astera

Spot the huge masses of tag-alongs who are there for entirely different reasons.

It's not so much the sales themselves that are the problem but the way those sales are justified by the properties instantly being converted for holiday lets. Stop short-term lets and you immediately take a massive chunk of so-called "investors" out of the picture.

Very true. That's why Singapore saw the problem early on and enacted a complete ban on short-term lets. Problem taken care of early on.

A lot of the purchases, even when made by foreigners, and not for themselves to reside in. Non-residents are still scooping up properties to be converted into holiday lets so I'm not sure visas are the issue here. One small real estate firm I know sells 19 out of 20 propertied to people who do not even plan on living in Spain, and those purchases are all for short-term lets, NEVER regular rentals so in effect prices for residents looking to rent shoot through the roof.

growinspain

Valencia city gave out 600 new tourist licenses in the last month...
Way out of control....
https://www.levante-emv.com/valencia...102790549.html

SanNico

No disruption at all at the airport as far as I could see.

Thankfully I missed the protest on Saturday but I agree with them. I have no issue with a family letting their spare room and guest houses but it's gone crazy.

1sexsmith

https://www.20minutos.es/noticia/543...15-ultimo-ano/

More here on how parts of Valencia and other regions are starting to look at limiting tourist licences- interesting to see that fraud charges could be applied to persons not complying ( 90% of them in Valencia don't comply).

OH4BCN

the protests enjoy my full support. Barcelona has been turned into a horrible city by tourism, a tacky theme park which it never used to be in the 80s/90s.

Barriej

I was talking to an Artist who lives and works in Valencia city at the weekend and he said that there have always been quotas for using property for rental and holiday lets. BUT the local Government have always turned a blind eye as it has been a money spinner and helped push prices up.
Sounds to me like a cake and eat it scenario.

Its taken him nearly a year to find studio space as, even some of the old warehouses have been converted into 'studio apartments' and given free reign with tourist licences. The rules are supposedly no more than 10% of the building can be holiday or short term rental. Well thats what he said anyway.

1sexsmith

I have seen a UK licensed car daubed in spray paint. Didn't say anything on it but I assumed it was part of the protest.