€260k Spanish Village For Sale – Salto de Castro

This Spanish village for sale on Idealista might just be bargain of the year (listing link below).  For €260,000, the whole village – including 44 homes, a bar a church and even a school – could be yours. And there's more! An old Civil Guard barracks and hostel with a project to build 14 rooms are included too.  A swimming pool and sports area are mentioned in the listing although no further details are provided with regards to size of these facilities.

Originally bought around 20 years by the current owner with the intention of developing the village for tourism purposes, the village is now being sold at a bargain price – even if you factor in the investment the village will need once you own it.

Why is Salto de Castro For Sale?

So why is Salto de Castro for sale?  Are there any issues with it?  As can be seen from the Streetview screenshot above, the buildings of the village rise up impressively from the adjacent road and if you explore the Streetview map at the top of the page, the main road appears to be in a good state of repair (not always a foregone conclusion when buying a village in Spain as often, especially in more remote areas, access can be solely via a track or dirt road). 

The village does require a sizeable investment however compared to many villages for sale, it appears to be [superficially at least] in reasonably good condition.  It's also above the Douro River (on the border of Spain and Portugal) so has some nice valley views and presumably the water supply won't be an issue.

From a rural tourism perspective, the location should be attractive.  Due to its position on the Spanish/Portuguese border, visitors will be able to explore the two countries in one stay.

So, back to our question – why is the village for sale?  From the listing details and other news reports, it seems the elderly owner is offloading the village to avoid any inheritance issues.  Many large projects like this are taken on by people who either don't or can't develop the property in the way they'd originally intended.  Perhaps this owner wasn't able to raise the development funds once he'd purchased it or maybe he had other projects which took precedence over Salto de Castro.

The result of the property not reaching its potential to date is that the opportunity now exists to take over the reins and create a rural retreat for tourism, educational or charity purposes – all subject to the appropriate planning approvals of course.  If you're in the market for a Spanish village, then Salto de Castro, at €260k is an opportunity which deserves to be further investigated.

Salto de Castro on Idealista