A new study published by Idealista, based on properties listed in its database, has revealed that 519 properties that were for sale in the fourth quarter of 2024 in the Canary Islands were ‘occupied’ by squatters, highlighting the scale and rise of this phenomenon in the archipelago.
According to the study, the province of Las Palmas (Gran Canaria, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura) accounts for 322 of these properties, representing 2.8% of the total homes on the market. Meanwhile, in the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife (Tenerife and the western islands), 197 occupied properties were up for sale, making up 1.4% of the available housing stock.
On a national level, the number of occupied properties listed for sale across Spain has reached 20,464 comprising 2.6% of all homes on the market.
Francisco Iñareta, a spokesperson for Idealista, commented on the findings, stressing the "significant impact" of this issue on both the property market itself and homeowners’ perception of it. He further noted that this situation is an additional "burden" hindering the recovery of the housing supply.
"Any attempt to downplay this reality, sometimes by making unrealistic comparisons, not only fails to change market perceptions but also reinforces the sense of vulnerability among property owners and encourages the withdrawal of more homes from the rental market," Iñareta added.
Among Spanish cities, Girona has the highest proportion of occupied homes for sale, with 8.8% of its property listings marked as ‘okupas’ or ‘squatted’. Other cities with notable figures include Murcia (5.5%), Seville (4.7%), Almería (3.9%), and Málaga (3.8%). Both Barcelona and Santa Cruz de Tenerife have 3.5% of their available properties affected by occupation, while in Lleida and Valencia, the figure stands at 3.4%.
Several other cities also exceed the national average, including Huelva (3.3%), Palma (2.9%), Tarragona (2.8%), and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (2.7%).
In contrast, major property markets such as Madrid (2.3%), Alicante (2.1%), San Sebastián (1.3%), and Bilbao (1%) report figures below the national average.
