Sellers who prepare properly from the outset and have the right strategy tend to achieve better results.

Help is at hand

For anyone trying to sell property in Spain—especially somewhere a little off the beaten track—new help will soon be available.

I’ve been quietly developing a property app powered by AI and designed to help owners prepare their homes for sale, and manage the entire sales process more effectively (and potentially save thousands of euros in unnecessary fees). It’s useful for any owner, but particularly relevant for sellers dealing with distinctive or hard-to-market properties.

The platform will soon enter a small early-testing phase with a handful of users. I’m not gong to make it public until it’s been tested.

If you’re thinking about selling a property in Spain and would be interested in trying it out with some early-bird advantages, leave your details in the form below and I’ll get in touch once testing begins.