Two near-identical houses, 120 m², same street. One sells for €400,000. The other for €1.6 million. The difference? A tourist licence. This market is driven by legislation in Catalan and Spanish that most buyers don't read. We do.
A property without a tourist licence can sell for a quarter of the price of a near-identical one that has one. New rent controls are being actively enforced — with serious penalties — and they’re squeezing investment yields so hard that the only reason left to buy in some areas is to live there. Meanwhile, a development freeze within 500 m of the beach means no new supply in the most desirable zones.
In some towns, there is one property available for long-term rental and 235 for sale. Does that make it a buyer’s market? Only if you understand whether a specific property is subject to price controls, has a tourist licence, or sits inside a construction moratorium zone. Most buyers rely on estate agents who know their listings, not the legislation. Our reports give you the data to make your own call.
Recent price trajectory by property type, backed by listing data and official registry statistics. Where prices are heading, not just where they are today.
Catalan planning law freezes new construction within 500 m of the beach on slopes above 20% — over 270 hectares locked out of development. If you’re buying an existing property in these zones, it limits what you can extend or rebuild, and it means no new competition from developers. We flag which properties fall inside the restricted strip and what that means for your plans.
Tourist licences can multiply a property’s value by 4x — and new ones are increasingly hard to get. Rent controls are being enforced with real penalties. We flag which areas are affected, whether licences are still available, and what that means for your yield or the value of a home you chose to live in.
What’s being built nearby? Planned roads, rail connections, and public works that will change the area for better or worse.
Government-assessed market values and transaction volumes. Not just what’s listed on Idealista. See what the registry data says about real prices in this town, or the specific property you're considering.
Rent controls are pushing owners to occupy rather than rent, creating a squeeze on housing supply while the sales market floods. This has the potential to drive capital appreciation — but only in the right micro-regions. We assess which areas have rent controls now, which might next, and what that means for prices.
SAMPLE — TOWN REPORT (€149) · DELIVERED AS PDF WITHIN 48 HOURS
Sede Electrónica del Catastro, Valor de Referencia, Colegio de Registradores quarterly transaction reports, Consejo General del Notariado.
RPUC (Registre de Planejament Urbanístic de Catalunya), Mapa Urbanístic de Catalunya, municipal POUMs and building ordinances.
Idealista, Fotocasa, Habitaclia, and other proprietary data sources covering listing prices, inventory levels, and rental market performance.
INE, IDESCAT, Ministerio de Transportes, Banco de España PROP microdata.
Generalitat de Catalunya HUTG tourist licence registry, Ley de Costas coastal protection geoportal, ACA flood risk maps, development moratorium tracking.
Generalitat road and rail plans, Diputació de Girona investment programmes, municipal planning amendments, and local press monitoring.
We read the original documents in Catalan and Spanish so you don’t have to. We know of buyers who were caught out by rent controls they didn’t know applied to their property. What you get is plain-English analysis backed by primary sources — not a summary of someone else’s blog post.
Found a property? Send us the listing and we’ll tell you what the agent won’t.
Everything you need to know about one town — before you start viewing.
Compare towns, and validate the specific property you’re leaning toward.
We’re a couple who own investment properties in two countries. When we decided to buy on the Costa Brava, we went looking for the kind of town-level analysis that would help us make a confident decision: price trajectories, zoning constraints, rental licence availability, infrastructure plans.
It didn’t exist. So we built it ourselves.
Within 48 hours of purchase. Reports are delivered as PDF to the email address you provide at checkout.
PDF — designed to be read on screen or printed. Full Reports are typically 15–20 pages.
Yes. Send us a request and we’ll let you know if we can cover it.
Yes — that’s exactly what the Property Check is for. Send us the listing link and we’ll check tourist licence status, rent control exposure, zoning and building rights, and how the asking price compares to cadastral and registry data. You’ll know what the agent isn’t telling you.
If the report doesn’t contain what was described, contact us within 7 days for a full refund.
Every report is researched and written by our team using primary sources such as cadastral records, municipal planning documents, government registries, and market data. We don’t use AI-generated filler or repackage content from other sites.
Tourist licences, rent controls, construction freezes, zoning changes — built on local legislative records, municipal data, and rental enforcement actions. Not listing prices.
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