A village in Spain sold for the price of an apartment in Istanbul

The village of Salto de Castro, located in the province of Zamora in northwestern Spain, was sold to American investors for a price ranging between 300,000 and 350,000 Euros, which is approximately 15-18 million TL at current exchange rates. This price almost aligns with the cost of a standard 2+1 or 3+1 new apartment in central parts of Istanbul. This remarkable sale has once again highlighted the price gap in international real estate markets.

Salto de Castro is essentially a settlement built like a small town. It contains 44 houses, a school building, a church, an old pharmacy, social facilities, and structures such as a gendarmerie station. The area was established in the 1950s by the energy giant Iberdrola to house personnel working on the nearby dam construction. After the dam was completed, the village lost its function and was completely abandoned in the late 1980s, remaining left to its fate for years.

TO BE TRANSFORMED INTO A GUESTHOUSE

American investor Jason Lee Beckwith and his partner purchased this village for new projects. Stating that they will cooperate with the local government, the investors have prepared a two-stage development initiative they call the "Resurrection Plan." In the first step of the plan, the church and common areas in the village will be restored, and one of the buildings will be converted into a 14-room boutique guesthouse. In the second phase, all 44 houses will be renovated and put back into use as new living and accommodation spaces, following the "migration to the countryside" model that has become popular in Europe.

The investor group emphasized that this project does not only have commercial purposes but also aims to provide new economic opportunities for the local people and bring vitality to local life.

While buying an entire village for the price of an apartment in Istanbul once again demonstrates how variable real estate values can be on a global scale, what kind of transformation Salto de Castro will undergo in the future has already become a subject of curiosity.